MANILA — Reinhard Jumamoy buried three consecutive triples in a decisive fourth-quarter surge as National University Bulldogs crushed University of the East Red Warriors, 91-74, to clinch a UAAP Season 89 men’s basketball Final Four berth on Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Clinging to a 68-66 lead entering the final period, the Bulldogs unleashed a furious offensive assault to pull away from the Red Warriors and improve to a 9-3 record.
Chad Cartel, Mo Diassana and Tebol Garcia sparked NU’s breakaway, stretching its advantage to 77-70 before Jumamoy caught fire from beyond the arc.
The Season MVP frontrunner drained three straight three-pointers to highlight an 11-0 blitz that gave NU an insurmountable 89-70 lead.
Jumamoy finished with 11 points, including nine in the final quarter, alongside seven rebounds and seven assists.
Garcia spearheaded the Bulldogs’ scoring with 20 points and seven assists off the bench, while PJ Palacielo delivered a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Toper Lagat paced UE with 21 points, followed by Drew Jimenez with 13 and Mo Tañedo with 12, as the Red Warriors fell to 1-12.
Meanwhile, Far Eastern University Tamaraws snapped University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons’ seven-game winning streak with a come-from-behind 71-68 victory to seize solo third place.
The Tamaraws erased a nine-point deficit behind Janrey Pasaol’s 16 points, while Bautista contributed 14, Kirby Mongcopa added 13 and Marc Burgos chipped in 11.
FEU improved to 7-5, while UP slipped to 9-3 despite 20 points from Rey Remogat and 19 from Dikachi Udodo./PN
