Bullpups force decider vs Baby Falcons

MANILA, Philippines -- National University will live to fight another day.

The NU Bullpups forced a winner-take-all Game 3 in the UAAP Season 86 juniors’ basketball tournament after storming back and escaping the Adamson Baby Falcons, 67-64, in Game 2 Wednesday at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.

Adamson led by as much as 15, 48-33, in the second half after the Baby Falcons unleashed a 17-3 run that spanned from the second quarter to the third frame.

Slowly, however, the Bullpups clawed back and took the lead, 49-48, with 16 straight points capped by a pair of free throws by newly-minted UAAP juniors MVP Collins Akowe.

The two teams then traded baskets that stretched into the final quarter.

After an and-one play by Tebol Garcia gave Adamson a 60-59 advantage, back-to-back baskets by Elijah Yusi and Tom Pillado tipped the scales to the Bullpups’ favor, 63-60.

This mini-run was snapped by a jumper by Vince Reyes with 4:10 remaining.

A pair of free throws by Akowe and a split from the line by Jed Solomon gave NU a 66-62 lead with 2:21 left.

About a minute after, Baby Falcon Mark Esperanza scored off a second-chance opportunity to cut the lead to a single possession, 66-64.

After a turnover by NU, Earl Medina had the chance to give Adamson the lead with a 3-pointer, but it did not connect.

On the other end, Akowe missed a deuce. Game 1 hero Vince Reyes tried a 3-pointer of his own, but it could not find the bottom of the net.

Another turnover by Akowe gave Adamson a window of opportunity, but Garcia’s jumper missed the mark.

A split from the line by Pillado with eight seconds remaining in the game gave Adamson the opportunity to tie the game up, but Esperanza’s attempt from beyond the arc rattled out as time expired.

Akowe had another double-double for NU, finishing with 16 points, 13 rebounds, two blocks, two steals and two assists.

He was followed by Klein Tagotongan with 16 markers in 18 minutes off the bench.

Medina paced the Baby Falcons with 23 points on nine-of-11 field goal shooting.

The Bullpups and the Baby Falcons will be battling for all the marbles on Sunday, February 11, at the same venue.