Photo by Mario T. Dagdag

THE NATIONAL University (NU) Bulldogs made a lot of noise by bagging consecutive wins in the preseason. When the Bulldogs swept all opposing teams in Group B of this year’s FilOil Flying V Preseason Hanes Cup, skeptics questioned how NU would fare against one of the heavyweights from Group A. Needless to say, the outcome took skeptics off guard.

With a jaw-dropping 85-68 victory over the Ateneo Blue Eagles in the semi-finals round held at the Flying V Arena, NU has made a tenacious statement—beware of the Bulldogs in UAAP Season 75. This team is definitely a legitimate title contender and is nothing but deadly.

Bobby Ray Parks lit up the stats sheets with 30 points in 31 minutes of play. Incredibly, Parks was 77% (10 of 13) from the field, 50% (2 of 4) from 3pt land and 67% (4 of 6) from the free throw line. Aside from scoring off strong drives to the hoop, Parks faked his defenders and popped up to bury ridiculous 18-foot jumpers.

Meanwhile, Bulldogs Jeoff Javillonar, Denice Villamor and Emmanuel Mbe notched 13, 12 and 10 points respectively as the Bulldogs chained the defending champs to the ground with a suffocating defense.

Two minutes into the first quarter, the Blue Eagles were up 10-7 when the Bulldogs came alive for a 14-4 run that bolted NU ahead, 21-14, with 3:39 left. NU made consecutive three-pointers and Parks scored at will. After the first quarter of play, NU was up 25-16.

The momentum in the second quarter remained in favor of the Bulldogs. Greg Slaughter and Nico Salva aided the Blue Eagles who attempted to keep things close in the second quarter, but NU just could not miss. Slaughter and Salva led the team with 21 and 14 points respectively, but Ateneo was unable to get out on a run of their own.

While Parks tallied 17 points in the first half, his fellow starters and even his teammates were off the bench. Kyle Neypes and Robin Roño came off the bench and nailed contested jumpers while Villamar scored seven points that helped the Bulldogs remain ahead, 47-35, at halftime.

Ateneo kept composure and sought to wear down the 12-point lead, but Parks and the NU defense hurt the defending champs badly. Kiefer Ravena, who was limited to 8 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, was pestered by the defense of the NU guards, causing him to turn the ball over. Soon enough, NU’s lead ballooned to 17 points at the end of the third quarter, 68-51.

Whenever a Blue Eagle would score, a Bulldog would answer with a three or a deuce. When Ateneo rotated the ball on offense, NU’s defense forced one-on-one plays.

The closest the Loyola squad ever got to NU was 13 points after Salva scored off the glass and Juami Tiongson buried a three and stole the inbound pass for the easy layup to peg the score at 77-64 with 4:06 remaining.

In the end, Parks and Mbe closed out the game for the Bulldogs to secure the win, 85-68. The duo has put up solid numbers throughout the FilOil tournament for this year’s UAAP school host.

“NU has been performing really great this preseason,” said Ateneo head coach Norman Black. “Their offense is very fluid.” Black pointed out that the Bulldogs had played great defense in previous years, but what is different is that scoring is significantly dispersed among the players.

“It’s our 6th game in 8 days,” shared the coach with the most wins in Ateneo sports history. “We’ve been playing consecutive games so I can’t really push the boys too hard yet.” Black’s postgame demeanor showed that he was not too worried about the loss, but hopeful that the Blue Eagles will gladly pay back NU the favor come Season 75 this July.

“[Parks] was amazing today,” said Slaughter. “We just have to keep working hard. There is nothing guaranteed for the five-peat.”

Studying the numbers reveal that NU’s high shooting percentage gave them the definitive boost to win. Meanwhile, the two teams were not too far off in other aspects. In the rebounds department, NU outrebounded Ateneo 37-33. NU had 18 assists while Ateneo had 14 and NU had 15 turnovers while Ateneo had 18.

Whether or not the Blue Eagles are yet to reach form or peak for the UAAP season, the NU Bulldogs have shown that they’ve been busy this summer. They are clearly not a team to be underestimated.

Ateneo will play against San Beda for third on Tuesday, June 12, 2:00 PM at the FilOil Flying V Arena.

NU advances to the finals to face the De La Salle Green Archers who defeated the favored San Beda Red Lions in a 50-46 nail-biter. The finals will be at 4:00 PM.

Quarter Scores: 25-16, 47-35, 68-51, 85-68.

Box Scores:

NU = 85: Parks – 30, Javillonar – 13, Villamor – 12, Mbe – 10, Neypes – 7, Alolino – 5, De Guzman – 3, Roño – 3, Ignacio – 2, Betayene – 0, Labing-isa – 0, Singh – 0.

ADMU = 68: Slaughter – 21, Salva – 14, Ravena – 8, Tiongson – 8, Sumalinog -6, Gonzaga – 5, Elorde – 2, Buenafe – 2, Chua – 2, Golla – 0, Pessumal – 0, Erram – 0, Capacio – 0, Porter – 0, Lim – 0, Cipriano – 0.

Percentages:

NU – 61% FG (33 out of 65); 37% 3pt (10 out of 27); 69% FT (12 out of 25)

ADMU – 41% FG (24 out of 59); 38% 3pt (3 out of 8); 74% FT (17 out of 23)