NU salvages preseason bronze but coach Jeff Napa not completely satisfied
NU Bulldogs’ Patrick Yu in the Filoil EcoOil Preseason Cup. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—National University redeemed itself after notching the bronze medal in the Filoil EcoOil Preseason Cup at San Juan Arena on Wednesday.
The Bulldogs, last year’s champions of the offseason tournament, defeated Perpetual Help, 85-77, to salvage the third place after falling to La Salle in the semifinals, 86-73, on Monday.
Coach Jeff Napa, however, was not completely satisfied.
“Personally, at least we were able to achieve something during this offseason but still we’re not content with the way we performed (this preseason),” Napa said in Filipino.
“Last time, in our last game in the semifinals we really played badly so we tried to redeem ourselves here in the battle for third so at least, we bounced back and the players who needed to step up stepped up.”
NU coach Jeff Napa. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
One of Napa’s wards who delivered big on offense was Patrick Yu, who finished with a game-high 16 points to go along with four rebounds and four assists,
Jolo Manansala chipped in 14 points for the Bulldogs while Omar John dominated in the paint with a double-double of 12 markers and 13 rebounds.
Jielo Razon and Carlo Ferreras both contributed 12 markers for the Altas which will settle for a fourth place finish.
La Salle and University of the Philippines, meanwhile, will be competing for the preseason’s gold medal later today.
