Bulldogs bite back, clip Falcons

MANILA, Philippines —  National U did not stay down for long.

Stung by a late collapse against Ateneo, the Bulldogs made sure there was no repeat this time, fending off a gutsy Adamson side, 85-66, to get back on track in the UAAP Season 89 men’s basketball tournament Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The Bulldogs saw a 21-point cushion cut to just six, but bared their fangs when it mattered to rise to 3-2 and keep a spot in the upper half of the standings.

PJ Palacielo led the bounce-back with a near double-double of 19 points on 8-of-16 shooting and eight assists, with Paul Francisco backing him up with 17 points and six rebounds.

NU looked headed for a rout early after Palacielo’s and-one made it 41-20, the Bulldogs’ largest lead. But Adamson showed its trademark grit, leaning on its explosive outside shooting to crawl back inch by inch.

Kenji Canete’s back-to-back hits cut the gap to just six, 52-58, putting NU on notice anew.

That’s when the Bulldogs steadied the ship. A 16-7 blitz capped by a Tebol Garcia jumper pushed the lead back to 15, 74-59, before Garcia and Francisco connived for five straight to keep the Soaring Falcons at bay for good.

Mo Diassana finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Reinhard Jumamoy – who also flirted with a double-double with 12 points, 10 rebounds and four assists – and Tebol Garcia added 12 apiece as NU finally got the balanced attack it missed in the Ateneo loss.

Later in the night, La Salle pulled away in the fourth quarter to shoot down the Ateneo Blue Eagles, 83-76.

It’s the 100th Ateneo-La Salle showdown. The defending champions beat their fiercest foes, 83-76, to level the all-time head-to-head series at 50-50.

In the current season, the two teams both stand at 3-2.

For Jeff Napa, it’s a good response – but not a perfect one.

“It’s a good response, but medyo subpar pa rin ‘yung performance kasi we gave them 12 three-pointers. We need to address that para at least coming into Saturday’s game, ma-correct namin ‘yung mga sarili namin,” said Napa.

Adamson dropped to 2-3, still unable to string together back-to-back wins this season, even with five players in double figures.

Ray Allen Torres paced the Soaring Falcons with 14 points, Matty Erolon added 12, Monty Montebon and Precious Jonah had 11 each, and Earl Medina chipped in 10 in the losing cause.