NU Lady Bulldogs huddle at center court after completing an elimination round sweep for an outright finals berth in the UAAP Season 87 women’s basketball tournament.–UAAP PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — National University swept its way to the UAAP Season 87 women’s basketball finals, inching a series closer to completing its title-redemption bid.

Determined to return to the top after their seven-year reign ended last year, the Lady Bulldogs pulled off a perfect 14-game campaign in the elimination round with another masterful victory over the also-ran Far Eastern University, 86-58, Saturday morning at Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.

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It was a total team effort for NU, which drew at least one made field goal from all of its 14 players while also assisting on 32 out of its 33 made field goals.

READ: UAAP: NU Lady Bulldogs near sweep, whip Adamson

The Lady Bulldogs’ dominant elimination round paved the way for a stepladder semifinals. The winner between No. 3 Adamson and No. 4 Ateneo in a knockout clash battles second seed and defending champion University of Santo Tomas for the right to face NU

Cielo Pagdulagan powered the Lady Bulldogs with 11 points, Jill Talas contributed nine points while Aloha Betanio and Angel Surada added eight apiece. The quartet of Daniella Alterado, Pringle Fabruada, Jainaba Konateh, and Nicole Pring chipped in seven each. 

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“The goal is to have the opportunity to go back to the Finals and with this win, we finally got it but the work doesn’t stop there. It just gave us the opportunity to be there sa stage na ginugusto namin para maituloy namin yung goal namin of winning another championship,” said NU coach Aris Dimaunahan, whose squad moved just two victories away from reclaiming the crown.

NU booked a trip to the UAAP Finals for the 10th consecutive time. The Lady Bulldogs swept the eliminations for the first time since Season 82 in 2019.

READ: UAAP: NU Lady Bulldogs beat UST anew, close in on elims sweep

“Masaya kami pero not too high, not too low. Lagi kaming nireremind ng coaches na job is not done. Thank God nasweep namin at nakabalik ulit kami sa championship. Ilang months namin hinintay ‘to simula last year pagkatalo,” said the fourth-year forward Surada

NU dominated FEU from the get-go, scoring 16 unanswered points before ending the first quarter ahead, 29-10, with eight players already scoring at least two points 

FEU, which lost star Josee Kaputu early in the season, ended up in seventh place with a 3-11 record in coach Raiza Palmera-Dy’s first year at the helm.

Victoria Pasilang carried the Lady Tamaraws with 18 points and five rebounds, while MJ Manguiat had 15 points but committed 11 turnovers. 

The Scores:

NU 86 – Pagdulagan 11, Talas 9, Betanio 8, Surada 8, Alterado 7, Fabruada 7, Konateh 7, Pring 7, Pingol 6, Clarin 5, Sois 3, Villanueva 3, Ico 3, Canuto 2. 

FEU 58 – Pasilang 18, Manguiat 15, Salvani 8, Nagma 6, Villanueva 5, Ong 4, Gavaran 2, Lopez 0, Paras 0, Dela Torre 0. 

Quarterscores: 29-10, 44-30, 62-43, 86-58.