By Jerome Lagunzad
Game Friday
4 p.m. — Ateneo vs NU
(Game 1, Best-of-3 Finals)
National University put an end to University of Santo Tomas’ Cinderella run yesterday with a 91-72 win and clinched a finals ticket for the seventh straight time in the UAAP Season 80 juniors basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan City.
Batang Gilas standout Terrence Fortea and Miguel Oczon combined for 33 points, spiked by six triples, while big man Paolo Javillonar tallied 13 points and 16 rebounds to help the second-seeded Bullpups reassert their dominance over the fourth-ranked Tiger Cubs in the final phase of the stepladder semifinals.
With the empathic win, NU earned the right to take on powerhouse and top-seeded Ateneo in the best-of-three titular showdown starting on Friday at the same venue.
“Every transition has its challenge. I’m lucky that these players responded well and we worked hard together,” said NU’s first-year coach Goldwin Monteverde, who took over the coaching spot from Jeff Napa, who led the Bullpups to the Promised Land thrice in six years at the helm.
