Bulldogs stop Tigers as Teng leaves game with injury

National University used its reinvigorated defensive stance as its main weapon to put one over University of Santo Tomas Wednesday night.

Their suffocating defense in full display all game long, the Bulldogs hung tough to a 71-67 win over the erstwhile unbeaten Growling Tigers to forge a four-team logjam at second spot in the UAAP Season 76 men’s cage championships at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.

Reeling from a 67-71 loss against University of the East last Saturday, NU mainly leaned on its stingy defense, notably in the fourth canto where UST sank only two field goals from the field and missed seven free throws, en route to its second win in three starts.

The Bulldogs’ victory created a four-way tie at second with identical 2-1 record alongside the Growling Tigers, idle De La Salle Green Archers and host Adamson Falcons behind streaking Far Eastern University, still unscathed after three outings.

Reigning two-time league MVP Ray Parks finished with 20 points, nine coming in the third, while Cameroon import Sean Mbe collected a double-double of 17 markers and 11 rebounds for the Bulldogs.

Undeniably, it was NU’s unforgiving defensive pressure that threw off UST, with the Tigers shooting a nightmarish 17-of-61 (27.9 percent) from the field.

Making matters worse for the Tigers, ace gunner Jeric Teng sustained a right shoulder injury off a strong shove from Bulldogs forward Geoff Javillonar late in the second quarter, falling down hard to the floor and eventually sitting out the entire second half.

With the 6-foot-2 Teng sidelined, Kevin Ferrer tried to fill the shoes with a team-high 20 points, 14 of them in the final 20 minutes, but teammates Karim Abdul, Clark Bautista and Aljohn Mariano struggled, combining for just 22 markers on an atrocious 5-of-24 shooting.
 
The Main Man: Virtually shut down the last time out, Parks recovered his fiery form and came up big in the third, racking up nine points while giving the Bulldogs a 54-42 cushion.

Despite getting his fourth foul with more than eight minutes left, Parks was still able to finish the game, even making a quick fall-away jumper from the baseline while trying to contain Ferrer and his Tigers counterparts.
 
Honorable Mention: Ranged against the 6-foot-6 Abdul, Mbe played true to his form.

Playing with more sense of urgency following the ineligibility of Cameroon native Alfred Aroga due to lack of residency, Mbe held his ground against Abdul and the Tigers, accounting for 11 rebounds, six of them off the offensive end.

Mbe also came up with a pair of huge baskets in the fourth, including an off-the-glass jumper and a strong lay-up–both against Abdul.
 
Game Turning Point: From a defense-oriented game, the Bulldogs pulled away behind Parks in the third, building as many as a 12-point lead while appearing to be heading for a cruise.

But the Tigers, with Ferrer giving his all, refused to just roll down and die, methodically inching their way back via the charity stripe.

Two made freebies by Ferrer pulled them within four but Troy Rosario, off a pre-emptive foul from Paolo Pe, restored NU’s lead at 70-64, time down to just 6.2 seconds.

An off-balanced triple by Ferrer kept UST’s slim hopes alive with 1.8 ticks to go but Robin Rono–sent to the 15-foot line by a Kim Lo foul–iced the game by making the first and deliberately missing the second as time expired.
 
He Said It:
NU coach Eric Altamirano: “Malaking bagay talaga ‘yung pagkawal ni Teng. We were actually preparing for him so we have to make some adjustments in the second half. We were able to hold our own and compete inside. We also limited them.”
 
The scores:
NU (71) – Parks 20, Mbe 17, Rosario 12, Alolino 8, Villamor 5, Javillonar 3, Rono 2, Porter 2, Khobuntin 2, De Guzman 0, Alejandro 0.

UST (67) – Ferrer 20, Daquioag 13, Bautista 9, Teng 7, Mariano 7, Abdul 6, Lo 3, Pe 2, So 0, Hainga 0.

Quarterscores: 22-15, 37-31, 54-44, 71-67.