AFTER A heated third quarter tussle, the Ateneo Blue Eagles buckled down to beat the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons, 64-51, in a knockout semi-finals match in the SMART City Hoops Basketball Tournament on Saturday, June 9, at the Greenhills West Indoor Court.

Tensions rose in the third quarter as UP’s Jun Manzo was repeatedly on the receiving end of hard fouls. This led to the spitfire guard losing his cool and attempting to start a fight. The officials stepped in and gave him a warning for his misbehavior which served as a catalyst for Ateneo to break the game open.

Adrian Wong top-scored for the Blue Eagles with a game-high 14 points highlighted by four triples, all of which came in the second half. Angelo Kouame chipped in 12 points and eight boards while Thirdy Ravena and Isaac Go contributed eight markers apiece.

Manzo was the lone Maroon in double figures with 10 points. Gelo Vito produced eight markers while the trio of Bright Akhuetie, Juan Gomez de Liano, and Paul Desiderio were shut down with five, four, and two points respectively.

The first quarter started out flat with neither teams managing to get a hold of the game. After a Pat Maagdenberg basket put Ateneo up, 10-4, midway through the opening frame, the Fighting Maroons attempted to close the gap, scoring in quick succession to take a one-point lead. Both teams continued trading baskets until the buzzer sounded, with the first period ending in a deadlock, 13-13.

Ateneo’s offense started quickly in the second frame as Kouame and Matt Nieto hit back-to-back baskets to take a four-point lead. After several empty possessions, Coach Tab Baldwin was prompted to call a timeout which proved to be the difference maker for Ateneo to finish the half on a 13-3 run and take a commanding 33-21 lead.

[Second Quarter]

Isaac Go with another second chance bucket to end the half!

Ateneo 33 UP 21#CityHOOPS pic.twitter.com/g7wPrgiIfS

— Gerrick C. Limsiy (@Rick_TheGUIDON) June 9, 2018

Ateneo’s slow start in the third frame allowed UP to crawl back in the game, trimming the Blue Eagle lead to eight. Raffy Verano’s layup four minutes into the period finally ended the dry spell, but the Fighting Maroons continued their onslaught of buckets, cutting the deficit to as low as four points. However, this would be the closest UP could get in the second half as the Ateneo offense came alive once Tyler Tio and Wong hit back-to-back baskets to close the period, 45-37.

Isaac Go and Wong put the team on their backs to begin the payoff period, hitting multiple baskets to balloon the lead to 13. A flurry of baskets from both teams kept the lead in double digits before Wong hit a booming triple to take the game away from UP. Jason Prado’s free throws sealed the final score, 64-51.

[Fourth Quarter]

Adrian Wong for three!

Ateneo 62 UP 47#CityHOOPS pic.twitter.com/AXn393zMhM

— Gerrick C. Limsiy (@Rick_TheGUIDON) June 9, 2018

The hard-fought win propels the Blue Eagles to a finals showdown against UAAP rivals the Far Eastern University Tamaraws on Wednesday, June 13, 2:30 pm, at the same venue.

Quarter Scores:

Ateneo-UP: 13-13, 33-21, 45-37, 64-51

Box Score:

Ateneo (64): Wong – 14, Kouame – 12, Ravena – 8, Go – 8, White – 5, Mamuyac – 4, Mallilin – 3, Mendoza – 2, Maagdenberg – 2, Nieto, Ma. – 2, Tio – 2, Verano – 2, Belangel – 0, Andrade – 0

UP (51): Manzo – 10, Vito – 8, Akhuetie – 5, Tungcab – 5, Gomez de Liano, Ja. – 5, Gomez de Liano, Ju. – 4, Murell – 4, Prado – 4, Desiderio – 2, Gozum – 2, Lim – 2