MANILA – Negrense Mark Nonoy carried the scoring cudgels in the fourth as De La Salle University Green Archers escaped with a 59-55 win over National University Bulldogs in the UAAP Season 84 men’s basketball last night at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Down by just three in the early goings of the payoff period, Nonoy joined hands with Justine Baltazar for a mammoth 14-4 scoring run to take 56-49 lead with over three minutes left.
The Green Archers then put the clamps on the Bulldogs, holding them to just six points in the final 3:04 of the match.
“Things were not going right for us,” said Green Archers head coach Derrick Pumaren. “We lost our concentration. We made a lot of mistakes. But I think we really worked hard for this win.”
Nonoy, who was poached out of University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers, made his DLSU debut with 13 points, four rebounds, four assists, and three steals.
Baltazar also ended up with 13 points to go with seven rebounds, three assists, and a steal, while rookie CJ Austria also chimed in 10 points for La Salle, which surged to a 2-0 start this season.
Mike Malonzo was the only Bulldog to reach double figures with 10 points. Enzo Joson, Jake Figueroa, and John Lloyd Clemente all delivered nine points apiece.
Meanwhile, defending champions Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles cruised to a 2-0 with a 79-70 win over Far Eastern University Tamaraws, which dropped to 1-1.
Tyler Tio waxed hot in the third quarter to finish with 17 points, while Dave Ildefonso contributed 17 markers, with 11 coming in the opening half, for the Blue Eagles.
Adamson University Falcons and University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons both barged to the win column with lopsided wins over University of the East Red Warriors and the Growling Tigers, respectively.
BOX SCORE:
DLSU 59 – Baltazar 13, Nonoy 13, Austria 10, Lojera 7, Manuel 6, Nelle 5, Phillips M. 3, Winston 2, Nwankwo 0, Phillips B. 0, Cuajao 0.
NU 55 – Malonzo 10, Joson 9, Clemente 9, Figueroa 9, Mahinay 6, Enriquez 4, Tibayan 4, Gaye 2, Felicilda 2, Galinato 0, Ildefonso 0, Torres 0, Yu 0, Manansala 0, Minerva 0.
Quarterscores: 19-16, 29-30, 42-43, 59-55./PN
