UAAP S74: NU vs UST

History Lesson: 
"Welcome to the UAAP, Bobby Ray Parks." Held to just 5 of 20 shooting for 16 points, Parks found himself shutdown by former rookie of the year Jeric Teng, who spent the game shadowing his much-hyped defensive assignment. As a result, Parks had to give up the ball when he had a chance to win the game in regulation, but former Tiger Cub Cedrick Labing-isa's attempt was off the mark. Then at the end of the extra five minutes, Teng absorbed the contact from Parks' drive, forcing the Bulldog to alter his shot and miss, giving UST the 73-72 win.
(Recap here)


What's at Stake:

• At 5-8, the NU Bulldogs are out of contention for a Final Four spot, but have resolved to end the season on a positive note, to establish momentum heading into next season.
• 8-5 FEU

NU Stat to Watch : Versus the DLSU Green Archers, NU was able to get their best defensive effort, holding their opponents to just 24.62 percent field goal shooting, a season-best for the Bulldogs. They were also able to prevent the other team from getting to the line, conceding single-digit free throws for the fourth time in five outings. If they can bring that sort of play to the table versus UST then they should be competitive again.
NU Player to Watch : Parks carried the scoring load against La Salle, but the question is if he can do it again against the guy who shut him down in round one. In that first round meeting, Parks drew only eight trips to the line, as he mostly settled for outside shots. If he starts taking it to the rim or gets out in transition, Teng will have a hard time keeping up with him, especially if he gets tagged with a few fouls.

UST Stat to Watch : After three straight games of giving up single-digit fastbreak attempts, the Tigers conceded 13 to FEU, a team not known for running, and it nearly killed them, as the Tams scored 20 points. Despite some great athletes, NU is actually not much of a running team, averaging 8.31 transition points a game, but if the coaching staff decides to let the dogs run wild, UST better look out.
UST Player to Watch : In his UAAP debut, Karim Abdul was a bit of a disappointment, tallying five points and three rebounds in 21 minutes before fouling out. Since then though, Abdul has become a huge factor in the UST game, and is perhaps the big reason for their success this season. With him out, after getting hit with a one-game suspension for accumulating two unsportsmanlike fouls, that leaves a big hole in the Tigers interior, especially with Melo Afuang sidelined while recovering from surgery.

Prediction: NU Bulldogs