THE ATENEO Blue Eagles lost their second straight game, as they were defeated by the University of the Philppines (UP) Fighting Maroons, 52-56 on Saturday, October 8, 2016 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
The loss brings Ateneo’s record to 4-4, while UP improves to 2-6 in the second round of the University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Men’s Basketball tournament.
Chibueze Ikeh and Adrian Wong led the Blue Eagles with 10 points apiece. Ikeh shot 3/3 from the floor and 80% from the free throw line while Wong had a 31% shooting clip. Mike Nieto and Raffy Verano each had nine markers for the Blue and White.
UP was led by the dynamic duo of Jett Manuel and Paul Desiderio. Manuel top-scored the Fighting Maroons with 15 points on 5/12 shooting while Desiderio scored nine and grabbed five rebounds. They were supplemented by Dave Moralde, who had eight points and five boards, and Jarrell Lim, who scored eight on 4/6 shooting.
The Blue Eagles raced to a 9-2 lead to start the game, with Mike Nieto scoring seven and assisting two of Ateneo’s first nine points. Desiderio scored four straight to cut the Ateneo lead, but Ikeh responded by slamming home a dunk. Moralde scored back-to-back baskets shortly before the quarter ended to give Ateneo a slight lead (11-10) as the buzzer sounded.
The second period started slowly for both team, where Ateneo and UP failed to score in the first four minutes. Manuel ended the drought by hitting a mid-range jumper that gave UP its first lead of the game, but the Blue Eagles responded with back-to-back baskets by Ikeh and Verano. The two teams started to trade baskets from that point, a recurring theme of the game. Towards the end of the quarter, Tolentino drove to the basket and hit a shot plus the foul that gave Ateneo a one point lead. However, Moralde responded for UP by intercepting a pass and going coast-to-cost for a lay up. Wong hit a free throw after getting fouled shortly before the quarter ended to tie the game 23-all by halftime.
Felix Jaboneta hit from behind the arc for UP to begin the second half, but Ravena responded with a basket of his own at the other end. Dario and Tolentino both traded baskets moments after, but Vito made a basket after a nice fake to give UP a three-point lead. Midway through the period, Wong hit a three that tied the game once again. Much like the first half, the teams kept trading baskets and neither team could get a solid grip on the lead. The game started to get gritty towards the end of the third, with Verano getting warned for taunting after a scuffle for the loose ball. Manuel ended the period with a corner three that gave the Fighting Maroons a two-point lead (39-41).
Verano opened the account for Ateneo in the fourth with a lay-up that tied the game, but Lim responded with a layup of his own moments after. UP then went on an 8-3 run, capped by back-to-back baskets by Lim and Vito that forced Ateneo to call a timeout with 5 minutes left in the game. After the break in action, Ravena had a highlight sequence; he swatted Lim’s layup on one end and converted on an and-1 on the other. Wong stripped Lim and hit a layup shortly after that made it a one possession game (49-51) with 2:17 left in the game, and a free throw make by Babilonia cut UP’s lead to a single point. With a minute left in the game, Vito hit a three that would have given UP four-point cushion, but it was waved off after an offensive foul by Desiderio occurred right before the shot went in. After an Ateneo miss in the ensuing possession, Vito redeemed himself by hitting a corner 3 that made it a two possession game with 16.4 seconds remaining in the game. Wong converted a layup with 13 seconds left that cut the deficit to two, but it proved to be too late as free throws by Manuel after an intentional foul sealed the game for UP.
The gritty affair had seven deadlocks and 14 lead changes. The Blue Eagles shot 2/24 from the three point line and some key players failed to score in the game; Anton Asistio and Matt Nieto both scored none and shot a combined 0/11 from the field.
The is the first win for UP in the Battle of Katipunan in over seven years. They last won against Ateneo in UAAP Season 72 back in July 26, 2009, per Pong Ducanes.
The Blue Eagles will try to bounce back in their next game against the Adamson Soaring Falcons on Sunday, October 16, at 4pm in the Fil Oil Flying V Centre, San Juan.
Quarter Scores: 11-10, 23-23, 39-41, 52-56
Box Scores:
Ateneo: Wong- 10, Ikeh- 10, Mi. Nieto- 9, Verano- 9, Ravena- 6, Tolentino- 5, Babilonia- 3
UP: Manuel- 15, Desiderio- 9, Moralde- 8, Lim- 8, Vito- 7, Jaboneta- 3, Prado- 2, Dario- 2, Gomez De Liano- 2
