Bulldogs stay alive, outlast Eagles

MANILA, Philippines – National University will live to fight another day after pulling off a dramatic 78-74 victory over top-seeded Ateneo De Manila University in the Final Four phase of the 77th UAAP men's basketball tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Wednesday night.

The Bulldogs’ steady hands at the free throw line helped stave off a furious rally by the Eagles that saw the former briefly relinquishing a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter.

Staring at a 53-68 deficit, Ateneo unleashed a 19-3 blast capped by Nico Elorde's triple to give the Eagles a 72-71 lead with 1:14 left.

Ateneo's Kiefer Ravena committed two straight fouls on JJ Alejandro and Gelo Alolino, and both drilled two charities each to give the lead back to NU, 75-72, with 31.5 ticks left.

Ravena scored on a quick lay-up but that proved to be the final punch for the Eagles as they failed to score the rest of the way. Alolino then added two more freebies and Henri Betayene split his charities for the final score.

"We just want to give out best in this game. We're not even looking beyond this game. The breaks didn’t go our way and I'm very proud of the boys. The calls weren’t going our way but they kept their composure," said NU head coach Eric Altamirano.

Alejandro topscored for the Bulldogs with 20 points while Alolino, Glenn Khoubuntim and Alfred Aroga chipped in 16, 12, and 11 markers respectively.

"Iniisip ko lang no pressure sa amin, sinabi ni coach gawin lang namin yung best namin para no regrets kami manalo or mataloo makikita naman nila na ginawa naming best effort," said Alejandro.

Altamirano commended their strong start but also saw some things they need to improve on for the crucial do-or-die game next Wednesday, October 1.

"I think that it was very important for us to start strong to give us confidence at the start. Our defense held up but in the second half, medyo nag-relax kami at nagka confidence sila sa transition nila. Those are the things we need to work on," he said.

Ravena led the Eagles with 24 points, but the Ateneo star bled for it as shown by his atrocious 9-of-35 shooting while Chris Newsome and Nico Elorde added 14 and 12 points.

"Kiefer is Kiefer. I don’t think we can really stop him. We tried to stop him, contain him hopefully, but it’s actually a collective effort on our part in trying to defend," shared Altamirano.