MANILA, Philippines - Gelo Alolino provided the spark as National University stormed to its second straight win with a 70-59 disposal of University of the Philippines, yesterday in the UAAP Season 77 men’s basketball tourney at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
One of the senior players of the team, Alolino flashed his leadership and complemented it with his torrid shooting, firing a career-high 20 points, spiked by four-of-seven clip from beyond the arc, and added two assists and two steals to help NU go 2-0 for the lead.
“Being one of the seniors, gusto kong i-lead ang team (I want to provide leadership),” said Alolino, who eclipsed his previous high of 17.
The fourth-year banking and finance student scored 12 in the first period to keep a flat-starting NU afloat against the more aggressive Maroons. He then teamed up with fellow veteran Troy Rosario (17 points and nine rebounds) and Alfred Aroga (16 makers and 11 boards) in fuelling the Bulldogs’ breakaway in the second half en route to a followup to their 59-40 win over Santo Tomas last Sunday.
“Gelo is stepping up and he’s doing his job. Like what he said it’s not about his points but it’s about him leading the team. If he scores this much, it’s really good for us. He’s scoring but he’s not forcing the issue, which is really good for a point guard,” said coach Eric Altamirano.
NU won despite giving away the leather 21 times, resulting in 15 points off turnovers for the Maroons – a fact that was not lost on Altamirano.
“We’re happy with the win but I’m not really happy with how we played. We were very erratic, we were not disciplined, we committed a lot of turnovers,” he said. “When we got the lead, somehow, we relaxed and forced things, which was unlike of us.”
Dave Moralde, a transferee from San Beda, banged in 15 for UP (0-2), which absorbed its 23rd straight setback dating back to Season 75.
University of the East joined the Bulldogs at the top with 2-0 after mangling Adamson, 99-72, in the second game.
After a listless start, the Red Warriors shifted to high gear in the final 20 minutes to quash the upset bid of the Falcons (0-2) and secure their second straight blowout win by more than 25 points. They thumped UP in their opening assignment, 87-59.
“I must say coach Kenneth Duremdes did a pretty good job at the start of the ball game. They came out with a good game plan, they were able to slow us down and we lost our rhythm in the first half,” said UE coach Derrick Pumaren.
“I had to talk to the boys at halftime and told them we’re not playing our game and we had to seize the opportunity to get this second win and I’m proud how the boys played in the second half. They responded to the challenge and stepped up,” he added.
Bong Galanza rifled in 16 points laced with four triples to lead scoring for the Warriors.
“I’m expecting a breakout game for Bong and being one of the seniors, I’m really banking highly on him this year. He didn’t really play well in the opening game but he came out strong tonight,” said Pumaren.
Roi Sumang added 15, including 10 in UE’s third-quarter pullaway, plus six feeds while Gino Jumao-as shot 12, all in the fourth.
Rookie William Polican paced AdU with 16 markers while veteran Don Trollano finished with 14 before getting slapped with a disqualifying foul in the third for “swinging” at Steven Cudal.