Jumamoy, Figueroa take charge as Bulldogs nip Blue Eagles

MANILA, Philippines -- Reinhard Jumamoy waxed hot and helped the NU Bulldogs deal defending champions Ateneo Blue Eagles their third straight loss in the UAAP Season 86 men’s basketball tournament, 65-61, Saturday evening at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

Jumamoy had a career-high 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting in 15 minutes of play as they swept Ateneo this season.

While the lefty hotshot top-scored for the Bulldogs, it was Jake Figueroa who took over in the clutch for NU.

With Ateneo leading by one, 61-60, off a layup by Sean Quitevis with 2:10 remaining, Figueroa hit a 3-pointer to give the Bulldogs a 63-61 lead with 1:40 left in the game.

Jared Brown then missed a 3-pointer that would have given Ateneo the lead.
With less than a minute remaining, NU turned the ball over as Joseph Obasa completed the steal.

Quitevis passed the ball to Chris Koon, then to Ian Espinosa, and back to Koon.

Koon drove to the basket and passed the ball to Kai Ballungay, but the play was broken by Patrick Yu and was completed by Figueroa.

A pair of free throws by the forward iced the game and set the final score.

NU went down by 11 points in the first half.

But Jumamoy made eight straight field goals that helped the Bulldogs take the lead.

The former UAAP juniors’ most valuable player finished with three assists, two rebounds and a game-high +21.

Figueroa followed suit with 18 points and seven rebounds for the Bulldogs, as they solidified their grip in the second spot with an 8-2 record.

Obasa had a near double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds for Ateneo.
Ballungay was the only other Eagle in double digits with 10 points.

Ateneo is now holding a 4-6 win-loss record and still yet to win a game in the second round of the eliminations.

The Blue Eagles are a whole game behind the Adamson Soaring Falcons (5-5) for the fourth spot.