La Salle protects home floor, NU shocks unbeaten UP in quarterfinals

UAAP De La Salle University survived a tense battle against Far Eastern University, 84-83, to arrange a semifinal showdown with University of Santo Tomas, while National University stunned unbeaten University of the Philippines, 67-64, on Saturday at The Villavicencio Court inside the Enrique M. Razon Sports Center in Manila.

The defending UAAP champions leaned on a strong performance from Jacob Cortez, who delivered 15 points, 11 assists, and three rebounds, while Andrei Dungo added 13 points and three rebounds to help La Salle advance.

FEU managed to create separation late in a tightly contested fourth quarter, but the Green Archers stayed close behind timely baskets from Dungo and Janti Miller.

Dungo eventually tied the game at 82-all before Janrey Pasaol split his free throws to give the Tamaraws an 83-82 edge. Cortez then calmly sank two pressure-packed free throws to hand La Salle the narrow 84-83 victory.

Kirby Mongcopa led FEU despite the loss with 18 points, nine rebounds, and four assists.

Meanwhile, NU pulled off the biggest upset of the day by handing UP its first defeat behind PJ Palacielo’s 18-point outing. Paul Francisco and Reinhard Jumamoy chipped in 14 points each, with Jumamoy also collecting seven rebounds.

Rey Remogat paced the Fighting Maroons with 21 points, five rebounds, and nine assists.

The Bulldogs appeared headed for a comfortable win after building a 21-point advantage, but UP mounted a fierce comeback behind Remogat, who erupted for 14 fourth-quarter points to cut the deficit to 67-64 with 1:14 remaining.

NU, however, stayed composed in crunch time and forced consecutive misses on UP’s final possessions to complete the upset and secure a semifinal meeting with San Beda University.

Earlier, UST edged Ateneo de Manila University, 86-84, behind a dominant all-around performance from Mark Llemit, who tallied 21 points, nine rebounds, and three assists. Collins Akowe added 17 points and eight rebounds for the Growling Tigers.

UST built an 83-77 cushion midway through the fourth quarter courtesy of key baskets from Llemit and Gelo Crisostomo before Ateneo threatened late with back-to-back triples from Grayson Rogers.

Joaquin Espina later trimmed the deficit to 85-84 with 10 seconds remaining, but Amiel Acido split his free throws in the final moments to preserve the Tigers’ slim victory.

Jared Bahay led Ateneo with 18 points, four rebounds, and three assists in the losing effort.

Completing the semifinal field, reigning NCAA champion San Beda outlasted Colegio de San Juan de Letran in overtime, 82-79, in a rematch of the NCAA Season 101 Finals.

After the teams entered overtime tied at 74-all, the Red Lions survived another late rally from the Knights. JC Bonzalida tied the game at 79-all with 1:02 left before Jimmy Reyes buried the go-ahead three-pointer with 20 seconds remaining to lift San Beda to victory.

Daniel Marcelo led all scorers with 22 points, while Reyes contributed 11 points, six rebounds, and four assists for San Beda.

Kevin Santos and Jonathan Manalili scored 16 points each for Letran, while Sherick Estrada added 15 in defeat.

The semifinals are scheduled on May 30, with the venue to be announced at a later date.