NU eliminates La Salle, UST completes final four

NU’S Bobby Ray Parks and a teammate try to stop Arnold Van Opstal of La Salle under the basket during the first game of a twin bill at the 74th season of the men’s basketball tournament Thursday, Sept. 8, 2011. The Bulldogs, out of the running for the final four, brought the Archers down with them with a whopping 56-40 win. AUGUST DELA CRUZ/Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines—Also-ran National University played spoilsport and booted La Salle out of contention, 56-40,  as University of Santo Tomas completed the final four cast Thursday in the 74th UAAP men’s basketball tournament.

With a huge fourth quarter push, the Bulldogs stretched what was just a slim gap to a whopping lead in the payoff period, which ultimately sealed UST’s return to the final four as neither NU nor La Salle was capable of reaching eight wins.

The Bulldogs outscored the Green Archers with 24 points to just five in the last quarter.

Ray Parks, dropping 25 points and just a few short of his season-best, simply blew by his defenders all game long and threatened every shot in the defensive end as he also plucked nine rebounds and a block.

“It was a total team effort today especially in the defensive end,” said Parks, who still has a shot at winning the MVP award which is being given to the player with highest statistical points at the end of the eliminations.

Parks spearheaded the Bulldogs’ crippling blast with a game-evening trey with 6:43 to play after the Green Archers momentarily shifted the momentum and led by three points, 35-32.

NU held La Salle, which is missing the final four for the second time in the last three seasons, to just one free throw in the last seven minutes of the game and to its lowest team output in recent history.

Only the workhorse guard Almond Vostros, whose split in the stripe with a little over five minutes was all could La Salle muster to halt the Bulldogs’ onslaught, gallantly carried his squad with 16 points and seven rebounds.

Main cogs Luigi Dela Paz and skipper Simon Atkins only managed four points apiece.