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Parks lifts NU past UST in pre-season caging


National University (NU) rookie Bobby Ray Parks scored 17 points to lead the Bulldogs to a 60-52 win over University of Santo Tomas (UST) on Wednesday in the Fil-Oil Flying V Preseason Premier Cup at The Arena in San Juan City. Parks, the son of many-time PBA Best Import winner Bobby, was the lone Bulldog to finish with double digits in scoring. He also had seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks as he provided the Sampaloc-based team enough of a cushion throughout. But NU still needed to toughen up its defense late in the game, before leaning on a 7-0 closing spurt to seal the win. After UST rookie Kevin Ferrer made two free throws to put the Tigers within one (52-53),NU's Denice Villamor, Jul-Ashri Ignacio and Angelo Alolino buried crucial baskets down the stretch to keep the Bulldogs out of harm's way. Joel Betayene's split of his free throws in the 36.6-second mark set the final count. "This will be the story of the team this year, it will be all about thriving on making stops and doing it on defense, because we are not a talented offensive team," said NU coach Eric Altamirano. Altamirano also praised Parks' efforts despite the rookie's obviously ongoing adjustment to the Filipino brand of play. "He is still trying to learn the Filipino style but he really has a great attitude," the Bulldogs' coach said. UST’s Cameroonian import Karim Abdul had 13 points and grabbed a game-high 23 rebounds, while Carmelo Afuang added 10 markers. Meanwhile, San Beda bounced back from a 90-87 opening-game loss to Ateneo as the Red Lions cruised to an 88-74 win over the Arellano University Chiefs. Ola Adeogun finished with 21 points while Rome Dela Rosa and Garvo Lanete tallied 15 markers each for the Red Lions. Kevin Alas scored 23 points, pouring in nine in a 10-2 finish as the Knights beat Emilio Aguinaldo College, 66-54. In the juniors division, Letran beat San Sebastian, 88-64, while NU trounced the Philippine Under-13 team, 103-44. - Reuben Terrado, JVP, KY, GMA News

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