Bulldogs boost twice-to-beat bid

MANILA, Philippines — National U firmed up grip of the second spot and shored up its twice-to-beat drive with a repeat win over Santo Tomas, 75-71, in the UAAP Season 89 men’s basketball yesterday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Bulldogs erected an early 12-point lead and fended off multiple rallies by the Growling Tigers to jump to 7-3 and stay within striking distance of the pace-setting University of the Philippines (7-2).

More than that, NU dodged a bullet from Santo Tomas that could have dragged it to the tightrope middle pack featuring five teams with four or five losses.

Mo Diassana led the way with a 16-point, 19-rebound double-double while his twin tower partner PJ Palacielo had 14 points and six boards.

The Bulldogs, who needed no game-winner this time around after Reinhard Jumamoy’s triple in the first round for an 87-85 escape act, drew solid coverage from Kenshin Padrones and Tebol Garcia with 13 and 12 points, respectively.

“It’s a good win for us kasi isa rin sa contenders ‘yung UST. Good thing for us, lumabas ‘yung effort namin in the last minutes. It’s all about mindset and effort every game,” said NU coach Jeff Napa, wanting no complacency after wasting a twice-to-beat edge last season as the No. 1 seed.

Later, titlist La Salle pulled off a 76-73 overtime escape act from archrival Ateneo to gain solo third place at 6-4. It’s a repeat win for the Green Archers after an 83-76 win in the first round as the Blue Eagles slid to 5-5.