Bulldogs clip hapless Eagles to snap losing streak

MANILA, Philippines — The National University Bulldogs weathered a late 3-point barrage and held on against the Ateneo Blue Eagles, 78-68, to get back on the win column of the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball tournament Saturday evening at the Mall of Asia Arena.

NU finally broke a four-game losing streak to go up to 2-5 heading into the second round of the tournament.

Kenshin Padrones had the best outing of his young career thus far, finishing with 18 points and six rebounds. Jake Figueroa added 15 markers, seven boards and four dimes.

With the Blue Eagles trailing by as much as 14 points, Ateneo’s Andrew Bongo started to heat up from deep in the final frame. He hit multiple 3-pointers to cut the lead to seven, 59-52, with 8:02 remaining.

A Figueroa layup halted the run, but an and-one play by Shawn Tuano kept the Blue Eagles within striking distance.

Padrones then answered with a deuce, but Kyle Gamber answered with a 3-pointer on the other end to cut it to five, 58-63, with 6:16 left.

However, this was the closest Ateneo got to, as Padrones, Figueroa and Steve Nash Enriquez teamed up to unleash an 8-0 run to help put NU up by double digits anew, 71-58, with 2:53 to go.

Jared Bahay towed the Blue Eagles to within eight, 74-66, after a personal 8-3 burst, but a Jolo Manansala floater kept the Katipunan-based squad at bay with 1:07 remaining.

A Sean Quitevis putback with less than a minute remaining cut the lead to eight, but it was Ateneo’s last field goal.

With the game too close to call in the first two quarters, NU started to pull away in the third quarter after huge shots from Enriquez, Figueroa and Reinhard Jumamoy.

Ateneo, though, did not go down without a fight as they punched in seven of their 10 3-pointers in the second half.

Enriquez finished with nine points and two assists for the Bulldogs, while Manansala had eight.

Bongo finished with 17 points and four rebounds on 6-of-12 shooting, including 5-of-10 from 3-point area.

Bahay added 15 markers and four boards but shot 5-of-16 from the field.

The Blue Eagles’ loss put them at a 1-6 win-loss record heading to the final seven games of the season, the worst start in the Tab Baldwin era.