Patrick Wilson Yu fires a trey during their UAAP game against UP. | Photo from UAAP media
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The National University (NU) Bulldogs shook up the standings in the UAAP Season 87 Collegiate Men’s Basketball Tournament on Sunday, November 3, after pulling off a decisive 67-47 victory over the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion in Manila.
The victory snapped NU’s three-game losing skid and improved their record to a 3-8 slate, tying with the Ateneo Blue Eagles, which also improves their bid of making into the Final Four.
Former Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC) standout, Patrick Wilson Yu, emerged as the Bulldogs’ driving force.
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Coming off the bench, Yu topscored NU with 17 points from his highly-efficient 6-of-8 shooting or 75% field goals. He was red hot from beyond the arc nailing five of his seven three-point attempts. He added two assists and one rebound in his stellar outing.
Yu led the Bulldogs in securing a commanding 24-8 lead early in the opening period against the heavily-favored fighting Maroons.
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NU’s resilience
Head coach Jeff Napa praised his team’s resilience, especially Yu’s spark off the bench.
“We finally got that second-round win we needed. The prayers came alive today and executed exactly what we set out to do,” Napa said.
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NU’s defensive effort was equally formidable, as they held UP to its lowest offensive output since Season 79, when the Fighting Maroons scored just 49 points against FEU in 2016.
UP, known for overcoming early deficits, could not retaliate to NU’s pressure, shooting a miserable 26.2 percent from the field and were sloppy for committing 30 turnovers, since Goldwin Monteverde helmed the head coaching job in Season 84.
Jake Figueroa was also a key for the Bulldogs adding 11 points, six rebounds, and four assists. PJ Palacielo scored nine points, and Lenard Santiago recorded eight points with a game-high plus-20 in his 17 minutes of play.
For UP, Aldous Torculas was the lone bright spot, finishing with 13 points. Star guard JD Cagulangan struggled, going just 3-of-13 from the field with nine turnovers.
Yu and the Bulldogs will take on the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers facing fellow Cebuano standout Nic Cabanero.