Bulldogs on the loose; Eagles trip Warriors

MANILA, Philippines - Defending champion National University Bulldogs finally showed their bite and scored a breakthrough 55-54 victory over erstwhile unbeaten University of Santo Tomas yesterday in the UAAP Season 78 men’s basketball tourney at the MOA Arena.

Coming out of a personal slump, Alfred Aroga muscled his way to 19 points spiked by the game-winning jumper with 14.7 seconds left as the Bulldogs rallied from seven points down in the last five minutes for their first triumph after three successive losses.

“We’re very thankful for our first win. We had to go through a lot in the first three games but the boys are very positive. Coming from the Ateneo loss (last Wednesday), they wanted to bounce back and it was evident today, they played with a lot of heart,” said NU coach Eric Altamirano.

Aroga banged in eight markers in the payoff period, putting the exclamation to his dominant showing by hitting a long tom that gave NU a 55-54 cushion.

“Alfred played a hell of a game, although I didn’t like that last shot of his. We always tell him not to shoot those shots. But that type of shot is all-heart for Alfred, he wants to win,” said Altamirano.

Kevin Ferrer (14) and Karim Abdul (11) led the way for UST as Ed Daquioag was held to nine points.

The Tigers suffered their first loss in four starts and found themselves in a share of the lead with  Ateneo, which beat University of the East, 77-72 in the first game.

Von Pessumal got things going with his torrid shooting then Kiefer Ravena delivered the finishing touches as Ateneo  raced to its third straight win.

Pessumal rifled in a career-high-tying 21 markers spiked by six triples off 10 tries, while Ravena flirted with a near-triple double of 15 markers, nine rebounds and nine assists as the Eagles improved to 3-1 after dropping their opening assignment.

The Warriors saw their own two-game streak snapped and slipped to an even 2-2 card.

“This was a tough win because this was our third game in seven days; it’s specifically tough for Kiefer and Von because they get the heaviest minutes in our plays. Although they were tired, Kiefer nearly had a triple-double and Von, for the first time, hit his shots from the outside,” said Ateneo coach Bo Perasol.

Struggling with a 3-of-19 clip from beyond the arc in the first three outings, Pessumal suddenly caught fire and nailed his first five tries from the area. He scored 15 in the second quarter alone, leading the Eagles to a 43-33 lead at the turn. AdMU had its biggest margin at 52-35 early in the third.

“I think I had my worst shooting in the first three games of this season, but coach, Kiefer and my teammates told me to stay confident and keep on shooting. So I did that and good thing, naka-shoot ako,” said Pessumal.

The Warriors, with foul-saddled Bonbon Batiller returning to action, unleashed a major rally to go to within 68-71 with still 50 seconds left.

Ravena then decided to take over, hitting a stepback jumper and two freethrows in a 6-2 closeout that sealed it for AdMU.

After their 24-point blowout loss to Far Eastern on opening weekend, the Eagles racked up three straight victories to vault into a share of the lead.

“I’m delighted where we are right now but we know that we have much to do,” said Perasol, whose wards will have a week’s rest before returning to the court against University of Santo Tomas.

Batiller paced UE with 19.