By NIKOLE JAVIER
De La Salle breathed life to its Final Four bid after beating National University, 63-58, in the second round of the UAAP Season 85 men’s basketball tournament Wednesday, Nov. 23, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Penny Estacio showed the way after tallying the 13 points of the Green Archers’ 16 in the third quarter, outscoring the whole Bulldogs side to improve 6-6 in the standings and keep their semifinal campaign alive with two remaining games.
Evan Nelle added 10 markers on a decent 4-of-8 shooting clip including two huge triples in the contest.
The Green Archers, who couldn’t completely keep the Bulldogs out of sight in the first half, managed to turn the tide in their favor with Estacio unwrapping the third period with a three-pointer.
Up by seven points in the fourth frame, La Salle hang on to its advantage with Evan Nelle knocking back-to-back triples before Mike Phillips drilled a layup to snatch their biggest lead of the match of 12 and make it 60-48.
John Lloyd Clemente and Jolo Manasala’s two consecutive layups then cut down NU’s deficit by eight before Kevin Quiambao went for a dunk with 1:25 to go which gave La Salle another double-digit advantage.
On the other hand, John Figueroa, who came to his senses a little too late for the Bulldogs, drilled in two more baskets as the Archers came away with the win in the final buzzer.
“We know that NU is the second hottest team in the league right now, number two. keep pounding and digging out there to come out with the victory. Penny had a big third quarter to give us the lift that we needed. It was a next man up ,” said La Salle head coach Derrick Pumaren.
For NU’s side, Figueroa finished with 19 points apart from six rebounds while Clemente had 15 in the losing effort as it absorbed a 9-4 record.
The Scores:
LA SALLE 63 -- Estacio 13, Nelle 10, M. Phillips 9, Nonoy 7, Cortez 7, Quiambao 6, Abadam 4, Austria 2, B. Phillips 2, Nwankwo 2, Macalalag 1, Winston 0.
NU 58 -- Figueroa 19, Clemente 15, Manansala 5, John 4, Enriquez 4, Baclaan 4, Palacielo 2, Mahinay 2, Padrones 2, Minerva 1, Malonzo 0, Yu 0, Galinato 0, Tibayan 0, Tulabut 0.
Quarters: 14-14, 32-28, 48-37, 63-58.