NU routs Gilas Youth, wraps up elimination round at 5-1

National University capped off its elimination-round campaign in dominant fashion after dismantling Gilas Pilipinas Youth, 93-72, on Friday in the 19th Filoil EcoOil Preseason Cup at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.

Malian big man Mo Diassana set the tone early, scoring 11 of his 20 points during the Bulldogs' explosive 19-0 run to open the game. He also grabbed nine rebounds as NU controlled the boards, 51-28, and never allowed Gilas Youth to recover.

PJ Palacielo backed Diassana with 15 points and four rebounds, while Tebol Garcia contributed 13 points, three assists, and two rebounds. Mac Alfanta and Johncel Borjal also finished in double figures with 10 points apiece.

The Bulldogs stretched their winning streak to four games and finished the elimination round with a 5-1 record, boosting their chances of securing one of the top two seeds in the UAAP Group playoffs.

Joaquin Tovera continued to shine for Gilas Youth, tallying 24 points, four rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Bruce Tubongbanua and Andrew Chio chipped in 17 points each as the national youth squad dropped to 0-5.

In another game, Mapua clinched a playoff berth after surviving San Sebastian, 68-66, in another nail-biting contest.

Cyrus Nitura converted the go-ahead layup before Yam Concepcion split a pair of free throws with 8.0 seconds remaining to give the Cardinals a two-point lead.

San Sebastian had two opportunities to force overtime in the closing seconds, but Carlo John Ynot and Christian Ricio both failed to convert before the buzzer.

"It's good for us because we experienced a lot of different scenarios in our last four games," said Mapua head coach Chito Victolero. "The thing here is we stayed composed in the last two minutes and never gave up."

MC Cuenco led the Cardinals with 16 points and four assists, while Basti Reyes added 14 points and five rebounds as Mapua improved to 6-1. The victory created a three-way tie for second place in the NCAA Group with idle San Beda and Letran.

San Sebastian squandered an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter and suffered its eighth straight defeat. Arwin Alforque paced the Golden Stags with 16 points and seven rebounds.

Earlier, St. Benilde defeated Arellano, 65-59, behind another strong performance from rookie Matthew Jucom.

Jucom recorded a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds as the Blazers improved to 4-4.

Arellano cut the deficit to just one, 57-56, with 3:24 remaining, but St. Benilde answered with an 8-1 closing run. Jucom scored six straight points during the decisive stretch to help seal the victory.

Jhomel Ancheta added 10 points and five rebounds, while Justine Sanchez contributed 10 points and four assists for the Blazers.

Maverick Vinoya led the still-winless Chiefs (0-8) with 13 points, while T-Mc Ongotan finished with 10.