National University Nazareth School overcame a gritty challenge from Far Eastern University-Diliman to pull off a hard-earned 72-68 victory and secure the top seed along with a twice-to-beat advantage in the UAAP Season 88 Boys’ Basketball Final Four, Wednesday morning at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Mark Arzola led the Bullpups with 15 points on 7-of-13 shooting and seven assists, while Clark Khobuntin delivered an 11-point, 17-rebound double-double as NUNS clinched the top spot and moved two wins away from completing an elimination-round sweep.
Meanwhile, the University of Santo Tomas held off a furious fourth-quarter rally from defending champion University of the East to secure a 102-93 victory.
With the contrasting results, NUNS remained unbeaten atop the eight-team field at 12-0, while FEU’s defeat allowed UST to gain a share of second place with identical 8-3 records.
After trailing by 10 early in the game, the Bullpups stormed back to take a 39-35 halftime lead and carried that momentum into the third quarter. They unleashed a 14-3 run—capped by back-to-back inside baskets from Moussa Diakite and Arzola—to open a 53-38 cushion with 4:48 left in the period.
The Baby Tamaraws refused to go away, trimming the lead to just 64-60 behind a Prince Cariño layup and an Andrei Chavez triple with 4:34 remaining. But the Bullpups steadied themselves, scoring three straight inside hits from Arzola, Khobuntin, and Dean Tria to restore a 70-60 advantage entering the final two minutes.
A late three-pointer by Dwayne Cañete and a layup from Dwyne Enriquez cut the deficit to 70-68 with 26.4 seconds left, but a costly FEU-D turnover in the final moments sealed the Bullpups’ 12th straight win and an unblemished 12-0 record.
David Sabareza added 13 points, five assists, two steals, and one block, while Nick Pena contributed 12 points. Diakite struggled with his shot, scoring only seven points on 3-of-17 shooting, but still tallied eight rebounds, three blocks, and an assist.
Chavez paced the Baby Tamaraws with 13 points, while Cariño was limited to 11 points on 5-of-14 shooting but added 13 rebounds, three assists, and two blocks.
In the earlier game, CJ Tabbuga exploded for 25 points built on six three-pointers along with six rebounds, four assists, two steals, and a block as UST avenged its 87-78 first-round loss to UE last October 4.
The win allowed the Tiger Cubs to tie FEU at second place while creating separation from UE (7-5) and Adamson University (6-5).
