Bulldogs end season with win over UST

MANILA, Philippines - Despite not qualifying for the post-season, the National University (NU) Bulldogs still ended their Season 74 campaign on a high note, routing the University of Sto. Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers 73-49 to finish with a 6-8 record.
The Bulldogs controlled the game from start to finish, never letting the Tigers get into their offensive rhythm.
The Tigers were clearly out of sorts as they played without big man Karim Abdul, who was suspended after incurring 2 unsportsmanlike fouls in the season.
Without Abdul protecting the paint, the Bulldogs were able to waltz their way inside. NU's Emmanuel Mbe was especially effective in the early goings of the game as he scored 10 first half points, mostly on lay-ups.
The clear star of the game was Bobby Ray Parks, who displayed his considerable scoring skills on his way to 22 points. He added 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 blocks.
Parks also made one of the best highlight plays of the season: toward the end of the game, he saved the ball from going out of bounds and it somehow found its way to the bottom of the net.
Mbe finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Bulldogs.
With the loss, UST slides to the fourth seed and will face defending champion Ateneo Blue Eagles in the semi-finals.
The Tigers were able to keep the game close in the 2nd period after back-to-back 3 pointers by Louie Vigil and Jeric Fortuna.
The physical UST defense also held the Bulldogs down to only 6 points in the 2nd quarter, allowing them to go into halftime down only by 4, 29-25.
The Bulldogs then got their offense going once more in the 2nd half, especially in the 4th period wherein their 3-pointers started falling.
The Tigers, for their part, had to bleed for their points and were unable to penetrate the strong defense put up by the Bulldogs.
Jeric Teng topscored for the Tigers with 19 markers.

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