The NU Bulldogs remain as the no. 1 team in the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball standings after fighting off La Salle in the second round.
The NU Bulldogs eked out a cardiac finish against the DLSU Green Archers, snapping the latter’s four-game win streak, 75-67, in their second round encounter in UAAP Season 88 at the Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday.
NU, who led by as many as 10 in the fourth quarter, parried a comeback try from La Salle thanks to timely offensive makes.
Steve Nash Enriquez drilled a triple – his fourth of the match out of as many attempts – to push NU’s lead to eight, 72-64, with 2:07 ticks left in the game.
The Bulldogs then executed on the other end with a steal from Jake Figueroa that stymied La Salle’s efforts even more. It didn’t help that the Green Archers were missing their free throws when it mattered the most.
In a match that also saw La Salle’s Vhoris Marasigan tossed for a disqualifying foul in the second quarter, Mark Parks made one of the most important baskets of the match with 46.9 ticks remaining to give NU the seven-point lead, 74-67.
Earlier, Paul Francisco also made clutch baskets for NU before fouling out at the 3:20 minute mark.
In the midst of La Salle’s 8-2 run after a 61-51 lead from NU, Francisco converted on a four-point play to stop the bleeding, 67-59, midway through the fourth.
NU thus improves to 8-2, winning five of their last six games to pace the standings. La Salle dropped to 6-4 with the loss.
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Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.