REIGNING UAAP champions National University Bulldogs debuted in style as they thrashed the University of San Jose-Recoletos Jaguars, 76-60, in the Filoil Flying V Hanes Premier Cup yesterday at the Arena in San Juan City.
The Bulldogs looked spry and defended their yard early, leading 22-8 after the first canto and 36-25 at halftime. However, the Jaguars rallied and trimmed their deficit to three, 48-45, at the end of the third quarter behind Iron Suano, Kevin Villafranca and James Regalado.
But the Bulldogs simply had too much firepower and pulled away in the fourth period.
All 16 players suited up for NU head coach Eric Altamirano with rookie forward Mohammad Salim leading the way with 10 points. Former Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu guard Rev Diputado added nine while Alfred Aroga and Reden Celda chipped in eight each.
The loss, USJ-R’s fifth in six matches, dragged them further down the Group A standings.
A. Suano led the Jaguars with 15 points and six boards while Villafranca, a member of the Cesafi Mythical Five this past season, added a dozen. Regalado, the Jaguars’ veteran leader, had 11 spiked by three triples.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
