by Anne Suarez
NU Bulldogs finally notched their first win at the expense of the previously undefeated UST growling tigers, 55-54, last Saturday at the MOA Arena.
Alfred Aroga, the Bulldogs’ six-foot-eight Cameroonian Center, tallied 19 points and 12 rebounds – including the go-ahead jumper with 14 seconds left – to help the Bulldogs get their 1st win in Season 78 of the UAAP.
UST was once again lead by their top 3 players – Ferrer, Abdul, and Daquioag – who combined to score 34 of the Growling Tigers’ 54 points. However, Karim Abdul’s desperation heave at the buzzer came up far short of the basket. Daquioag, who scores an average of 23 points from his previous games, dropped down to a quite low, 9 points.
UST still had a chance to snatch the lead back after Aroga’s jumper. With 12 seconds left and ball possesion on their hands, Kevin Ferrer had a chance at the basket. But just as how it was for the whole game, Aroga made his presence felt and forced Ferrer to a turn the ball over and immediately fouling NU’s Gelo Alolino.
There was a bit of a confusion in the ensuing NU possesion wherein UST’s Kevin Ferrer was trying to foul NU’s Kyle Neypes off the ball. However, the officials didn’t seem informed of the Tigers’ move, hence allowing the Bulldogs to burn precious seconds off the clock before the Tigers were finally able to foul the ball handler. But the Tigers seemed to have yet another chance as Alolino’s free throws both clanged off the rim. However, they were unable to secure the rebound, allowing Aroga to tip the ball and melt the remaining seconds off the clock to seal their win.
After the Bulldogs widened their lead to 41-33 in the 3rd quarter, UST established a strong 15-0 run sparked by Kevin Ferrer’s back to back three pointers. It allowed the Tigers to get the lead by the end of the quarter, 43-41, and extended their lead to 48-41 early in the fourth quarter. But NU, which went scoreless for the first 5 minutes, sparked a 12-4 run fronted by an inside basket by Aroga and got the lead back 53-52 with a minute left in the game.
UST got the lead back off Karim Abdul’s swipe of Gelo Alolino which led to Ed Daquioag’s fast break lay-up, pushing the score to 54-53. The next possession, NU was bailed out by Alfred Aroga’s go-ahead jumper, which led to the end game frenzy.
SCORES:
NU (55): Aroga 19, Alejandro 9, Abatayo 8, Diputado 7, Neypes 6, Alolino 2, Javelona 2, Salim 2, Celda 0, Javillonar 0, Lastimosa 0, Tansingco 0.
UST (54): Ferrer 14, Abdul 11, Daquioag 9, Lao 8, Lee 6, Bonleon 3, Vigil 3, Faundo 0, Huang 0, Sheriff 0, Subido 0.
Quarterscores: 17-17, 33-26, 41-43, 55-54. The Millennial Post
UST was once again lead by their top 3 players – Ferrer, Abdul, and Daquioag – who combined to score 34 of the Growling Tigers’ 54 points. However, Karim Abdul’s desperation heave at the buzzer came up far short of the basket. Daquioag, who scores an average of 23 points from his previous games, dropped down to a quite low, 9 points.
UST still had a chance to snatch the lead back after Aroga’s jumper. With 12 seconds left and ball possesion on their hands, Kevin Ferrer had a chance at the basket. But just as how it was for the whole game, Aroga made his presence felt and forced Ferrer to a turn the ball over and immediately fouling NU’s Gelo Alolino.
There was a bit of a confusion in the ensuing NU possesion wherein UST’s Kevin Ferrer was trying to foul NU’s Kyle Neypes off the ball. However, the officials didn’t seem informed of the Tigers’ move, hence allowing the Bulldogs to burn precious seconds off the clock before the Tigers were finally able to foul the ball handler. But the Tigers seemed to have yet another chance as Alolino’s free throws both clanged off the rim. However, they were unable to secure the rebound, allowing Aroga to tip the ball and melt the remaining seconds off the clock to seal their win.
After the Bulldogs widened their lead to 41-33 in the 3rd quarter, UST established a strong 15-0 run sparked by Kevin Ferrer’s back to back three pointers. It allowed the Tigers to get the lead by the end of the quarter, 43-41, and extended their lead to 48-41 early in the fourth quarter. But NU, which went scoreless for the first 5 minutes, sparked a 12-4 run fronted by an inside basket by Aroga and got the lead back 53-52 with a minute left in the game.
UST got the lead back off Karim Abdul’s swipe of Gelo Alolino which led to Ed Daquioag’s fast break lay-up, pushing the score to 54-53. The next possession, NU was bailed out by Alfred Aroga’s go-ahead jumper, which led to the end game frenzy.
SCORES:
NU (55): Aroga 19, Alejandro 9, Abatayo 8, Diputado 7, Neypes 6, Alolino 2, Javelona 2, Salim 2, Celda 0, Javillonar 0, Lastimosa 0, Tansingco 0.
UST (54): Ferrer 14, Abdul 11, Daquioag 9, Lao 8, Lee 6, Bonleon 3, Vigil 3, Faundo 0, Huang 0, Sheriff 0, Subido 0.
Quarterscores: 17-17, 33-26, 41-43, 55-54. The Millennial Post