NU 72 vs. UP 59There was payback on the NU Bulldogs' minds. And the sports scribes seemed to agree that the UP Maroons won't be surprising anyone on Thursday, August 7. Both teams were coming off huge wins. Aboy Castro's boys ambushed Adamson while NU retained its giant-killer tag by downing FEU which was on an emotional high.
But the NU win was bigger and thus the perceived momentum.
If the Bulldogs had let Martin Reyes (21 points) and Paul Sorongon (hit two huge treys) run free in their first encounter of the season for a 86-72 win, NU Coach Manny Dandan looked at his team in the eye and laid down his cards, "This is for our season and our pride. Tapos na tayo kug matatalo pa. Pare, ayoko na maulit yung nangyari sa first round. Challenge every shot. Defend our house."
For NU to win, they need point guard Jay Jahnke and forward Edwin Asoro to get their game
going. Jahnke is Dandan's extension on the court constantly pulling teammates close and giving them encouragement and reminding them of plays. Of late, he's been frustrated. When his teammates fumbled a pass or committed a turnover, Jahnke would flash a displeasing and impatient look. Losing does strange things even to the best of them. Taken aside by team management, he's been urged to curb his emotions and take the team to the next level. Since then, they've won two straight.
"Busugin natin yung bigs natin," barked Dandan. And the guards complied by feeding Asoro and Jewel Ponferrada (8 points, 11 rebounds, 1 steal, and 2 blocks). At one point in the third quarter stretch Asoro took a lead pass on the break and from eight feet out skied for a finger roll and a deuce.
It was that kind of game for the former Mythical Selection member. When Asoro's on, he is rather difficult to stop because he can post his man up or beat him off the dribble. And when he's feeling it, he'll pop a three. As much as the staff would like him to play inside more, they realize the value of Asoro's shooting game. "It opens up the game for everybody," explained Assistant Coach Jeff Napa.
But this time around, Asoro took three shots from beyond the arc -- none of them which went in -- and decided to take it inside. He scored on 8-14 inside and added three points from the freethrow line as he backed up Jahnke's 21 points with 18 of his own. He pulled down 9 boards, dished off for 4 assists, picked 3 pockets, and rejected a Maroon's infatuation with the hoop once.
For NU to win, they need point guard Jay Jahnke and forward Edwin Asoro to get their game
going. Jahnke is Dandan's extension on the court constantly pulling teammates close and giving them encouragement and reminding them of plays. Of late, he's been frustrated. When his teammates fumbled a pass or committed a turnover, Jahnke would flash a displeasing and impatient look. Losing does strange things even to the best of them. Taken aside by team management, he's been urged to curb his emotions and take the team to the next level. Since then, they've won two straight."Busugin natin yung bigs natin," barked Dandan. And the guards complied by feeding Asoro and Jewel Ponferrada (8 points, 11 rebounds, 1 steal, and 2 blocks). At one point in the third quarter stretch Asoro took a lead pass on the break and from eight feet out skied for a finger roll and a deuce.
It was that kind of game for the former Mythical Selection member. When Asoro's on, he is rather difficult to stop because he can post his man up or beat him off the dribble. And when he's feeling it, he'll pop a three. As much as the staff would like him to play inside more, they realize the value of Asoro's shooting game. "It opens up the game for everybody," explained Assistant Coach Jeff Napa.
But this time around, Asoro took three shots from beyond the arc -- none of them which went in -- and decided to take it inside. He scored on 8-14 inside and added three points from the freethrow line as he backed up Jahnke's 21 points with 18 of his own. He pulled down 9 boards, dished off for 4 assists, picked 3 pockets, and rejected a Maroon's infatuation with the hoop once.Although four of UP's players scored in double figures (Woody Co 14, Sorongon 13, Jay Agbayani 11, and Reyes 10), the points were scattered and meaningless as the fight was taken out of the Maroons after the halftime break. In their first round match, NU made an early 3rd quarter run before UP shot them out of the court. This time, NU held and blitzed UP with 11 fastbreak points (the Diliman squad had zero).
The game ended with NU scoring 72 points once more but this time around, it was on the winning end as they held UP to 59 points.
The team was in smiles inside their locker room. The team's young forward-center Bonjovi Manito, who they've nicknamed "Cafgu" (he used to play a lot of hoops with the local CAFGUs in his native Samar) is grinning from ear to ear. He made a two-minute cameo appearance and scored a point. He knows he'll get his playing time but for now, he's happy the team is finaly winning. "Sana tuloy tuloy na," he said.
Just then team management announced that their dinner was at Highlands Steakhouse at the Mall of Asia and a loud cheer went up. "This is a good high," exhaled Dandan as he sat on a chair, his first relaxed state in three hours. He lit a cigarette and lost himself in his thoughts.
Just then team management announced that their dinner was at Highlands Steakhouse at the Mall of Asia and a loud cheer went up. "This is a good high," exhaled Dandan as he sat on a chair, his first relaxed state in three hours. He lit a cigarette and lost himself in his thoughts.
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