Bulldogs tame Tigers, erase whipping boy tag

Manila, Philippines – The National University Bulldogs came into the season 73 with one goal – earn respect.

Despite coming up short of entering the Final Four, the Bulldogs earned that respect after wrapping the season with a 62-54 win against also-ran University of Sto. Tomas Growling Tigers on Thursday at the Araneta Coliseum.

Emmanuel Mbe, a 6-foot-6 behemoth from Cameroon, played a big role in erasing the stigma of being the league’s perennial doormat.

The Bulldogs’ best season since the 2001 Final Four stint can be sum up in one of this game’s highlight play.

Coming off a Tigers’ turnover, Mbe received a long pass and streaked towards the basket. Just the sight of a 6-foot-6 brute force of nature ramming into him made UST’s Clark Bautista slipped on the floor. The result – a breakaway jam that rocked the Coliseum and the league, trumpeting that it is just only a matter of time before the former league doormat can find their way on top.

Mbe brought the intimidation and swagger that NU lacked in the past. That highlight play in the opening minutes of the fourth period extended NUs lead to eight, 54-46, as the 2006 champion Tigers could only watch their Sampaloc neighbor overtake them.

NU finished with a respectable 7-7 record. In contrast, UST wound up with a woeful 4-10 record.

“Dapat nasa Final Four kami. Pero ganun talaga, time is of essence. Hindi pa siguro oras,” said NU coach Eric Gonzales, who, in his first year as a coach in the league, has whipped the Bulldogs into a defensive machine.

Armed with that new-found swagger, the Bulldogs held down the Tigers to only 29.9%, something that became a habit for the team that was just good for only three wins a year ago.

“Wait lang kayo kasi the management is exhausting everything to get on top. Kumbaga, warm up pa lang ito,” Gonzales said.

With only Kokoy Hermosisima, Jewel Ponferrada, Mervin Baloran and Jerome Tungcul, graduating, Gonzales has every reason to be upbeat of the Bulldogs’ future.

And he found one in this game in Jul-ashri Ignacio, who came out of nowhere to explode for a career-high 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting.

Ignacio, who hails from Zamboanga and played with current MVP race leader RR Garcia in the Southern City Colleges, showed a glimpse of the Bulldogs’ future.

“Matagal ko na siyang hinihintay magpakita. Isa siya sa mga aasahan next year aside from [Emmanuel] Mbe,” Gonzales said of his well-kept talent on the bench this season. "We have a couple more of good players from Team B.”

With Mbe manning the paint with authority and Ignacio slashing inside, the Bulldogs were never threatened in their final game of the season.

Mbe only missed two of his nine attempts on his way to a team-high 18 points and nine boards. It was a solid performance that drew him closer to Garcia in the MVP race, but more importantly gave the Bulldogs a confidence-builder for the next season.

“I would be happy to be included in the Mythical Five. It means I’m doing good for the team and I got my teammates to be thank for because they the ones who make me look good on the court,” Mbe said.

The Scores:

NU 62 – Mbe 18, Ignacio 15, Ponferrada 10, Hermosisima 7, Eriobu 4, Baloran 4, Javelona 3, Khobuntin 1, Ludovice 0, Javillonar 0, Tungcul 0, Terso 0, Singh 0, Malanday 0, Magat 0.

UST 54 – Teng 20, Fortuna 14, Camus 6, Pe 5, Bautista 5, Mamaril 2, Afuang 2, Wong 0, Tinte 0, Marata 0, Lo 0, Daquioag 0, Marquez 0, Mariano 0, Aytona 0.

Quarters: 17-11, 33-24, 52-46, 62-54.

Alder Almo, UAAP Sports