Camille Naredo

Shaun Lucido of NU Nazareth in action against UPIS in the UAAP Season 88 boys' basketball tournament, February 21, 2026 at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila. UAAP Media

Shaun Lucido of NU Nazareth in action against UPIS in the UAAP Season 88 boys' basketball tournament, February 21, 2026 at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.

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UAAP Season 88

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<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1771671519518UAAP S88 19U BB - NUNS vs. UPIS - Shaun Lucido - 1213.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Shaun Lucido of NU Nazareth in action against UPIS in the UAAP Season 88 boys&#x27; basketball tournament, February 21, 2026 at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila. UAAP Media" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Shaun Lucido of NU Nazareth in action against UPIS in the UAAP Season 88 boys&#x27; basketball tournament, February 21, 2026 at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila. <em>UAAP Media</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA -- National University Nazareth School cruised past UP Integrated School, 92-60, to secure a playoff for a spot in the Final 4 of the UAAP Season 88 boys&#x27; basketball tournament on Saturday. </p><p>The Bullpups made it seven wins in a row at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila even without Malian center Moussa Diakite, who sat out due to a minor foot injury.</p><p>The tandem of Shaun Lucido and Mot Matias stepped up for NU Nazareth as they dismantled the Fighting Maroons and took another step towards a Final 4 berth.</p><p>They joined the Far Eastern University-Diliman Baby Tamaraws, who earlier overcame defending champions University of Santo Tomas Tiger Cubs, as the teams assured of a playoff for a semifinals ticket.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/basketball/2026/2/21/uaap-feu-diliman-assured-of-final-4-playoff-in-boys-basketball-1536">READ: FEU-Diliman assured of Final 4 playoff in boys&#x27; basketball</a></div><p>Meanwhile, De La Salle Zobel broke a scoring slump in the payoff period to defeat University of the East, 59-47, and maintain solo fourth place with three games remaining in the elimination round of the tournament, held in partnership with the Philippine Sports Commission.</p><p>With these contrasting victories, NUNS remained tied for first with FEU-D, both holding 9-2 records, while DLSZ created a two-game cushion for fourth place with a 6-5 slate.</p><p>UST, Adamson, and UE remained locked in a three-way tie for fifth place with 4-7 records after separate losses to FEU-D, Ateneo de Manila University, and DLSZ, respectively.</p><p>&quot;Before this game, i-treat natin ito as a playoff game kasi doon nasusukat yung growth namin. Pero the way we played today, medyo nag-relax kami. Given talaga &#x27;yon kasi ito yung mga mahirap kalaban, yung winless. Medyo bad game for us, pero kailangan namin trabahuin yung last three games namin kasi very crucial pa rin &#x27;yon,&quot; Bullpups head coach Kevin de Castro said.</p><p>NUNS wasted no time asserting its dominance, opening with a 27-14 first-quarter lead before consecutive layups from Sofiane Bouzina, Matias, Lucido, and Ronnie Juan pushed UPIS into a 24-point deficit, 52-28, by halftime.</p><p>The Fighting Maroons struggled to respond in the second half as two Miekho Natinga triples and a four-point swing by Kurl Figueroa gave the Bullpups a commanding 74-37 advantage with seconds remaining before the payoff period.</p><p>NUNS outrebounded UPIS by 20 (48-28), shot efficiently at 33-of-73 from the field, recorded 19 steals, and forced 25 turnovers in the wire-to-wire triumph.</p><p>Lucido led the Bullpups with 16 points, five rebounds, five steals, and four assists, followed by Matias with 12 points, five steals, four assists, and three rebounds. Figueroa added 10 points and six rebounds, while Cartel and Natinga contributed nine points each.</p><p>For UPIS, Bruce Tubongbanua paced the team with 23 points, six rebounds, six steals, four assists, and two blocks, while Kean Poquiz had 13 points, four assists, two rebounds, and one block.