Bulldogs end Eagles’ streak, grab share of lead

MANILA, Philippines – National University brushed off the effects of a loss in their last game and dealt Ateneo its first defeat via a 64-60 victory in the 77th UAAP men's basketball tourney at the MOA Arena on Saturday.

The Eagles clawed their way to a one-point deficit, 56-57, with 1:46 remaining but the Bulldogs stood their ground on defense and made a living on the free throw line.

Kiefer Ravena broke their silence when he made two free throws to cut NU’s lead,  58-62, with 21.5 ticks left.

Both teams engaged in a free throw battle eventually won by NU, and Ateneo misfired on two triples in the end.

"I’m very proud of the boys especially our bench. Tulad ng sinabi ko before the start of the season, our identity is not relying on one person. It’s relying with each other," said NU coach Eric Altamirano, who earlier vowed to rebound from a close defeat to La Salle the last time around.

"We committed to really playing our team defense against Ateneo. We are not an offensive team so we just relied on our defense," he added.

The Bulldogs’ lockdown defense limited the Eagles to a measly 31 percent shooting from the field.

NU likewise had the edge in the rebounding battle, 48-34.

"I think the team really showed character today lalo na when we were missing our free throws. They know that we just need to make stops and never give up," said Altamirano.

Troy Rosario fired 16 points, rookie Jess Diputado added 10 markers, and Glenn Khoubuntin and  Alfred Aroga cleaned the glass with 16 and 11 boards, respectively, to help the Bulldogs’ cause.

"We felt at the end we needed to focus on our defense to stop Kiefer and pressure their point guard. In the last few minutes, they were really doing a good job and we thought of keeping them at the end game," said Altamirano, who used bench players Diputado and Paolo Javelona to close the game.

Arvin Tolentino and Ravena scattered 17 and 13 points, respectivley, but combined for a poor 8-of-34 shooting from the field.

At the break, NU led Ateneo by a slim margin, 33-31, behind their 42 percent shooting compared to 33 percent by the latter.

Rosario paced the Bulldogs with 12 points while Ravena bounced back from a poor start to score 11 points and dish out four assists in the first half.

NU improved to 3-1 (win-loss) to tie Ateneo at the top of the standings.