UAAP: NUNS stays unbeaten; FEU-Diliman claims Final 4 ticket

MANILA — MVP frontrunner Jesse Arellano led the way in National University-Nazareth School’s 96-57 demolition of Adamson University in the UAAP Season 89 High School Boys’ 16-and-under Basketball Tournament on Tuesday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Arellano tallied 13 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists for his first triple-double since the Bullpups’ season-opener, strengthening his bid for Most Valuable Player honors.

The Bullpups improved to 11-0, tightening their grip on the top spot.

“Final goal? Ma-sweep sana, para diretso na sa finals,” said NUNS head coach Leo Pujante.

The Baby Falcons, meanwhile, were officially eliminated from Final Four contention after dropping to 2-9, tying the also-eliminated UPIS Junior Fighting Maroons for sixth place.

After trailing by two early in the second quarter, NUNS turned to Aaron Dalanan to spearhead a 12-2 run before taking a 49-35 lead into halftime.

The Bullpups then clamped down defensively, limiting Adamson to just seven points in the third quarter while continuing to attack the paint and draw fouls at the other end.

NUNS also found its touch from beyond the arc to build a commanding 78-42 advantage heading into the fourth before stretching the lead to as many as 49 points, 95-46.

Dalanan led five Bullpups in double figures with 15 points and five rebounds, while Chandler Cano chipped in 14 points. Kobe Genido matched Arellano’s 13 points, while Dwayne Enriquez added 12.

Raymond Chan paced Adamson with nine points, as no Baby Falcon managed to reach double figures. Mark Delos Santos contributed seven points and 11 rebounds.

Earlier, Far Eastern University-Diliman dismantled the University of the Philippines Integrated School, 98-30, to open the quadruple-header.

The Baby Tamaraws secured a Final Four berth after improving to 9-2, temporarily moving into sole possession of second place. The defeat, meanwhile, officially eliminated the Junior Fighting Maroons, who fell to 2-9.

“Masaya ulit na makapasok ulit kami sa Final Four. At syempre, may goal talaga kami na talunin ang NU,” said Griffin Barlan, with the Baby Tamaraws set to face the defending champion Bullpups on Sunday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.

FEU-D completed a season sweep of UPIS after also routing the Junior Fighting Maroons, 95-51, in their first-round encounter last October.

The Baby Tamaraws established control early with a 20-9 first-quarter lead before limiting UPIS to just two points in the second period to take a commanding 36-11 advantage into halftime.

FEU-D sustained its dominance after the break, extending its lead to 62-19 heading into the fourth before completing the season’s most lopsided victory with a 68-point margin.

The Baby Tamaraws also held UPIS to the lowest single-game scoring output of the season, surpassing the previous low of 34 points recorded by Ateneo de Manila University, also against FEU-D.

Fourteen of the 15 Baby Tamaraws who saw action scored, led by Barlan, who posted 17 points and 19 rebounds while shooting a perfect eight-of-eight from the field.

Nicus Calma led all scorers with 19 points, while Hisham Mampao added 10 points and five assists for the Baby Tamaraws.

Zandro Lugatiman paced UPIS with a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds.

FEU–D 98 — Calma 19, Barlan 17, Mampao 10, Cruz 9, Cortes 7, Samonte 6, Alsola 6, Manaloto 5, Isip 5, Castro 4, Salazar 3, Vale 3, Maghinay 2, Garcia 2, Ira 0.

UPIS 30 — Lugatiman 13, Bautista 6, Santos 4, Labao 3, Floirendo 2, David 2, Poquiz 0, Romey 0, Sarthou 0, Avendano 0, Sebastian 0, Rico 0.

Quarterscores: 20-9, 36-11, 62-19, 98-30.

Second Game:

NUNS 96 — Dalanan 15, Cano 14, Arellano 13, Genido 13, Enriquez 12, Lopez 8, Mayor 6, Tundag 6, Macoy 5, Flores 3, Pangan 1, Dizon 0, Osorio 0, Garcia 0.

AdU 57 — Chan 9, Subido 8, Delos Santos 7, Edrada 6, Bulan 6, Caintic 5, Cads 4, Maycong 4, Espiritu 3, Thompson 3, Gayatin 2, Sepnio 0.

Quarterscores: 19-18, 49-35, 78-42, 96-57.