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>LA SALLE ZOBEL TURNS BACK UE</strong><strong><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1771671587850UAAP 88 HS Basketball DLSZ vs UE - Yusuf Mikailu _ Drei Lorenzo.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Action between UE and La Salle Zobel in the UAAP Season 88 boys&#x27; basketball tournament, February 21, 2026 at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila. UAAP Media" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Action between UE and La Salle Zobel in the UAAP Season 88 boys&#x27; basketball tournament, February 21, 2026 at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila. <em>UAAP Media</em></span></span></span></strong></div><div><strong></strong></div><p>In the later game, the Junior Warriors stayed within striking distance in the third period, trailing 37-34, but the Junior Archers responded with 13 straight points—capped by two Ken Atienza layups and a Champ Arejola stepback jumper—to enter the payoff period with a 16-point, 50-34 lead.</p><p>DLSZ then leaned on its defensive identity in the fourth quarter to overcome offensive struggles. The Junior Archers opened the period with an Atienza layup, restoring a 52-39 cushion with 3:54 remaining. </p><p>Two Louie Bual free throws, an Ethan Aguas layup, and a Jamal Diaz triple cut the deficit to 54-46 with exactly 60 seconds left, but Mark Borrero sealed DLSZ’s hard-fought victory by converting three of his four free-throw attempts.</p><p>&quot;I think what kept us there was that even though we weren’t scoring, we were doing our part defensively. It’s something that we can improve on, especially heading into our last few games in the eliminations. Tulad nung last game, sabi ko nga kay Maco, he may not have a good scoring output, or there would be games that he would score a lot and still lose, I believe, and I trust these guys that they can do other things aside from scoring the basketball,&quot; Junior Archers head coach Gian Nazario said.</p><p>Atienza shone with 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting, along with five rebounds, two blocks, and one assist, while Maco Dabao added 13 points, five rebounds, four steals, and one assist. Borrero finished with 12 points, three steals, two rebounds, and two assists, and Arejola contributed eight points, four rebounds, and three steals.</p><p>For the Junior Warriors, Diaz led with 12 points, nine rebounds, and two steals, while Bual had 10 points, two assists, one rebound, and one steal. Aguas was limited to four points, three rebounds, three assists, and two steals, and Sizco Roquid managed just a single point.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>The Scores:</strong></div><div><strong>Third Game:</strong></div><p><strong>NUNS (92) </strong>- Lucido 16, M. Matias 12, Figueroa 10, Cartel 9, Natinga 9, Bouzina 8, Timbang 5, Mann 5, R. Matias 5, Tulabut 4, Juan 2, Celiz 2, Sison 2, Manding 1.</p><p><strong>UPIS (60)</strong> - Tubongbanua 23, Poquiz 13, Hallare 9, Labao 6, M. Rosete 2, Lugatiman 2, Addatu 2, J. Rosete 2, Hernandez 1, Cobico 0, Villanueva 0, Ryan 0, Manguerra 0.</p><p><strong>Quarterscores</strong>: 27-14, 52-28, 74-39, 92-60.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>Fourth Game:</strong></div><p><strong>DLSZ (59)</strong> - Atienza 14, Dabao 13, Borrero 12, Arejola 8, Mikailu 5, Favis 3, Ferrer 2, J. Alpapara 2, Tan 0, Ja. Alpapara 0, Luna 0, Llamas 0.</p><p><strong>UE (47)</strong> - Diaz 12, Bual 10, Timbol 7, Lorenzo 5, Aguas 4, Braga 4, Edoukou 3, Delos Reyes 1, Roquid 1, Pascual 0, Orca 0, Panganiban 0, Abellar 0.</p><p><strong>Quarterscores</strong>: 15-11, 33-24, 50-34, 59-47.</p>

<p>National University Nazareth School cruised past UP Integrated School, 92-60, to secure a playoff for a spot in the Final 4 of the #UAAPSeason88 boys' basketball tournament on Saturday.</p>

National University Nazareth School cruised past UP Integrated School, 92-60, to secure a playoff for a spot in the Final 4 of the #UAAPSeason88 boys' basketball tournament on Saturday.

UAAP: NU Nazareth boys nearing Final 4 berth after big win over UPIS

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UAAP: NU Nazareth boys nearing Final 4 berth after big win over UPIS

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Published Feb 21, 2026 07:01 PM PHT

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