Alolino leads NU over UP; Bulldogs go 2-0
FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Gelo Alolino set the tone and National University cruised to a 70-59 win over University of the Philippines in the UAAP Season 77 men’s basketball tournament Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Alolino hit 12 of his game-high 20 points for the Bulldogs, who gained solo lead early in the standings with a 2-0 record.
NU may have won handily but its head coach Eric Altamirano wasn’t really pleased with the way his team played.
“We’re happy with the win but I’m not happy with how we played,” said Altamirano. “We were erratic, we were not disciplined and we committed a lot of turnovers.”
Altamirano though is satisfied with his chief playmaker’s performance after two games.
“So far Gelo is stepping up. He’s been doing his job. And like what he said, it’s not about points but it’s his leadership.”
“I still need to improve. I’m just motivated because I want to lead my team but there’s no pressure,” the five-foot-11 guard Alolino, who also topscored last Sunday in a 59-40 rout of University of Santo Tomas, said.
The Bulldogs had 17 assists but they turned the ball over 21 times as compared to the Fighting Maroons’ 12 errors.
NU took control in the third quarter before padding onto its lead in the fourth period. Alfred Aroga’s dunk pushed the Bulldogs advantage to 19, 68-49, late in the game.
Aroga notched a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds while forward Troy Rosario nearly had a double-double with 17 points and nine rebounds.
NU’s schedule gets tougher from here as the Bulldogs are set to face defending champion La Salle and Ateneo in its next two games.
“Every game is important knowing that we’ve been there. We’ll play the champions on Wednesday and I think we need to play better than we did today,” Altamirano said.
“We really have to prepare hard against La Salle.”
UP kept it close in the first half behind Dave Moralde’s 13 points in the first two quarters. He eventually cooled off with just two points in the second half.
The Maroons reeled to their 23rd consecutive loss – a losing skid that began two seasons ago.
