MANILA, Philippines–National U recovered its bearings in overtime as the Bulldogs repeated over the Far Eastern U Tamaraws, 85-79, last Wednesday in UAAP Season 82 at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
A strong start in the extra period behind John Lloyd Clemente and Dave Ildefonso gave the Bulldogs the cushion they needed to withstand a late fightback by the Tamaraws, who were denied of a third straight victory.
Ildefonso fired 27 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as the Bulldogs remained in the hunt for a Final Four berth after improving to 2-6. The Tamaraws wasted a chance to gain solo third after dropping to 4-5, which puts them at solo fifth.
The Tamaraws fought their way back from 15 down in the fourth quarter and even took a 67-65 lead on Royce Alforque’s lay-up with 2:02 remaining.
That basket capped a 17-0 blitz for FEU, which came into the game on a high after an 82-79 conquest of University of the Philippines last Sunday.
The Tamaraws trailed by as many as 18 points, 53-35, in the third period, but held the Bulldogs to just nine points in the final period, allowing the Tamaraws to send the game to overtime.
Clemente looked to have given the Bulldogs a respite with a triple for a 71-69 with 24 seconds remaining in regulation, but Barkley Eboña scored on a drive to send the game to overtime.
“We just went back to basics and never stopped believing,” said Jamike Jarin, who once again brought his entire team for the post game press conference.
Gaye opened overtime with a couple of foul shots, before Clemente and Ildefonoso hit consecutive triples for a 79-71 advantage.
Gaye tied a season high 16 points and also grabbed 10 rebounds, while Clemente hit four of five from beyond the arc and finished with 15 points on top of eight rebounds.
The Scores:
NU 85 — D. Ildefonso 27, Gaye 16, Clemente 15, Oczon 8, Gallego 5, Minerva 4, S. Ildefonso 3, Galinato 2, Malonzo 2, Rangel 2, Yu 1, Diputado 0, Joson 0, Mangayao 0, Tibayan 0.
FEU 79 — Ebona 15, Alforque 11, Comboy 11, Stockton 9, Tchuente 9, Torres 9, Tuffin 7, Gonzales 6, Bienes 2, Cani 0, Nunag 0.
Quarters: 15-13, 39-32, 62-47, 71-71, 85-79.