Bullpups rally to win in OT over Eaglets in Game 1

By Anton Roxas Posted Oct 7th 2013

With two minutes and 54 seconds remaining in the fourth, Ateneo de Manila University had pushed National University on the edge of a cliff as a free throw by Jaime Escaler gave the Blue Eaglets a commanding 86-75 lead.

But, the undefeated Bullpups remained steady despite the pressure of losing their first game of the tournament.

From that point, NU went on a blazing 11-0 run to force overtime and in the extra session, it seems like the Ateneo just ran out of steam, getting outscored, 15-7.

NU completed yet another come from behind win against Ateneo, winning 101-93 in Game 1 of the UAAP Season 76 Juniors basketball Finals on Monday, October 7, 2013 at the Arena in San Juan City. The Bullpups moved to within a win away from clinching their second championship in three years.

Graduating point guard Hubert Cani topscored for NU with 24 points to go along with his 6 rebounds and 8 assists. Manuel Mosqueda came off the bench and erupted with a season-high 22 points.

Mythical Five members JP Cauilan and Mark Dyke combined for 31 points and 32 rebounds while Enzo Battad contributed 13 points.

In the first half, the big story was the exceptional shooting exhibition put on display by Aaron Black. The son of former Ateneo Blue Eagles mentor Norman Black, knocked down his first five jumpers and finished the first half with 24 points on 12 of 14 shooting from the field. However, Black would only tally six points in the second half to finish with a career-high 30 points in a losing effort.

League MVP Thirdy Ravena unleashed a triple-double in his first Finals appearance, tallying 14 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists.

Ateneo led for majority of the game with NU only managing to overtake them at the 3:47 mark in overtime courtesy of a Cauilan basket. Prior to that, the Bullpups last led at the 7:58 mark of the first quarter with the score still at 5-4.

Game 2 is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, October 9, 2013 at the Arena in San Juan City.

Box scores:

NU 101 – Cani 24, Mosqueda 22, Cauilan 17, Dyke 16, Battad 13, Go 4, Grealy 3, Castillo 2, Manalang 0, Lopena 0, Lapiz 0

ADMU 93 – Black 30, Nieto Ma. 18, Ravena 14, Nieto Mi. 11, Mendoza 10, Escaler 8, Jose 2, Ramos 0, Magpoc 0, Calilung 0.

Quarter scoring: 21-25, 37-45, 57-66, 86-86, 101-93 OT.