Bulldogs on the loose anew, clobber Eagles

MANILA, Philippines - National University came out firing as the Bulldogs smothered a flat Ateneo five, 85-68, to secure a finals ticket at the expense of last season’s champions Blue Eagles yesterday in the 2012 Filoil Flying V Pre-season Hanes Cup at the Arena.

The Bulldogs shot a high 51 percent clip (33-of-65), spiked by a sizzling 10 triples, to deal semis rival Ateneo probably its worst setback in recent years and reach the championship game of the  summer league for the first time.

NU will face either San Beda or La Salle in the one-game title duel on Tuesday.

“This is a morale-boosting victory for us,” said NU coach Eric Altamirano, lauding his wards for showing their faith in one another in hurdling the major stumbling block that was Ateneo.

“It’s always a challenge everytime we play Ateneo, like climbing a mountain. Even if it’s the pre-season, it’s still a challenge to beat Ateneo. But with respect to Ateneo, I don’t think we saw the real Ateneo today, having been playing almost daily in a number of tournaments,” he added.

Real Ateneo or not, the Bulldogs were business-like, storming to an early 25-16 tear against the Eagles and didn’t let up as they enjoyed huge margins that reached as high at 19. 

Bobby Ray Parks Jr scattered 30 points in a high-scoring stint, grabbing six rebounds, issuing two assists and posting two steals plus a shot block to lead the way for NU. 

“He (Parks) really carried us through offensively and defensively. He provided the scoring sock for us and that’s a big help,” said Altamirano who also drew good numbers from Jeoff Javillonar (13), Denice Villamor (12), and Emmanuel Mbe (10 points, six rebounds).

Six-foot-11 Greg Slaughter had 21 points, seven boards and three blocks while Nico Salva added 14 and five caroms for Ateneo, which struggled offensively (24 of 59 or 41 percent).

The scores:

First game

NU 85 – Parks 30, Javillonar 13, Villamor 12, Mbe 10, Neypes 7, Alolino 5, De Guzman 3, Rono 3, Ignacio 2, Betayene 0, Labing-isa 0, Singh 0.

AdMU 68 – Slaughter 21, Salva 14, Ravena 8, Tiongson 8, Sumalinog 6, Gonzaga 5, Elorde 2, Buenafe 2 Chua 2, Golla 0, Pessumal 0, Erram 0, Capacio 0.

Quarterscores: 25-16, 47-35, 68-51, 85-68.