Bulldogs dismember Warriors; Falcons win

Emmanuel Mbe and Bobby Ray Parks Jr. delivered the killer blows as National U nipped an undermanned but hard-fighting University of the East, 81-73, to gain a share of the lead in the UAAP Season 76 men’s basketball tourney at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Mbe and Parks, taking advantage of the absence of UE’s suspended center Charles Mammie, knocked in eight of their 18 markers in the payoff period to power the Bulldogs to their fifth straight victory.

The Bulldogs logged their eighth win in 11 outings overall and caught up with idle Far Eastern at the helm, a rare position for a school that used to linger in the bottom or near it.

“As I told the players, it’s hard to get a momentum. We just want to take advantage of this momentum because sometimes, you may lose one game and for all you know nag- slide ka na,” said NU coach Eric Altamirano.

“Overall, it’s not about being first but really improving every game and making sure we stay focused and we stay together,” he added.

Mbe struck hard in the paint and Parks, made all but two of his 10 freebies as the duo anchored NU’s breakaway. Mbe also had 11 rebounds and Parks had 10 boards with Mammie watched helplessly from the sidelines while serving the first of his twogame suspension, along with Casajeros.

The “wounded” Warriors made a fight for it though, keeping within striking distance before Mbe and Parks took over.

“You got to give it to UE. Without these two, they played their hearts out and kept it close. It’s a good thing we had our own run to pad our lead to a comfortable margin,” said Altamirano.

Robin Rono, Jelo Alolino and Maurice Porter took turns holding Roi Sumang to 10 points on 3-of-15 shooting. JM Noble topscored for UE (5-5) with 16 points while Ralf Olivares added 15 before getting five fouls.

In the first game, Adamson snapped a harrowing six-game skid with a 67-53 thumping of University of the Philippines.

Hulking Ingrid Sewa dominated with 18 points and 15 rebounds while Roider Cabrera (17 points), Jansen Rios (16) and Celedonio Trollano Jr. (11) made significant contributions as the struggling Falcons stopped the bleeding and improved to 4-8.

Notes: The double-header that was called off due to typhoon Maring and the floods last Aug. 21 – UE against UP at 2 p.m. and Ateneo versus Santo Tomas at 4 p.m. at the Mall of Asia Arena – will be played on Sept. 16 in the same venue, the UAAP announced yesterday. The scores: First Game

AdU 67 – Sewa 18, Cabrera 17, Rios 16, Trollano 11, Inigo 4, Monteclaro 1, Petilos 0, Ochea 0, Brondial 0, Agustin 0.

UP 53 – Soyud 17, Marata 8, Lao 8, Asilum 7, Desiderio 4, Ball 4, Wong 2, Pascual 2, Ligad 1, Suarez 0, Gingerich 0, Amar 0.

Quarterscores: 20-14, 35-24, 46-38, 67-53

Second Game

NU 81 – Parks 18, Mbe 18, Rono 12, Villamor 6, Rosario 6, Javillonar 6, Porter 4, Khobuntin 4, Alolino 3, Javelona 2, Alejandro 2

UE 73 – Noble 16, Olivares 15, Sumang 10, Javier 10, Jumao-as 8, Sumido 6, Santos 5, Olayon 2, Alberto 1, Pujante 0, Hernandez 0, Flores 0.

Quarterscores: 16-14, 41-31, 52-49, 81-73