Bobby Ray Parks Jr. of NU makes his move against Jet Manuel of UP. (Vyn Radovan/FCF)
Games Thursday (July 21, 2011)
Araneta Coliseum
1:00pm – Ateneo vs. National
3:00pm – Far Eastern vs. East
| FINAL | ||||||
 |
 |
|||||
| (1 – 1) | (1 – 1) | |||||
| 66 – 75 | ||||||
| QUARTER SCORING | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||
| STATE U | 15 | 28 | 10 | 13 | ||
| NATIONAL | 24 | 16 | 19 | 16 | ||
| STATISTICAL LEADERS | ||||||
| POINTS | UP | Manuel | 21 | |||
| NU | Parks | 30 | ||||
| REBOUNDS | UP | Mbah | 13 | |||
| NU | Parks | 9 | ||||
| ASSISTS | UP | Silungan | 6 | |||
| NU | Villamor | 4 | ||||
| KEY STATS | UP | NU | ||||
| FASTBREAK PTS. | 23 | 6 | ||||
| REBOUNDS (OFF) | 45 (17) | 42 (11) | ||||
| TO PTS | 12 | 15 | ||||
Rookie jitters no more.
Bobby Ray Parks may not have gotten a victory for the NU Bulldogs down the line in his debut game, but he made sure their next battle is a different story altogether.
Parks scored a UAAP career-high of 30 points to lead the Bulldogs in overcoming a UP squad that is riding high on momentum after breaking an 18-game losing streak, 75-66, at the Araneta Coliseum on Sunday.
“It’s really great that we got all the jitters out of the team and we played well today,” said the rookie. He made nine points from the outside, along with nine rebounds, three assists, and two steals, and only missed two out of thirteen charities.
Parks and the Bulldogs shocked the Maroons early on in the game by posting a 13 point lead, 14-1, but the boys from Diliman fought back, and were within three points with three minutes remaining in the first canto, 14-11.
Although the Maroons trailed behind by nine points at the end of the first quarter, 24-15, they outscored the Bulldogs in the second period, 16-28. Point guard Anjelo Montecastro and guard Jett Manuel propelled UP to take the lead, 30-34, under the five minute mark. NU’s Joseph Terso tied the game at 40 all with a minute left, but UP’s Mike Silungan capped off the first half with a shot from beyond the arc, giving the Maroons the upperhand, 40-43.
“[Going into the second half] I told them, let’s refocus, let’s remember what we did in the first half that gave us the advantage, and let’s do that again,” said NU head coach Eric Altamirano. This reminder surely got into the Bulldogs’ heads as they made nine points versus the Maroons’ three points at the onset of the third period, and never looked back. They outscored UP, 19-10, and were up by six points, 59-53, going into the final ten minutes.
The Bulldogs continued to dominate the game until the final buzzer sounded, to nail their first win of the season, 75-66. NU outdid UP in all departments save for rebounds and fastbreak points, where the Maroons posted 23 points versus the Bulldogs’ six points.
“We cannot allow any player to score 30 points against us again, unless we don’t want to win,” said UP head coach Ricky Dandan. Montecastro noted that they really wanted to win, but they were not able to stop Parks’ offense. “But we’ll definitely learn from this, work harder next time, and maintain a positive mindset just like what coach always says.”
Manuel, who scored the team high of 21 points for UP said “It feels bad [losing] but we’re not blaming anyone, we’re a team. We’ll do our roles and play together, and if we work hard, we know we have a chance of beating any team this season.”
Albeit Parks had a game that’s one for the books, Altamirano noted that “it’s not about Bobby Ray, but [rather], it’s about NU.” “The good thing is we were able to bounce back and redeem ourselves. NU is a young team, and it’s really important at this point for them to learn how to respond to challenges.”
The Bulldogs and the Maroons are both at 1-1, along with the Adamson Soaring Falcons and the Far Eastern University Tamaraws. NU will go up against defending champions the Ateneo Blue Eagles on Thursday, July 21, while the Maroons face off with the still winless De La Salle Green Archers on Saturday, July 23. (Kat Angco)
BOX SCORE
NATIONAL U (75): Parks 30, Mbe 10, Javillonar 9, Villamor 8, Khobuntin 7, Terso 5, Eman 2, Alolino 2, Magat 2, Neypes 0, Labing-isa 0, Celiz 0, Ignacio 0, Singh 0
STATE U (66): Manuel 21, Montecastro 12, Gamboa 9, Mbah 7, Gomez 6, Silungan 5, Romero 4, Wong 2, Wierzba 0, Maniego 0, Juruena 0, Gingerich 0
Quarters: 24-15, 40-43, 59-53, 75-66
