UAAP Men’s Hoops: NU staves off DLSU to claim No. 1 spot

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

The National University Bulldogs bagged a gutsy win over the De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Archers, 82-78, in the ongoing UAAP Season 88 Men’s Basketball Tournament on Oct. 12, 2025, at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.

With the massive come-from-behind win, the Bulldogs claimed solo first place in the standings, improving to an impressive 5-1 start while the Green Archers fell to a disappointing 2-3 slate.

Before the fourth quarter kicked off, DLSU was still ahead by six points, 61-55, but the Bulldogs came back with a demoralizing 7-0 run to retake the driver’s seat off a Jake Figueroa floater, 62-61.

The run swelled to 10 unanswered points for NU after Reinhard Jumamoy drilled a huge three-pointer from the right elbow that gave the Bulldogs a 65-61 lead.

DLSU didn’t go down without a fight as baskets from Mike Phillips, Luis Pablo, and Jacob Cortez trimmed their deficit to just a deuce, 72-70, with only three minutes remaining in the game.

However, the next sequence of events favored NU, as PJ Palacielo muscled his way inside for four straight points that ballooned the Bulldogs’ cushion to six points, 76-70.

DLSU showed it still had enough gas left in the tank after inching close to a point, 76-75, but Figueroa’s much-needed free-throw make and a well-anticipated steal from Jumamoy sealed the deal for the Bulldogs.

With only 12.1 seconds remaining and NU leading by a deuce, Jumamoy timed the biggest steal of the game, split seconds after Phillips pulled down the board that would’ve generated an offensive look for DLSU.

As a result of the steal, NU prevented DLSU from either tying the game or taking the lead, en route to Paul Francisco’s back-to-back makes at the charity stripe with only seven seconds left.

DLSU’s Kean Baclaan tried to resurrect his school’s hopes after burying a trey to pull within a point, 79-78, but Jumamoy’s free throws were the icing on the cake, rewarding NU with another solid come-from-behind UAAP win.

Figueroa once again led the Bulldogs in scoring with 18 points and eight rebounds, but it was the duo of Palacielo and Jumamoy who made the biggest plays for NU during the most crucial stretch.

Palacielo wrapped up the win with 16 points, including 10 in the fourth, while Jumamoy added eight markers, all of which he scored in the final frame.