MANILA, Philippines - Pouncing on the shift of power in UAAP Season 76 men’s basketball tournament, National U flashed fine form early and came away with an emphatic 64-54 rout of defending five-peat champion Ateneo at the MOA Arena yesterday.
Bobby Ray Parks Jr. (22 points, nine rebounds, four assists) and Emmanuel Mbe (14 markers, 15 boards), leaders of a Bulldogs pack coming back intact from a Final Four stint last year, played true to their roles as NU stamped its class on a shorthanded Ateneo side, snapping the 10-game losing streak to the once mighty Blue Eagles.
The triumph placed NU on a share of the lead with Adamson, which routed University of the Philippines, 79-67, in the first game, and opening-day winners University of Santo Tomas and Far Eastern University.
“This is a significant win for us, matagal-tagal na rin namin di natatalo ang Ateneo (It’s been quite a while since we last beat Ateneo), although coming into this game, we weren’t thinking of that. We just wanted to start on a high note and it just happened we played Ateneo first,” said NU coach Eric Altamirano.
Capitalizing on the lack of a seven-footer in the Eagles’ lineup this year, Mbe and his fellow frontliners dominated the boards, 52-39.
“I think that (rebounding) is the key to this game,” said Altamirano, who managed to get this done while Cameroonian center Alfred Aroga, his other import, sat out over eligibility issues. He said NU management decided not to use Aroga until they have completed the birth certificate and other documents required by the league.
With five of Ateneo’s five-peat winning team not around anymore and remaining star Kiefer Ravena playing sparingly (eight minutes, two points) due to ankle injury, the Bulldogs had little problem asserting themselves and taking control.By the 5:31 mark of the fourth they were ahead by a mile, 59-35. Since then, however, Ateneo unleashed one last charge against a relaxing NU and got to within 10 points.
“Obviously we didn’t end on a high note. We were controlling the first three quarters then somehow, our defense relaxed and we allowed them (Ateneo) to get their bearing with their outside shots,” said Altamirano.
Juami Tiongson paced Ateneo with 13 points, spiked by three triples.
Falcons’ hulking Cameroonian newbie Ingrid Sewa immediately made his presence felt and debuted with 15 points and nine rebounds to backstop top scorer Jericho Cruz’s 19 points and six boards in Adamson’s easy win.
“During the summer leagues, I really made the effort to study UP’s system so they won’t shame us here in the opening. Especially since we’re the host and everybody’s expecting us to do well,” said AdU coach Leo Austria, whose wards also picked up their first win in the opening weekend since 2010.
Joseph Marata, a transferee from La Salle, led the way for rookie-laden Maroons with 20 points.