DESPITE A hot start from beyond the arc, with 4-of-5 of their early first-half field goals coming from downtown, the Ateneo Blue Eagles found themselves bested at the final buzzer, 74-70, by the Adamson University (AdU) Soaring Falcons in Season 81 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Mens Basketball Tournament.
Jerrick Ahanmisis deadly off-ball movement, along with his improved ability to score off the dribble, all played to his favor as he led all scorers with 23 points on 47% shooting from the field. Ahanmisi also found himself lighting up the scoreboard from downtown with four of his eight converted field goals coming from beyond the arc.
Meanwhile, Matt Nieto led Ateneo with 21 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the field, and 10/12 shooting from the free throw line. Nietos play on both ends of the court also saw him earn team-high statistics of two steals and a plus/minus of 12 on 26.5 minutes of action on the court.
Early on, Adamsons defense caused the Blue and White problems as the Falcons relentless full-court trap earned them several easy buckets including a Jojo Espeleta breakaway layup off an errant pass from the backcourt. Misplaced passes and communication gaps continued to plague the Blue and White throughout the match, gifting AdU a total of 15 points off turnovers.
Meanwhile, the second quarter saw the Blue Eagles offense find its niche, as an Aaron Black lay-up from a fake dribble hand-off forced Adamson Head Coach Franz Pumaren to call a timeout with Ateneo leading the Falcons by their largest margin of the game at 11. Exiting the timeout however, five straight points from Ahanmisi along with an and-one from Jerom Lastimosa cut the Blue Eagles’ lead to two before Ahanmisi’s buzzer-beater from half court gave the Soaring Falcons a 39-40 advantage entering halftime.
[Second Quarter]
Aaron Black slips through the defense to make it a double digit lead for Ateneo! Timeout Adamson with 5:32 left in the period.
Ateneo 29 Adamson 18#UAAPBasketball pic.twitter.com/iW3VO4Ryd4
— Gerrick C. Limsiy (@Rick_TheGUIDON) September 9, 2018
[Second Quarter]
Ahanmisi from halfcourt to beat the buzzer!!!
Ateneo 39 Adamson 40#UAAPBasketball pic.twitter.com/KcIktXLRXv
— Gerrick C. Limsiy (@Rick_TheGUIDON) September 9, 2018
The third quarter saw the fans of both sides reach their boiling point—as numerous technical fouls were called on both teams for flopping and improper bench conduct. The violations, which bought Ahanmisi five trips to the line, saw the Blue Eagles struggle to keep up with the Soaring Falcons as they entered the final quarter trailing by four points, 55-51.
In the final quarter, a flagrant foul from Lastimosa enabled Nieto tie the match at 61-all from the charity stripe. After a back-and-forth affair, an offensive rebound late in the game triggered an uncontested Papi Sarr lay-up in the low post to eventually give Adamson the advantage with less than a minute of play left on the clock. Eventually, two converted charities from Sean Manganti sealed the 70-74 victory for the Soaring Falcons.
[Fourth Quarter]
Matt Nieto spins and scores plus the foul!!! He makes the bonus. Two-point game now! Timeout Adamson with 6:58 left in the game.
Ateneo 57 Adamson 59#UAAPBasketball pic.twitter.com/U16NXnLenS
— Gerrick C. Limsiy (@Rick_TheGUIDON) September 9, 2018
Commenting on his teams performance following the defeat, Assistant Coach Sandy Arespacochaga acknowledged the Blue Eagles’ shortcomings. When we tried to move the ball, there were a couple of breakdowns on our end offensively,” he admitted. “We [have] to do a better job executing the offense and reading the opponents defense.
Arespacochaga also commended the Soaring Falcons for their victory. They deserved to win. They played excellent defense. They got a lot of offensive rebounds,” he said. “They also forced a lot of turnovers. These were key; they were the better team.
This defeat sees the defending champions kick off their campaign at a 0-1 win-loss standing. The Blue Eagles will be looking to recover with a victory against their Katipunan rivals, the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons, at 4PM this Wednesday, September 12, at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao City.
Quarter Scores
(Ateneo-AdU): 20-18, 39-40, 51-55, 70-74
Box Scores
Ateneo (70): Ma .Nieto – 21, Verano – 10, Ravena – 7, Asistio – 7, Go – 6, Navarro – 5, Mendoza – 5, Mi. Nieto – 4, Black – 4, Kouame – 1
Adamson (74): Ahanmisi – 23, Magbuhos – 10, Sarr – 8, Espeleta – 7, Catapusan – 7, Lastimosa – 6, Manganti – 4, Pingoy – 3, Mojica – 3, Camacho – 2, Colonia -1