At A Glance
- Omar John, Jake Figueroa and PJ Palacielo all stepped up as National University dumped University of the East, 68-49, for its third straight win in the first round of the UAAP Season 85 men's basketball tournament on Wednesday, Oct. 18, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Omar John, Jake Figueroa and PJ Palacielo all stepped up as National University dumped University of the East, 68-49, for its third straight win in the first round of the UAAP Season 85 men’s basketball tournament on Wednesday, Oct. 18, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
The Bulldogs bucked a slow opening quarter and dominated the Red Warriors the rest of the way to climb 5-1 in the standings.
John and Figueroa led the way for NU with a twin double-double performance of 12 points and 10 rebounds each, while Palacielo also tallied 12 markers.

From being down 21-29 in the second quarter, the Bulldogs went on a huge 11-0 surge and even held the Red Warriors to a four-point production before the second half ensued.
UE went blank for about seven minutes before Sawat launched a triple with 3:38 to go in the third quarter and trimmed the deficit to 28-41.
Steve Nash Enriquez then continued the onslaught with a three-pointer to give NU the biggest gap of the match, 68-57, with half a minute in regulation.
“Di kami pwedeng mag-relax. We must shift our focus against Adamson, players and coach Nash (Racela), a very disciplined coach rin eh. We have to be ready for today’s game at least 40% satisfied sa performance. First quarter we gave up 21 points right away, we were sending a wrong message sa mga kalaban namin. Iyong lang in-address ko,” said NU head coach Jeff Napa said.
Precious Momowei was the lone bright spot for the Red Warriors with only eight points and 12 rebounds as they absorbed their third straight loss for a 2-4 slate.