National University gave head coach Jeff Napa an ideal birthday gift on Saturday, September 19, dominating the University of the East, 76-56, to capture its first victory in the UAAP Season 89 Collegiate Men’s Basketball Tournament.
The dominant performance allowed the Bulldogs to bounce back from an 89-87 heartbreak against De La Salle University in their season opener, moving to a 1-1 record alongside the Green Archers and the idle University of Santo Tomas.
Despite leading comfortably for most of the contest, Napa expressed dissatisfaction with his squad’s third-quarter lull, where they were outscored 20-12.
“Hindi ito dapat ‘yung resulta na gusto namin mangyari. This game, especially nung third quarter, medyo nagrelax eh. Yun ang kailangan namin maaddress next game against UP para ready kami talaga,” Napa remarked.
UE made a brief push in the final period when successive buckets from Lance Sabroso, Tope Lagat, and Mo Tañedo cut a large deficit down to 12 points, 63-51, with 4:35 left on the clock.
NU immediately snuffed out the comeback attempt, answering with an 8-0 blitz behind Mo Diassana, DJ Laconsay, PJ Palacielo, and Tebol Garcia to push the lead back to 71-51 with under three minutes remaining.
Kenshin Padrones provided a spark off the bench, shooting 5-of-6 to tally 11 points and seven rebounds.
“Malaking boost ito sa amin para sa next game. Itong game na ito, makakatulong sa amin para makabalik kami sa kung ano [talaga kami],” Padrones said.
Diassana continued an impressive comeback run from a two-year knee injury layoff, recording a double-double with 12 points, 12 rebounds, and a game-best plus-28 rating in just over 27 minutes. The Nigerian center matched his stats from opening night, where he also logged 12 points and 12 boards.
Reinhard Jumamoy matched Diassana with 12 points alongside four rebounds and three assists, while Palacielo flirted with a double-double, finishing with nine points, 12 boards, and four assists.
The setback extended UE’s slump to 22 consecutive losses, dropping the Red Warriors to 0-2.
Nigerian big man Ola Ajani delivered 11 points, 10 rebounds, and two blocks in his collegiate debut for UE, while fellow foreign student-athlete JM Edoukou of Ivory Coast also logged his first appearance. Lagat added 11 markers in the loss.
Both squads return to action next Saturday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. UE faces Far Eastern University at 2:30 p.m., followed by NU’s clash against the University of the Philippines at 6:00 p.m.
The Scores:
NU (76) – Jumamoy 12, Diassana 12, Padrones 11, Palacielo 9, Garcia 7, Francisco 6, Alfanta 6, Laconsay 4, Figueroa 4, Serrano 3, Miranda 2, Reyes 0, Perciano 0, Cartel 0, Tulabut 0, Solomon 0.
UE (56) – Ajani 11, Lagat 11, Sabroso 9, Carillo 6, Tañedo 6, Santos 4, Cruz-Dumont 3, Dungca 2, Robles 0, Vasquez 0, Datumalim 0.
Quarter scores: 25-8, 42-20, 54-40, 76-56.