New Bulldogs show more bite vs Green Archers

Gone were the days when the Bulldogs of National University are all bark. This season's new breed of Bulldogs are all bite -- and they showed it Thursday against La Salle -- in the UAAP men's basketball tournament. The Bulldogs held off a late rally by the Green Archers before preserving an impressive 59-55 win at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.

It was NU's first back-to-back win against powerhouse La Salle counting back its second-round victory over the Green Archers last season that denied the Taft-based cagers from making it to the Final Four, 63-59, on September 10, 2009. This time, the Bulldogs changed their image from a spoiler to a serious contender in the race for the Final Four. The Bulldogs rode on the shoulders of 6-foot-7 Cameroonian rookie Emmanuel Mbe, who finished with 21 points behind an 8-of-16 shooting from the field. He also grabbed 19 rebounds. He also got a huge lift from the steady plays of Jewel Ponferada, Letran recruit Glenn Khobuntin and point guard Joseph Terso. Ponferada, Khobuntin and Terso combined for 21 points with most of it coming in the final period. The veteran-rookie big man combo of Ponferada and Khobuntin also tallied 11 rebounds as the Bulldogs enjoyed a 46-36 advantage in the department. New coach Eric Gonzales bagged his first-ever victory but was not happy with the way they win. "La Salle should have not scored three straight three-pointers. Our goal this season is to become one of the best defensive teams." Gonzales was talking about a series of triples hit by Atkins, Luigi de la Paz and Nico Elorde to bring the lead down to four but ran out of time in the end to secure NU's victory. The Bulldogs won despite committing 25 turnovers, seven less than what they had during their 60-54 loss to Adamson last Sunday. Despite dictating the tempo of the game, NU even trailed by one at the half (24-23) after scoring only six points in the second period. The Bulldogs turned things around in the third by limiting La Salle to just six markers to enjoy a comfortable 41-30 lead entering the final 10 minutes of the contest. La Salle tried to inch closer by cutting the lead to numerous five to six point deficits but Ponferada and Terso buried timely baskets to keep NU afloat. Mark Mendoza tallied 10 points but went scoreless during the last two quarters while Simon Atkins scored nine after a 20-point performance in La Salle’s 80-62 win over UP on opening day. Atkins shot 4-of-10 from the field including a 1-of-7 clip from downtown. - JVP/RCJ, GMANews.TV