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| Dennis Acosta |
By Ivan Saldajeno
PASAY—With Karim Abdul putting a tight defense, Alfred Aroga forced to take an ill-advised long jumper with 14.7 seconds left in the NU-UST game at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Luckily, the ball went in, and it gave the Bulldogs their first win in the UAAP season.
The defending champions walked away with a 55-54 victory on Saturday night, handing the Growling Tigers their first loss.
Aroga's game-winner capped a 10-2 run to end the match.
UST led, 52-45, with 4:02 left in the top-versus-bottom match-up.
But NU went on an 8-0 run to go up, 53-52 with exactly a minute remaining.
Ed Daquioag, who struggled due to foul trouble, stole the ball from Gelo Alolino and converted a transition layup to give the Tigers the edge anew, 53-52 with 28.1 seconds to go, but then came Aroga's heroics.
UST had one final crack at the win, but Kevin Ferrer's pass intended for Abdul was picked, leading to an Alolino swipe.
The graduating point guard missed two free throws off a foul, but the Tigers failed to attempt in the final 3.6 seconds.
Aroga finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds, and one block.
Despite scoring only two points, Alolino nearly had a double-double with nine rebounds and the same number of assists.
Ferrer had a double-double of his own with 14 markers and 11 boards, but he only made 5-of-17 from the field.
Box Scores:
NU 55-Aroga 19, Alejandro 9, Abatayo 8, Diputado 7, Neypes 6, Alolino 2, Javelona 2, Salim 2, Celda 0, Javillonar 0, Lastimosa 0, Tansingco 0
UST 54-Ferrer 14, Abdul 11, Daquioag 9, Lao 8, Lee 6, Bonleon 3, Vigil 3, Faundo 0, Huang 0, Sheriff 0, Subido 0
Quarterscores: 17-17, 33-26, 41-43, 55-54
Follow the writer on Twitter: @IvanSaldajeno
UST 54-Ferrer 14, Abdul 11, Daquioag 9, Lao 8, Lee 6, Bonleon 3, Vigil 3, Faundo 0, Huang 0, Sheriff 0, Subido 0
Quarterscores: 17-17, 33-26, 41-43, 55-54
Follow the writer on Twitter: @IvanSaldajeno
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