Bullpups get back at Tiger Cubs in NBA Rising Stars Invitational

MANILA, Philippines -- It is sweet revenge for the National University - Nazareth School Bullpups.

The NUNS Bullpups relished the “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity to represent the Philippines in the NBA Rising Stars Invitational, which they earned after blasting UAAP tormentors University of Santo Tomas Tiger Cubs, 101-75, Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

NU, which lost the UAAP Season 87 boys’ basketball crown to UST, will thus be representing the Philippines in Singapore later this year.

After the game, NUNS head coach Kevin de Castro said that they are very happy to get back at UST this time around.

“We’re very happy kasi yun nga, yung finals ng UAAP, medyo hindi nag-favor sa amin. But I told them, it’s something to look forward to,” he said.

“So next tournaments, let’s see. Let’s get better. Let’s compete and let’s see what the result is. Sobrang happy kami na naka-recover kami this tournament,” he added.

Back in March, UST bagged the championship after a tough three-game series with NUNS.

While the champion Tiger Cubs fielded a different team this time around, the Bullpups were just ruthless and led by as much as 31 points.

“Sinabi ko lang sa kanila na ito lang yung once-in-a-lifetime opportunity sa NU high school na mag-represent sa Singapore as Team Philippines. Alam naman nating lahat na dream ng lahat yun, mapa-player, mapa-coach. Me, personally, dream kong makapag-coach ng international,” de Castro said.

“So it’s a privilege and an honor. Very happy ako sa kids kasi nag-stick sa gameplan, kung anong gusto naming pagawa, day in day out talagang trinabaho nila. Di lang sa offense and sa defense.”

Shaun Lucido led NU with 25 points, four rebounds and four assists en route to a Most Valuable Player award. Rob Celiz added 24 markers, while Moussa Diakite had a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds to go with four blocks.

Wacky Ludovice powered UST with 26 points, six rebounds and two assists.

Now, the Bullpups will be carrying the Philippine flag in Singapore for the regional high school basketball tourney, which will feature boys’ and girls’ teams from 11 countries and territories across the Asia-Pacific region. Joining them are the NUNS Lady Bullpups, who also crushed La Salle College Antipolo, 107-49.

Ashley Trinidad had 21 points and seven rebounds for NUNS, while Mariella Avila had 17 points. Aubrey Laapasaran and Zuzzane Singson contributed 16 markers apiece, with the former recording four assists and three rebounds, and the latter tallying18 boards en route to being named Most Valuable Player.

“The Rising Stars Invitational is a good first step, especially for girls’ basketball. It’s another tournament for teams to look forward to,” NU head coach Camilla Escoto said.

“Some of the girls get demotivated by not having enough tournaments to prepare and practice for, so I’m very thankful for the NBA and NBA Philippines for doing this.”