By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The National University (NU) Bulldogs finally flashed its most convincing performance of the ongoing UAAP Season 87 Men’s Basketball Tournament after upsetting the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons, 67-47, on November 3, 2024, at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.
With the momentum-boosting victory, the Bulldogs just resurrected their chances of a late Final Four entry while handing the no. 2 seeded UP team its worst loss of the preliminary round.
Everything just clicked for the revitalized NU squad after attacking UP’s interior at will, led by the aggressive Jake Figueroa who relentlessly punished the Fighting Maroons’ lazy help defense.
Just like their previous games, UP started ice-cold from the field which was capitalized by the Bulldogs that quickly jumped ahead with a double-digit lead in the opening quarter.
NU maintained their high-octane pace and always went off to the races soon as they grabbed the defensive board from a Fighting Maroon missed basket.
When they settled mostly from the shaded lane, the Bulldogs caused more confusion to the UP side of defense as they started to jack up their open three-pointers.
UP showed some signs of life midway through the second frame when they trimmed their deficit to just a single digit but a quick response from NU halted their momentum as they ballooned their cushion back to double digits heading into the second half.
With nothing falling and synchronizing for the Fighting Maroons despite generating several open looks at the start of the third, the waxing hot Bulldogs smelled blood in the final five minutes of the third, increasing their lead to as much as 26 points.
As a result of a shaky performance, UP head coach Goldwin Monteverde decided to throw the white towel with still seven minutes remaining in the fourth.
Patrick Yu was solid for the Bulldogs as the veteran swingman top-scored NU with 17 points built from five three-pointers. Figueroa, the man who set the tone in the first half, finished with an all-around outing of 11 markers, six rebounds, and four assists.
“Finally nakuha namin yung panalo namin sa second round. Finally, at least sa araw ng patay, nabuhay lahat ng mga player ko kahit papaano,” said Bulldogs head coach Jeff Napa after the lopsided win.
NU will still have two remaining games to determine their Final Four fate, and they must come through against UST on November 6 and Adamson on November 10, 2024.
