S87 Boys' Basketball: NU cruises past La Salle, Adamson secures first win

Games Sunday
(FilOil EcoOil Centre)
8 a.m. – UPIS vs UE (Boys)
10 a.m. – Ateneo vs DLSZ (Boys)
12 noon – UST vs AdU (Boys)
2 p.m. – FEU-D vs NUNS (Boys)
4 p.m. – UST vs DLSZ (Girls)

NATIONAL University Nazareth School cruised to its second consecutive win in the UAAP Season 87 High School Boys' Basketball Tournament, overwhelming De La Salle Zobel, 91-69, on Thursday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.

Reigning MVP Collins Akowe delivered another dominant performance, tallying 21 points and 21 rebounds, alongside four assists and two blocks, to lead the Bullpups to a follow up to its 71-60 win over the UST Tiger Cubs last Sunday.

“Great win para sa amin, pero syempre hindi naman doon natatapos yung season. Tapos ang next game pa namin medyo challenge, FEU-D. Coming into this game, kunin natin itong first two games, para pagdating ng third game against FEU, maganda yung bwelo natin,” said Bullpups head coach Kevin de Castro.

De La Salle Zobel briefly threatened with a triple from Bonn Daja, cutting the deficit to 32-23 with under five minutes left in the second quarter.

However, Akowe powered an 18-7 Bullpups run to close the half with a commanding 50-30 advantage.

The Bullpups sealed the deal in the fourth quarter with back-to-back triples from Alnhumaeri Usop and a layup by Miguel Palanca, widening the gap to 76-47 with eight minutes remaining.

Ivler Napa, son of Bulldogs head coach Jeff Napa, contributed 13 points (10 in the first half) and one rebound.

Macmac Alfanta and Usop added 11 points each, while Palanca flirted with a double-double, finishing with eight points, nine rebounds, two assists, and one steal.

Jid Locsin, a recruit from Hua Siong of Iloilo, also impressed anew with six points, six rebounds, five assists, one steal, and one block.

Meanwhile, defending champion Adamson University bounced back with a clutch 75-66 win over University of the East, securing its first victory of the season.

The Baby Falcons leaned on the trio of Mark Esperanza, Earl Medina, and Zahir Sajili to stage a late-game rally, recovering from a narrow opening-day loss to Far Eastern University-Diliman.

“We’re relieved kasi we got our first win of the season. Just goes to show na yung team is erratic pa kasi the feeling is we’re still longing for a leader. Sa apat na nawala, tatlo doon yung leader ‘eh. This season naman, they’re trying their best to be the leaders of the team,” said Adamson head coach Mike Fermin.

After a layup by UE’s Ivorian center Jean Bana and two free throws from Kristoper Lagat cut Adamson's lead to 64-62, the Baby Falcons responded with an 11-0 run.

Sajili sparked the run with three quick points, followed by a triple from Esperanza, a pull-up jumper by Sajili, and a Medina three-pointer to push the lead to 75-62 with 1:29 left.

Adamson’s third-quarter surge proved pivotal, as they outscored UE 26-15 to erase a 28-32 halftime deficit and enter the final frame with a 54-47 advantage.

Six-foot-seven big man Allen Perez led the Baby Falcons with a career-high 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting, along with seven rebounds and one assist.

Medina contributed 17 points, six rebounds, five steals, two assists, and one block, while Esperanza added 15 points, six assists, three rebounds, and one steal.

Gabe de Jesus chipped in 12 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and one steal.

DLSZ, coming off a thrilling overtime win against UPIS last Sunday, and UE, which defeated Ateneo 88-80 in its opener, dropped to 1-1.

Davao-native Bonn Daja led the Junior Archers with 21 points, four rebounds, one assist, one steal, and one block while Kieffer Alas recorded a double-double with 17 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists, and two steals.

Bana tallied 16 points, eight rebounds, and two steals, while Lagat added 14 points and four rebounds.

Ethan Aguas and Edry Alejandro chipped in 10 and six points, respectively, with Alejandro grabbing eight boards.

The Ateneo-FEU Diliman and UST-UPIS games are still ongoing as of publishing time.

The Scores:

First Game (Boys):

NUNS (91) - Akowe 21, Napa 13, Alfanta 11, Usop 11, Palanca 8, Locsin 6, Cartel 6, Matias 5, Natinga 3, Lucido 3, Figueroa 2, Casala 2, Solomon 0, Nepacena 0, Bouzina 0.

DLSZ (69) - Daja 21, Alas 17, Mben 10, Favis 9, Arejola 5, Espinosa 2, Reguera 2, Atienza 2, Dabao 1, Borrero 0, Lopez 0, Gubat 0, Alpapara 0, Tailan 0.

Quarterscores: 20-13, 50-30, 68-44, 91-69.

Second Game (Boys):

AdU (75) - Perez 19, Medina 17, Esperanza 15, De Jesus 12, Sajili 5, Umali 5, Tumaneng 2, Abayon 0, Murillo 0, Peñafiel 0, Matilliano 0.

UE (66) - Bana 16, Lagat 14, Aguas 10, Alejandro 6, Timbol 6, Diaz 5, Lorenzo 3, Bual 2, Almanza 2, Sabroso 2, Roquid 0, Dahino 0, Chua 0.

Quarterscores: 14-16, 28-32, 54-47, 75-66.

(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team