NU repeats for 5th in row, forces rubber

‘Dogs’ of war make Eagles blue anew 

Game on Saturday (MOA Arena) 4 p.m. – FEU vs DLSU (Final Four)

MANILA, Philippines - They couldn’t simply put the leash on the dogs.

For five straight showdowns, the National U Bulldogs were like an enigma, a mystery that the top seeded Ateneo Blue Eagles could not unravel or unlock.

The Bulldogs yesterday brought the Eagles down again, 78-74, to force a do-or-die for a championship berth in the UAAP Season 77 men’s basketball Final Four at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The fourth-seeded Bulldogs stormed to an early double-digit spread and survived a furious uprising with clutch free-throw shooting down the stretch to nullify the twice-to-beat advantage of the No. 1 ranked Eagles and make the semis showdown a knockout affair. They dispute the berth next Wednesday.

“We just wanted to give our best. We were not even looking beyond this game,” said NU coach Eric Altamirano.

“To put it in my own words, the breaks didn’t go our way in the fourth quarter but I’m very proud of our boys. Even if the breaks, the calls weren’t going our way, they held up, they kept their focus, they kept their composure and made their free-throws,” added Altamirano.

It was NU’s fifth straight triumph over Ateneo head-to-head since Season 76, and this one’s special as it made for the Bulldogs’ first ever win in four Final Four appearances.

Altamirano refused to claim the tag “kontra-pelo” to the Eagles.

“Alam mo, pagdating naman sa Final Four talagang tapon mo na lahat ng stats, numbers (This is the Final Four already, a time when the stats and numbers of the past are immaterial). It’s really about heart. Kung sino talaga ang may puso, sino gustong manalo. (Whoever shows the heart and wants it more). Tonight, the boys showed that, they never gave up, they never quit, they gave it everything,” said Altamirano.

NU came out firing and seized a 24-14 lead. The Bulldogs led by 15, 68-53, with 8:03 left, before a Kiefer Ravena-sparked 19-3 salvo put the Eagles ahead, 72-71 going to the last 1:14. NU held tough, though, with JJ Alejandro and Gelo Alolino cashing in on their combined six charities to seal the win.

“It was important for us to start strong. We made our shots and that gave us confidence, our defense held up. But I wasn’t really happy in the second half, we somehow relaxed and didn’t take care of the ball. They (Ateneo) also got confidence from transition points and turnover points,” said Altamirano.

Stats showed NU committing 26 turnovers that resulted in 14 points for Ateneo.

Eagles coach Bo Perasol said the poor start did his team in.

“I think the one thing we really wanted to do, which was to have a good start, didn’t happen,” said Perasol. “That was one of the major reasons we kept on catching up the whole game. At this time, we weren’t able to get good breaks in the end so we weren’t able to win the game.”

Pao Javelona and Rev Diputado took turns hounding Ravena, who finished with 24 but made only nine of his 35 attempts.

Alejandro led scoring for NU with 20, making six in the fourth, while Alolino added 16, seven of them in the payoff period.

The scores

NU 78 – Alejandro 20, Alolino 16, Khobuntin 12, Aroga 11, Rosario 6, Diputado 5, Javelona 4, Betayene 2, Neypes 2, Perez 0.

AdMU 74 – K. Ravena 24, Newsome 14, Elorde 12, Pessumal 7, Capacio 6, Tolentino 6, Gotladera 3, T. Ravena 2, Babilonia 0, Doliguez 0, Porter 0.

Quarterscores: 24-14, 44-32, 60-50, 78-74