NU defeats UST 78-73 to reclaim UAAP title

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IT did not take long for National University (NU) to reclaim its lost glory in the UAAP basketball queendom.

The Lady Bulldogs ascended back to their rightful throne that they surrendered after seven straight seasons of reign by quickly unseating the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Tigresses, 78-73, in Game 3 of the UAAP Season 87 women’s basketball finals yesterday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

It wasn’t an unblemished march like the school had at the pinnacle of its dynasty with a lone scar in Game 2, 78-68, after a 15-0 slate until the finals but NU still fulfilled the bigger goal and a dream title after only a year of futility.

NU’s empire at one point featured 108 straight victories for nine years and now, it hoisted its eighth title in nine seasons to re-establish its stronghold as the country’s best women’s team.

Rookie Cielo Pagdulagan stood the tallest in NU’s sweet redemption, hauling a near double-double of 21 points and nine rebounds on top of three assists and three steals in only 26 minutes of play to clinch the Finals Most Valuable Player plum.

Graduating ace Camille Clarin added 14 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals, including three big free throws in the waning seconds to preserve the Lady Bulldogs’ five-point lead heading home.

Angel Surada chipped in the same output, Karl Ann Pingol contributed 10 points and nine rebounds as Aris Dimaunahan captured his second UAAP title since taking over from dynasty architect Pat Aquino, who steered NU to six straight crowns.

“I’m very satisfied with how we conducted our year. These players were on it since Day one of our training camp. Today is the fruit of our labor the entire year,” said coach Aris Dimaunahan, who dedicated the championship to his late first-born child back in 1998 on its death anniversary.

“We kept our steps very cautiously. Our focus day-to-day was to get better and better. We had our 1^st loss of the season in Game 2. This is for the NU community. And today was that day.”

The Lady Bulldogs, who capped an overall 15-1 slate this year, absorbed a backbreaking 71-69 defeat off a Nikki Villasin game-winner for Santo Tomas last year to lose the throne in the thrilling Game 3.

It’s same scenario but a different result for NU this time around, bouncing back from a tough Game 2 loss for its first and only defeat this season.

That single scratch only made the Lady Bulldogs a fiercer creature when it mattered most, taking command of the winner-take-all duel in second half to lead by as many as 15 points.

NU was still in cruise control at 72-57 with six minutes to go after Ms. Clarin’s jumper before needing to hold fort amidst a fiery comeback attempt by the Tigresses, who moved to within 70-75 off a trey by Tacky Tacatac to cap a 13-2 uprising.

Ms. Clarin then brought the Lady Bulldogs home with a steal on the other end to ice the game at 77-70 as Ms. Sierba’s trey in the last 13.5 seconds hardly mattered.

Ms. Clarin split her next freebies for the final tally, signaling NU’s title celebration once again like it did for almost a decade.

Rookie Karylle Sierba, who fired 18 points in Game 2 to deny NU a perfect campaign, had 20 points, Ms. Tacatac scored 14, Brigette Santos and Angelika Soriano added eight while Mythical Team member Kent Pastrana settled for only seven points for the Tigresses. — John Bryan Ulanday

The Scores:

NU 78 – Pagdulagan 21, Clarin 14, Surada 14, Pingol 10, Cayabyab 5, Fabruada 4, Konateh 4, Betanio 3, Canuto 3, Villanueva 0, Bartolo 0.

UST 73 – Sierba 20, Tacatac 14, Santos 8, Soriano 8, Pastrana 7, Maglupay 7, Bron 5, Danganan 4, Serrano 0, Ambos 0.

Quarterscores: 17-17, 38-38, 65-50, 78-73.