PBA D-LEAGUE IMAGE by Nuki Sabio
MANILA, Philippines – National University-Banco de Oro ended its maiden PBA D-League stint on a positive note after cruising past Derulo Accelero, 83-57, in the 2014 Aspirants Cup Tuesday at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
Ray Parks scored a game-high 23 points while Troy Rosario sparked a pivotal run in the third quarter, where the Bulldogs put the game away.
NU closed its campaign by winning five of its last seven games after dropping its first six starts and its head coach Eric Altamirano couldn’t be more pleased with his team’s turnaround.
“I thought we achieved our goal,” he said. “We joined this league to hopefully try to get better by playing matured and tough teams. That’s what we lacked last year [in the UAAP]. Hopefully, the experience we learned here will help us in the coming [UAAP season].”
NU got eliminated in the UAAP Final Four last year by University of Santo Tomas despite clinching the top seed.
And while the Bulldogs, winners of three straight, ended the conference on a bright note, the Oilers suffered their sixth straight setback as they joined the Arellano Chiefs at the cellar with a 1-12 record.
NU pulled away in the third quarter thanks to a 12-0 surge to lead, 52-36, and completely turn the tide after trailing 13-22 early in the second period.
Jackson Corpuz and Raul Soyud had 17 and 11 points, respectively, for the Oilers.