Bullpups edge Junior Blazers, claim NBTC crown

MANILA, Philippines — National University overcame La Salle-Greenhills’ furious fightback as it pulled off a thrilling 80-78 victory to rule the SM National Basketball Training Center National Finals at the MOA Arena in Pasay last night.

Gerry Abadiano and Rhayyan Amsali canned in three pressure-packed free throws to put the Bullpups back on top and Paul Manalang preserved the lead – and the victory – with a block off a Joel Cagulangan shot in the closing seconds.

“The key was composure, the players didn’t panic when we blew an 11-point lead and made key plays on both ends of the court,” said NU coach Goldwyn Monteverde.

After Kevin Quiambao scored to give NU a 77-66 lead with less than five minutes to go, Cagulangan and Inand Fornillos combined in a fiery 11-0 blitz that helped LSGH tie the count at 77 with 49 seconds remaining.

But the Junior Blazers struggled for just a point the rest of the way, enabling the Bullpups to escape with the win.

Trailing by just two after Amsali split his charities with two seconds to go, LSGH went to Cagulangan for the equalizer, slashing through NU’s defense only to be denied by Manalang.

The Bullpups and the Junior Blazers slugged it out on even terms in the opening quarter but the former outscored the latter in the next period, 17-12, to break from a 23-all count.