With Parks quiet, NU mauls Arellano
QUIET. Parks had a quiet game but NU still easily won.
MANILA, Philippines -- With back-to-back UAAP MVP Bobby Ray Parks having a quiet game, it was Alfred Aroga who propelled the National University (NU) Bulldogs to an 86-71 shellacking of the Arellano University Chiefs in the Filoil Flying V Premier Cup at The Arena Saturday, May 11.
The towering Cameroonian tallied 22 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for the Bulldogs, who needed a strong second half performance to pull away from a close game.
“I felt we played better in the second half,” said NU head coach Eric Altamirano. “We did a better job in running our offense and limiting our turnovers.”
Turnovers, indeed, made life miserable for the Bulldogs in the first two quarters as Chiefs’ wily playmaker Nard Pito closed the gap on a basket, 39-43.
Aroga then buckled down to work in the second half.
Aroga, Gelo Alolino and former National Youth team standout JJ Alejandro conspired in a big third quarter spurt for NU, dropping a 8-0 blast to start the third canto and bring the lead to 51-39.
The Bulldogs never looked back from there.
The usually-on-target Chiefs, who suffered its second straight loss of the tournament after a 4-0 start, could not hit their three-pointers that ultimately did them the game as Parks sealed the win with two free throws, 83-63.
“We just tried to do what coach told us,” shared Aroga.
Alejandro added 12 markers and 2 assists for NU’s cause while Denice Villamor had 10. Parks wounded up with nine for the Bulldogs who improved to 7-0.
Swingman James Forrester paced the Chiefs with his 15 points while Pinto and Prince Caperal chipped in 15 and 11, respectively. - Rappler.com
