MANILA, Philippines - National U leaned on a monster game by Cameroonian Alfred Aroga and a solid all-around effort from Bobby Ray Parks Jr. as it clobbered Arellano U, 86-71, to fortify its place in the quarterfinals of the Filoil Flying V Hanes Premier Cup at The Arena in San Juan yesterday.
The 6-7 Aroga, who will debut in the forthcoming UAAP cage wars, bulldozed his way to 22 points and 15 rebounds while Parks, the reigning back-to-back MVP, opted to play decoy while doing the rest of the job with nine points, six boards, six assists, two steals and two blocks.
The Bulldogs had a strong start and led by as many as 10 points only to lose grip late in the second quarter and see their lead cut to 43-41 at the end of the first half.
But NU went on attack mode at the start of the second half, erected a 20-point upper hand in the final canto and never relinquished it from there.