Cellar-dweller National University stunned early semifinalist University of the Philippines, 67-47, in UAAP Season 87 men's basketball tournament at the University of Santo Tomas Quadricentennial Pavilion on Sunday, Nov. 3.

The morale-boosting victory not only snapped the Bulldogs' three-game losing spell, but also bolstered their flickering Final Four hopes alive with their improved 3-8 win-loss record, two games behind fourth-running UST Tigers (5-6).

It also denied UP from clinching a twice-to-beat semis advantage in this game, while also avenging its 89-62 loss to the Maroons in the first round.

“Finally nakuha namin yung panalo namin sa second round. Finally at least sa araw ng patay, nabuhay lahat ng mga player ko kahit papaano they deloivered kung ano yung kailangan naming gawin then they really enjoyed kung ano yung ginagawa namin talaga,” said Bulldogs head coach Jeff Napa.

NU rolled to a 24-8 advantage at the end of the first quarter as Lenard Santiago and Patrick Yu stepped up off the bench while UP could not make any shot, going 3-of-15 from the field and 1-of-6 from the free throw line.

While fighting back from slow starts have almost become a trademark for the Fighting Maroons, the Bulldogs made sure to not deal with it this game, controlling the pace of the match to hold UP to just 47 points - its lowest output since Season 79 in a 51-49 loss to Far Eastern University on September 25, 2016.

Yu finally connected with five triples to finish with 17 points while Jake Figueroa got 11 points, six rebounds, and four assists.

PJ Palacielo contributed nine points while Lenard Santiago made eight points while being a game-high plus-20 in his 17 minutes and 23 seconds on the floor.

Aldous Torculas was the lone player in double figures with 13 points for the Fighting Maroons, who slid down to 9-2, seeing their three-game winning streak snapped.

JD Cagulangan struggled heavily, going just 3-of-13 from the field for eight points while also committing nine turnovers. The Fighting Maroons as a whole shot just 26.2 percent from the field, making just 17 of their 65 attempts.

Earlier, Far Eastern University set the tone with a strong first quarter to down University of the East, 59-51, and boost its Final Four chances.

The victory improved the Tamaraws’ record to 4-7 for joint fifth with the Adamson Soaring Falcons. They are now 3-1 in the second round with their lone loss coming against UST, where Veejay Pre dropped a career-high 31 points.

“Pagkatapos nga ng first round sabi ni coach Sean mag-iiba kami sa second round, na mas magiging hungry kami sa wins. Proud na proud ako sa team namin kasi sa practice pa lang work hard na talaga kami and disciplined,” said Pre, who delivered 20 points and eight rebounds.

Bautista produced 12 points and four assists, while Royce Alforque got nine points and eight rebounds. Janrey Pasaol also came through with seven points, four rebounds, and four assists.

The Warriors dropped their second straight game, falling to 6-5 but still at third. UE’s loss also gave De La Salle (10-1) the first twice-to-beat advantage in the Final Four.

Momowei played the entire game and dropped 18 points and 21 rebounds despite the loss. Maga also had 12 points and 11 rebounds.

John Abate was held to seven points on 3-of-10 shooting from the field while Wello Lingolingo only made two of his 10 attempts for just five points.