COACH Kevin De Castro of reigning two-time champion Nazareth School of National University got what he described as a “statement win” at the expense of Ateneo High School yesterday.
The Bullpups turned back the Blue Eagles 86-78 for their second straight win in the 85th UAAP juniors’ tournament at The Arena in San Juan.
RJ Colonia scattered 22 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists, while Reinhard Jumamoy flirted with a triple-double of 19 markers, 10 boards, and eight dimes for NSNU.
Macmac Alfanta also scored six of his 10 points in the Bullpups’ 28-point fourth period that frustrated the Blue Eagles.
“Statement win sa amin,” said De Castro, whose wards rose to 8-1, counting a 71-64 rout of University of Santo Tomas five days ago. “Iyong second round, iyong gusto namin, iyong goal namin is to win as many games as possible.
“Tough game iyong next game namin against Adamson. Alam ninyo naman iyong Adamson gustong bumawi sa amin kasi tinalo namin noong first round. Crucial ang game namin kasi sila ang isa sa mga contenders,” he added.
Ateneo failed to score a follow-up to an 88-77 win over University of the East last Wednesday and dropped to 3-6.
Later, Adamson High School hacked out an 81-70 victory over University of the Philippines Integrated School.
Peter Rosillo led the Baby Falcons with 23 points, five rebounds, three assists, and three steals, while Justine Garcia chipped in 16 points.
“It was a good game, but it was a sloppy win for us. Ang dami naming turnovers, mga miscues sa defense,” Adamson strategist Mike Fermin said. “It means na marami pang kailangang ayusin going into that game against a very strong team.”
