By Ivan Saldajeno
NU sweetened the pot of its upcoming UAAP juniors basketball finals rematch with Ateneo after hacking out a 63-55 win against Adamson at the Blue Eagle Gym.
The Bullpups, however, needed to withstand a late Baby Falcons rally to score their sixth consecutive victory, tying the Blue Eaglets at the top of the standings ahead of their Saturday clash.
NU held a 22-4 lead over Adamson after the first quarter and even stretched the gap to as high as 23, 42-19, in the third.
But Adamson built a huge 33-8 run capped by Dave Cabanilla's go-ahead basket to lead, 52-51, with 3:50 left in the fourth period.
The Bullpups, however, showed their championship experience in the end as they closed the match on a 12-3 run sparked by Mark Dyke.
Dyke ended a field goal shy of a double-double, tallying eight points and 13 rebounds, while Allen Mina came off the bench to score a team-high 13 markers for NU.
Cabanilla and Fred Tungcab each finished with 13 points for Adamson, which dropped to 2-4.
Box Scores:
NU 63-Mina 13, Manalang 12, Baltazar 10, Dyke 8, Sta. Ana 8, Clemente 6, Calma 3, Claveria 2, Ferreras 1, De Guzman 0, Peñano 0
Adamson 55-Cabanilla 13, Tungcab 13, Pasturan 11, Egan 10, Binarao 3, Chua 2, Antiporda 2, Sasuman 1, Fernandez 0, Zaldivar 0, Guanco 0
Quarterscores: 22-4, 36-19, 51-37, 63-55
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