The pesky UE Red Warriors limited the defending champion NU Bulldogs to just 19 points in the second half and 28 percent shooting from the field for the entire game to take a 52-47 win at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Chris Javier towed the Red Warriors to their third win in eight contests so far in UAAP Season 78 to force a tie with the Bulldogs at 3-5 in the standings.
Javier finished the game with 16 points, 14 coming in the second half alone, and nine rebounds. Of UE’s last 24 points, 14 came from Javier, and he also won his match-up against Alfred Aroga, NU’s star center, who finished with 11 points and nine rebounds.
Paul Varilla and Nick Abanto also stepped up for UE, scoring 10 and seven points, respectively, while both also grabbed nine rebounds apiece.
Aroga was the only Bulldog to score in double figures but Kyle Neypes came close, finishing with nine points off the bench. Rev Diputado also added eight points in a reserve role while starting guard Gelo Alolino was limited to just three-for-12 shooting en route to a disappointing six point performance.
The Bulldogs led by as much as 10 at one point–26-16 with 1:46 left in the second quarter after a putback by Mohammad Salim–but slowly lost momentum from then on. NU entered halftime with a seven point lead, but by the end of the third quarter, they trailed UE by a point.
UE’s defense limited NU to just eight points in the third quarter, the second consecutive game that the Bulldogs struggled after the halftime break. In their previous outing, NU lost to the FEU Tamaraws by just two points after scoring just six points in the third quarter.
The Red Warriors stayed in command and did not relinquish the lead in the final quarter, slowly pulling away behind the timely baskets of Javier.
UE dominated NU across most categories–collecting more rebounds (54-43), handing out more assists (12-6), recording more steals (11-7), and slightly turning the ball over less (28-26).
The scores:
UE 52: Javier 16, Varilla P. 10, Abanto 7, Charcos 4, Palma 4, de Leon 4, Batiller 3, Varilla J. 2, Gagate 2, Manalang 0, Derige 0, Yu 0, Sta Ana 0, Penuela 0
NU 47: Aroga 11, Neypes 9, Diputado 8, Alolino 6, Salim 4, Celda 4, Alejandro 3, Tansingco 2, Javelona 0, Abatayo 0, Javillonar 0, Yu 0
Quarter scores: 8-12, 21-28, 37-36, 52-47
File photo by Martin San Diego
