NATIONAL University leaned on the brilliance of Jake Figueroa to outlast Far Eastern University, 21-17, and clinch the top seed in the UAAP Season 87 Men\u2019s 3×3 Basketball semifinals, Friday afternoon at the Ayala Malls Manila Bay in Para\u00f1aque.<\/p>\n
A layup by Veejay Pre gave the Tamaraws a 17-14 advantage, but Figueroa refused to let NU’s unbeaten record slip away. The Bullpups star converted a layup and a two-pointer to tie the game at 17-all with under two minutes remaining.<\/p>\n
PJ Palacielo then stepped up with a clutch and-one layup followed by a midrange jumper, before Steve Nash Enriquez sealed the deal with the game-winning inside shot. The win preserved NU\u2019s unblemished 6-0 slate in the tournament supported by Molten.<\/p>\n
\u201cParang nag-relax kami sa una eh, parang na-underestimate namin yung FEU. Nung pagitna na ng laban, doon kami nakarealize na dapat magising na kami para manalo at tuloy-tuloy yung winning streak namin,\u201d said Figueroa, who finished with seven points, eight rebounds, one steal, and one block.<\/p>\n
In the women\u2019s division, University of Santo Tomas rose as the lone unbeaten squad in the eight-team field after handing University of the Philippines its first loss in a nail-biting 15-14 victory.<\/p>\n
The Growling Tigresses erased an early seven-point deficit behind Kent Pastrana\u2019s scoring bursts, but it was 23-year-old center Ceejay Maglupay who stole the spotlight. The third-year big from Bukidnon nailed back-to-back go-ahead layups with under 40 seconds left, and capped her heroics with a game-saving block on Christie Bariquit\u2019s potential game-winning deuce, sealing UST\u2019s perfect 6-0 card.<\/p>\n
\u201cGinawa ko lang yung best ko sa loob. Tapos nung nag-timeout kami, doon kami nag-usap-usap sa team, tapos pinagkatiwalaan nila ako sa dulo,\u201d said Maglupay, who delivered five points on 5-of-9 shooting, along with seven rebounds, three blocks, and two steals.<\/p>\n
Back in the men\u2019s division, UE and UST ended the day tied for second at 4-2, while Adamson and La Salle shared third place with identical 3-3 records heading into the final day of the preliminaries.<\/p>\n
Wello Lingolingo exploded for 13 points on 8-of-12 shooting to power the Red Warriors past the Soaring Falcons, 21-18. The loss marked Adamson\u2019s third consecutive defeat after a 3-0 start. Meanwhile, Amiel Acido played the hero again for the Growling Tigers, knocking down the go-ahead two-pointer to lift UST to a dramatic 21-20 win over a struggling UP squad.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NATIONAL University leaned on the brilliance of Jake Figueroa to outlast Far Eastern University, 21-17, and clinch the top seed in the UAAP Season 87 Men\u2019s 3×3 Basketball semifinals, Friday afternoon at the Ayala Malls Manila Bay in Para\u00f1aque. A layup by Veejay Pre gave the Tamaraws a 17-14 advantage, but Figueroa refused to let…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2812,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[280],"class_list":["post-2811","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hoops-basketball","tag-uaap-3x3"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t