Camille Naredo

Mark Arzola of NU-Nazareth School in action against FEU-Diliman in the UAAP Season 88 junior high school basketball tournament, November 12, 2025 at the Mall of Asia Arena. UAAP Media

Mark Arzola of NU-Nazareth School in action against FEU-Diliman in the UAAP Season 88 junior high school basketball tournament, November 12, 2025 at the Mall of Asia Arena.

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UAAP Season 88

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<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1762937913480UAAP88 JHSBB - MARK ARZOLA-4907.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Mark Arzola of NU-Nazareth School in action against FEU-Diliman in the UAAP Season 88 junior high school basketball tournament, November 12, 2025 at the Mall of Asia Arena. UAAP Media"/>Mark Arzola of NU-Nazareth School in action against FEU-Diliman in the UAAP Season 88 junior high school basketball tournament, November 12, 2025 at the Mall of Asia Arena. UAAP Media</div>MANILA -- National University Nazareth School weathered a strong challenge from Far Eastern University-Diliman to take a 72-68 victory in the UAAP Season 88 boys&#x27; basketball tournament, Wednesday morning at the Mall of Asia Arena.The hard-earned win gave the Bullpups the top seed and a twice-to-beat advantage in the Final 4 of the junior high school basketball tournament.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.NU-Nazareth is now 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&#x27;s defeat allowed UST to gain a share of second place with identical 8-3 records.&quot;Importante ‘yong twice-to-beat talaga ‘eh. Lahat naman ng team ang laging hinahabol ay yung twice-to-beat advantage at kaya nga tinawag na twice-to-beat advantage ‘eh, para kahit papaano, magkamali ka ‘man sa Final Four, may chance ka pa para makabawi,&quot; said NUNS head coach Leo Pujante.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&#x27; 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.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1762937943480UAAP88 JHSBB - CJ TABBUGA, ROWIE CABANERO, MIGUEL JUBILADO-4473.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="The UST Tiger Cubs during their game against UE in the UAAP Season 88 junior high school basketball tournament, November 12, 2025 at the Mall of Asia Arena. UAAP Media"/>The UST Tiger Cubs during their game against UE in the UAAP Season 88 junior high school basketball tournament, November 12, 2025 at the Mall of Asia Arena. UAAP Media</div>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).&quot;Nakita ko na nag-respond yung mga players. Well prepared naman kami para sa ipapakita ng UE. Lahat nung gusto namin mangyari habang nagpe-prepare, nakita namin sa laro. Kaya medyo maganda yung kinalabasan ng laro,&quot; said UST head coach Noli Mejos.UST built a commanding 59-41 halftime lead and maintained control heading into the fourth quarter, with key baskets from Miguel Jubilado, Rowie Cabañero, and Dave Regala pushing the margin to 81-63 entering the payoff period.UE, however, mounted a spirited rally as MVP frontrunner Goodluck Okebata, Sean Felizmenia, Zion Aguilar, and Juan Mallabo combined to slice the deficit to just six, 96-90, with 49 seconds remaining. But the Tiger Cubs held their ground—Jubilado&#x27;s layup and two clutch free throws from Cabañero restored a 100-90 cushion with 33.7 ticks left to seal the hard-fought win.Jubilado finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, and two steals, while Cabañero came close to a triple-double with 11 points, 10 assists, and six rebounds. Wayne Anggot added 14 points, three assists, and two steals, as Regala chipped in 13 points, six boards, and a block. Gab Castro rounded out UST&#x27;s balanced scoring with 12 points and six rebounds.Okebata led UE with 27 points on 10-of-17 shooting, nine rebounds, four steals, three blocks, and two assists, while Mark Perdigon added 15 points, five rebounds, three assists, three steals, and a block.<div> </div><div>The Scores:</div><div>First Game</div>UST (102) – Tabbuga 25, Jubilado 20, Anggot 14, Regala 13, Castro 12, Cabañero 11, Datu 4, Villacarlos 3.UE (93) – Okebata 27, Perdigon 15, Aguilar 14, Ancheta 9, Felizmenia 9, Mallabo 6,  Mercado 6, Delos Santos 4, Roxas 3, Mesa 0.Quarterscores: 28-16, 59-41, 61-43, 102-93.<div> </div><div>Second Game</div>NUNS (72) - Arzola 15, Sabareza 13, Pena 12, Khobuntin 11, Tria 10, Diakite 7, Gatumbato 2, Lalong-Isip 2, Manalo 0, Liwanag 0, Yanga 0.FEU-D (68) - Chavez 13, Canete 12, Carino 11, Mojica 9, Mampao 8, Enriquez 8, Desiderio 7, Pineda 0, Barlan 0, Calma 0, Daa 0.Quarterscores: 16-19, 39-35, 58-51, 72-68.

National University Nazareth School weathered a strong challenge from Far Eastern University-Diliman to take a 72-68 victory in the UAAP Season 88 boys' basketball tournament, Wednesday morning at the Mall of Asia Arena.

National University Nazareth School weathered a strong challenge from Far Eastern University-Diliman to take a 72-68 victory in the UAAP Season 88 boys' basketball tournament, Wednesday morning at the Mall of Asia Arena.

UAAP: Unbeaten Bullpups clinches top seed in boys' basketball

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UAAP: Unbeaten Bullpups clinches top seed in boys' basketball

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Published Nov 12, 2025 05:00 PM PHT

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