NATIONAL University coach Jeff Napa heaved a big sigh of relief after his charges pulled the rug from under La Salle, a title contender he described as “one of the big boys” yesterday.
Proving steadier down the stretch, the red-hot Bulldogs beat the Green Archers 80-76 for their fourth straight win in the 85th UAAP basketball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
A Kevin Quiambao three-pointer shoved La Salle to within 76-79 in the last 58.2 ticks.
Steve Nash Enriquez missed a triple try in the ensuing play that gave the Archers a lifeline, but Quiambao failed to knock down a corner trey before John Lloyd Clemente sealed NU’s gutsy win with a free throw.
Enriquez shone for the Bulldogs with 16 points spiked by four triples, to go with three rebounds, and three assists, while Clemente had a double-double of 16 markers and 10 boards.
Omar John also had 15 and 12, while Jake Figueroa also added 15 points for NU, which scored a big follow-up to its 58-54 triumph over Adamson University five days ago and rose to 5-1.
La Salle, coming off an 87-70 drubbing of Far Eastern University last Saturday, fell to 3-3.
“Nakahinga rin ako. Isa sa mga big boys ito (La Salle),” Napa said.
“We’re down ng third quarter, we have to change our momentum para mapunta sa amin iyong way,” he added.
Later, Ateneo dismantled Adamson University 76-55 to get back on track.
Kai Ballungay led the Blue Eagles with 21 points, four rebounds, and two assists, while Dave Ildefonso added 15 markers, three caroms, and a dime.
The runaway win served as redemption to Ateneo’s sorry 71-76 overtime loss to defending champion University of the Philippines last Sunday and moved to 4-2.
The Soaring Falcons dropped to 2-4.
The Sampaloc-based cagers trailed 40-41 at the halfway mark and 61-63 heading into the payoff period.
