UNIVERSITY of the East leaned on the late-game heroics of Wello Lingolingo to edge out National University in a thrilling 57-51 victory, securing their third straight win in the UAAP Season 87 Men’s Basketball Tournament on Saturday evening at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

After Steve Nash Enriquez knocked down two free throws to bring the Bulldogs within one, Lingolingo responded with a clutch three-pointer, pushing the Red Warriors to a 53-49 lead with just 41.4 seconds remaining.

Despite Enriquez committing a costly turnover, NU managed to stay in the game when Jolo Manansala stole the inbound pass and scored a layup with 19.5 seconds left, trimming the lead. However, Lingolingo sealed the win by sinking two free throws, followed by a crucial block and two more free throws by Ethan Galang to put the game out of reach.

“I’m so happy again that the boys responded well. Actually, we had a bad practice yesterday but I’m glad that all the players, especially coming off the bench, stepped up and yung game plan namin down the stretch, nasunod,” said UE head coach Jack Santiago.

It was the Recto-based squad to its first three-game winning streak for the first time since Season 77 (2014) when it won five in a row at the end of the eliminations.

The victory did not only see the Red Warriors continue their impressive run, rising to solo fourth in the standings with a 3-2 card, but they also continued the woes of a struggling Bulldogs side.

John Abate continued his stellar play with a game-high 15-point performance on 7-of-12 shooting to go along with six rebounds.

Despite being limited to eight points on 2-of-7 shooting, Lingolingo fired out five of UE’s seven last points.

“It feels good kasi sa una palang hindi nasshoot mga tira ko kasi mahigpit depensa sa akin, kaya I’m grateful na nashoot ko yung last shot na ‘yon,” the 6-foot-1, Lanao del Norte native shared.

The Red Warriors aim to tally their fourth consecutive win in a clash against Ateneo de Manila University on Wednesday, Oct. 2, at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.

Meanwhile, the Jhocson-based squad dropped its fourth straight game for seventh place with a 1-5 slate, where four of those five losses hold an average losing margin of 3.5 points.

The loss also matched NU’s worst start in five years, where it also tallied one win through six games in the first round of UAAP Season 82 last 2019.  

No Bulldog scored in double figures as Enriquez only managed to score nine points on a 28.6 percent shooting clip, while Jolo Manansala, Reinhard Jumamoy, and Kenshin Padrones chipped in eight points each in the losing effort.

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs look to break out its four-game skid when it clashes against the Blue Eagles next Saturday, Oct. 5, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

The Scores:

UE (57) - Abate 15, Lingolingo 8, Galang 7, Wilson 6, Maga 6, Momowei 5, Fikes 5, Cruz-Dumont 5, Malaga 2, Spandonis 0, Mulingtapang 0, Go 0, Robles 0.

NU (51) - Enriquez 9, Manansala 8, Jumamoy 8, Padrones 8, Lim 6, Figueroa 4, Francisco 3, Santiago 3, Palacielo 2, Perciano 0, Garcia 0, Tulabut 0, Dela Cruz 0, Parks 0.