NBA superstar Stephen Curry
leads the oath of sportsmanship during the opening of Season 81 of the UAAP at the MOA Arena in Pasay City yesterday. Joining the Vivo and Under Armour ambassador are UAAP Board of Managing Directors president Nilo Ocampo and host National University president RJ Ermita.
Host National U spoiled Aldin Ayo’s debut for Santo Tomas with a 75-70 verdict last night in the opener of the UAAP Season 81 men’s basketball tourney at the MOA Arena.
Rookie Dave Ildefonso dished out a stellar maiden outing with 19 points, seven rebounds and three assists to lead a balanced NU attack that also saw his brother Shaun (10 markers, 11 boards) and Issa Gaye (eight blocks, six points) delivering the goods in the moraleboosting kick off win.
The Bulldogs extricated from a close 33-28 contest with a searing third-quarter performance, outscoring the Tigers, 21-9, to seize a 17-point tear entering the final canto.
It wasn’t easy sailing all the way to the finish, though, as the resilient Tigers mounted a furious rally and clawed back to within four, 68-72, on Steve Akomo’s putback with 1:34 left. John Lloyd Clemente restored a 74-68 cushion with 20 seconds left and the Bulldogs held off UST’s late charge to complete the job.
“We played really good in the third quarter but all of a sudden, we were not playing selfless basketball anymore in the fourth. It goes to show we’re really a young team and we need to mature really fast. But still, a win is a win,” said NU mentor Jamike Jarin, who personally scored a breakthrough victory over former La Salle coach Ayo in their headto-head coaching duel in the UAAP.
Freshman CJ Cansino led the way with 20 markers and 10 caroms for a UST side that’s hoping to improve from a 1-13 season with Ayo now at the helm. Returnee Renzo Subido added 15 on a 5-of-24 clip and Akomo had 12-14.
Earlier, souped-up University of the Philippines got off to a hot start and scored the most lopsided opening game win in four years via an 87-58 rout of University of the East.
From a 33-33 standoff after 20 minutes, the Fighting Maroons shifted to high gear after the intermission to sway the game to their side and clear the way for the 29-point triumph, the most since UE handed UP’s 2014 batch an 87-59 beating
“It took us two quarters to figure out (UE) and we had a hard time with their zone in the second quarter. It’s probably first game jitters but we just had to remind ourselves that we know what to do whether it’s man or zone defense against us,” said UP coach Bo Perasol, whose wards threatened to blow UE away as early as the second when they took a 28-17 tear but conceded 14 straight points to allow the Warriors to wrest the upperhand.
Juan Gomez de Linao and Bright Akhuetie presided over a searing third quarter assault that catapulted UP to a 13-point margin then Jun Manzo picked it up in the fourth to add more separation.
Gomez de Liano finished with 16, delivering half of his output in the third, while high-profile transferee Akhuetie debuted with 15 markers, 18 rebounds and three blocks, and Manzo, who had 10 in the fourth, tallied 13. Paul Desiderio finished with 12 despite a 5-of-18 shooting as Javi Gomez de Liano chipped in 10.
“This is just the start. Hope we could capitalize on this momentum,” said Perasol.
The Scores First Game UP 87 – Ju. Gomez de Liano 16, Akhuetie 15, Manzo 13, Desiderio 12, Ja. Gomez de Liano 10, Vito 7, Murrell 6, Gozum 2, Lim 2, Prado 2, Tungcab 2, Dario 0, Espanola 0, Jaboneta 0, Longa 0, Spencer 0.
UE 58 – Pasaol 14, Antiporda 9, Beltran 8, Manalang 6, Varilla 6, Bartolome 4, Maloles 4, Cullar 3, Acuno 2, Conner 2, Gallardo 0, Lacap 0. Quarterscores: 18-13, 33-33, 58-45, 87-58. Second Game NU 75 – D. Ildefonso 19, S. Ildefonso 10, Joson 8, Clemente 6, Gaye 6, Rike 6, Aquino 4, Galinato 4, Sinclair 4, Gallego 3, Yu 3, Diputado 2, Morido 0.
UST 70 – Cansino 20, Subido 15, Akomo 12, Caunan 6, Lee 6, Zamora 5, Huang 4, Battaler 2, Bonleon 0, Marcos 0, Consejo 0.
Quarterscores: 14-14, 33-28, 54-37, 75-70.