DOG DAY AFTERNOON. Samuel Razon of UE guards Bobby Ray Parks of NU in the opening game of UAAP 75 at the Mall of Asia Arena, Saturday, July 14, 2012. The Bulldogs handily defeated the Red Warriors, 90-55. AUGUST DELA CRUZ
MANILA, Philippines – National University flaunted its deep bench as it chewed University of the East, 90-55, Saturday to open up its much-anticipated campaign in stellar fashion during the 75th Season of the UAAP at the state-of-the-art SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Ray Parks took a back seat at the offensive end but was still lethal with an all- around performance.
Parks finished with 16 points, six rebounds, six assists, four steals and three blocks.
Jeoffrey Javillionar finished with team-highs of 19 points and 11 rebounds.
“We played very well collectively. Everybody stuck to our game plan. We were very disciplined,” said NU head coach Eric Altamirano.
“Admittedly, we played very well today especially it’s the opening day. The boys proved that this is just an ordinary game. Again, wala namang nanalo sa unang laro,” added Altamirano.
It took a quarter before the Bulldogs got going and they sure found their groove.
NU outscored UE, 35-8, in the pivotal second quarter to break the game wide open.
The Bulldogs opened up the second quarter with four triples and had six in the period alone.
Roy Sumang led a surprising start by the Red Warriors, who took a 15-13 lead after the first quarter but slowed down along with his team in the next three periods.
Sumang finished with a game-high 21 points but was held scoreless in the second period with Parks hounding him.
The 35-point win turned out to be the biggest margin in an UAAP opening game in 10 years.