Bulldogs get lease on life, repel Tams for sudden death

MANILA, Philippines - They let the real bulldogs out.

National U unleashed the kind of game that had hounded the opposition all-season long and routed Far Eastern U, 62-47, to force a sudden death for the UAAP Season 77 men’s basketball crown before a record crowd at the Smart Araneta Coliseum yesterday.

The Bulldogs – ferocious in offense, tenacious in defense – choked the Tams to a meager 27.87 shooting clip (17-of-61) and imposed their will off the boards on both ends, 58-39, to send the best-of-three series to a deciding Game Three next Wednesday.

NU posted probably its first victory in the finals since its only title conquest in 1954, doing it in front of 24,896 fans – a throng surpassing the 24,883 crowd in the San Mig Coffee-Barangay Ginebra setto in the 2014 PBA Philippine Cup semis rubbermatch.

After breaching NU’s defense in its 75-70 victory in the opener, FEU limped with its lowest output this season. The Tams’ losing output was also the lowest in the finals since the Tams managed only 49 in a 23-point setback to Ateneo in 2010.

“We felt we didn’t do a good on defense in the first game,” said NU coach Eric Altamirano. “We allowed them to score in the 70s and every time they do this, they always win, so we really focused on going back to fundamentals, going back to our discipline in defense,” he added.

Facing a no-tomorrow situation, the Bulldogs went charging against the title-seeking Tams from the opening tip and stormed to an 18-6 lead.

The Bulldogs maintained a double-digit spread the rest of the way, quashing a major uprising by the Tams in the fourth with two huge triples by Gelo Alolino and a six-for-six marksmanship at the line in the stretch.

“I thought the guards handled the pressure well; they (Tams) were making a run and we kept our poise, the guards stayed in control, we didn’t take bad shots but waited and waited until we got a really better shot,” said Altamirano.

Troy Rosario, who missed the crucial stage of Game One due to cramps, bounced back strong and paced NU with 19 points. More importantly, he grabbed 14 boards, nine off the offensive glass, helping NU get 27 extra possessions after missed shots.

“Gusto ko lang makatulong sa team. Sabi ko sa sarili ko ayokong maging last game ko ito (I just want to help the team any way I can. I was determined that this won’t be my last game in the UAAP),” said Rosario.

Glen Khobuntin added 17 points while trying to contain FEU star Mac Belo (17). Alolino finished with 12, making 10 of them in the payoff period.

“We missed our shots and they forced us to miss our shots; they played great defense,” said FEU coach Nash Racela. “We were outhustled and we got outrebounded by a big margin.”

The scores:

NU 62 – Rosario 19, Khobuntin 17, Alolino 12, Aroga 7, Alejandro 2, Diputado 2, Neypes 2, Javelona 1, Betayene 0, Perez 0.

FEU 47 – Belo 17, Tolomia 15, Inigo 7, Pogoy 4, Cruz 2, Jose 2, Tamsi 0, Dennison 0, Ru. Escoto 0, Hargrove 0, Denila 0, Lee Yu 0, Ugsang 0, Ri. Escoto 0, David 0.

Quarterscores: 18- 6, 26-18, 43-30, 62-47