National University and season host University of the East both relied on second-half surges to come out victorious in the resumption of the 77th University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball tournament at the Araneta Coliseum on Saturday.
The Bulldogs relied on the triumvirate of Gelo Alolino, Jeth Troy Rosario, and Cameroonian center Alfred Aroga to pull off a 70-59 rout of University of the Philippines in the first game.
After a tough first half against the Maroons, the tide turned in NU’s favor when their counterparts from Diliman started shooting bricks at the start of the third quarter and led to a 13-point advantage for the Eric Altamirano-mentored squad.
Eventually, things got worse for the perennially struggling State U squad as the Jocson Street-based squad’s lead ballooned to its peak at 19 on Aroga’s rim-rattling dunk with 4:18 left to peg the score at 68-49 – a far cry from a four point spread in favor of NU, 37-33, at the mid-game break.
The ex-youth national squad mainstay Alolino led the way with 20 points, followed by Rosario’s 17 points and nine rebounds, with Aroga contributing 16 points, 11 rebounds, and three blocked shots.
“UP started really strong [in today’s game]. They were very aggressive on the the offensive end and we had a hard time staying with them. But I reminded the boys just do what we do. And eventually, when we focus on our defense, things will go our way,” said Eric Altamirano, NU’s fourth-year mentor.
“We’re happy for the win, although I’m not happy with how we played. We were very erratic, we committed a lot of turnovers. When we got the lead, somehow we relaxed and we tried to force things which is unlikely of us,” Altamirano added.
Dave Moralde, who finished the first half with 13 points, still finished with a team-high 15 markers despite his second half struggles. JR Gallarza added 10 points and three blocked shots, while guards Mikee Reyes and Kyles Lao contributed eight apiece for UP, which has not won a single contest in 23 games – their last being a 63-48 win over UE on August 12, 2012 .
In the late afternoon cap, the Red Warriors shellacked Adamson University, 99-72 to remain perfect this season.
Bong Galanza hit four treys en route to a team-high 16 points, with Roi Sumang adding 15 points and six assists.
The Red Warriors turned a close one-point deficit at halftime to a 31-point shellacking by the late stages of the contest, thanks to the misfiring Falcons shooting a horrendous 2-for-13 clip from the field en route to getting outscored 30-12 in the third period.
William Polican led Adamson’s cause with 16 points, while Don Trollano added 14 points and eight rebounds before getting slapped with a cheap disqualifying foul that led to his ejection with 3:06 left in the contest.
