THE ATENEO Blue Eagles responded to their recent last-second loss with a textbook clutch-time display, overpowering the University of the East (UE) Red Warriors in a 76-69 win. The Blue and White played their fourth contest in the first round of the University Athletic Association Philippines (UAAP) Season 86 earlier this afternoon at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
With the win today, the Season 85 champions are now tied with the UE Red Warriors at fifth place in the standings as of the time of writing—holding an even record at two wins and two losses apiece.
Frontcourt stellars Kai Ballungay and Joseph Obasa played vital roles in the Blue Eagles’ much needed win. The Filipino-American finished with a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds, while the Nigerian transferee nabbed 16 points, eight boards, three assists, and was responsible for six of Ateneo’s seven blocks in the contest.
Right at the tipoff, Ballungay showcased his offensive versatility as he assumed the offensive load for the Blue Eagles. The third-year forward tallied nine out of the defending champion’s 11 points thanks to his smooth jumpers around the key and outside the arc.
The Red Warriors, on the other hand, retaliated through their aggressive attacks towards the basket. Obasa patrolled the paint on the defensive end for Ateneo and rejected two shots in less than seven minutes to give his team an early one-point advantage, 9-8.
Both teams entered the 3:30 mark crossing at 11-8 with Ateneo leading, proving the game to be a low-scoring affair. After the timeout, the pace took a quick 180° turn, favoring UE. Without the presence of the Ateneo starters during the dying minutes, UE took over the game by sparking a 14-7 run. The Red Warriors finished the first outing in control, 22-18.
Entering the second quarter, Ateneo’s second unit found themselves struggling to contain UE on the defensive end. Head Coach Tab Baldwin then quickly reinserted the trailing squad’s top defenders, Obasa and Sean Quitevis, during the 8:26 mark to help stabilize the perimeter and inside defense, cutting the lead, 23-24.
The Blue and White’s efforts on the boards proved beneficial for the team, outhustling UE, 27-14, in rebounding in the half. Ateneo’s aggressiveness inside the paint paid off as well, seizing advantage of their trips to the line, nailing 15 out of 18 charity shots in contrast to UE’s single free throw attempt after 20 minutes of play. Combined with the rest of the Band of Brothers’ offensive contributions, Ateneo would find themselves leading by the end of the first half, 43-38.
The Blue Eagles continued their relentless ball denial on Remogat to start the third, as he only scored five points on a 40% clip in the first two frames. Through five instant third-quarter points that helped cut Ateneo’s lead to 51-49, Galang injected UE with much-needed scoring. However, Precious Momowei was called for a costly fourth foul with 4:52 still left in the quarter. Despite the Blue Eagles being awarded five free throw attempts within a two-minute span to the displeasure of the UE coaching staff, Remogat ate up the Ateneo defense for a brief resurgence. The offensively adept guard spearheaded the Red Warriors’ 11-3 run, scoring four points and getting his teammates high-quality looks with his pristine playmaking for a 58-54 lead. As Remogat headed to the bench for a breather, the Blue Eagles capitalized and closed the quarter’s final two minutes out strong, with Obasa’s and-one conversion putting Ateneo back on the high side entering the final frame, 59-58.
In a tight final ten minutes, it was Josh Lazaro who did damage for the Blue Eagles in the quarter’s opening moments, with his block and conversions from the foul line giving his unit a slim 61-58 cushion. The Red Warriors answered back with Wello Lingo-lingo’s timely marksmanship, as he drilled his fourth three in eight tries at the 5:48 point to draw UE closer, 65-64. The defending champions responded by hitting two buckets from rainbow country courtesy of Ballungay and Brown to stretch the lead, 71-64, with 4:10 to go.
However, the Red Warriors refused to stay down as they retaliated with five unanswered, capped by Momowei’s strong finish at the rim that made it a mere 71-69 Blue Eagle advantage. With the threat of another collapse knocking at Ateneo’s doorstep, Jared Brown drilled a bigtime three ball from the wing for a 74-69 margin with under 1:58 left in the contest. Brown and his teammates showed tenacity in the following defensive sequence, forcing a disqualifying foul on Momowei. Riding momentum on both ends, Ateneo clamped down and prevented UE from scoring again, re-entering the win column with a 76-69 outcome.
In his postgame interview, Obasa mentioned that his six rejections throughout the game indicated that the squad did not just play well defensively, but rotations were also made to keep the opposing team away from the paint. “The numbers are going to be there, but as a team, we want to take pride in getting stops. We want to take pride in making our opponents have dry decisions,” the 6’10” center said.
Ateneo will gun to move above .500 for the first time in Season 86 when they take on the winless Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws on Saturday, 2:oo PM at the same venue.
Box scores:
Ateneo (76): Ballungay – 18, Obasa – 16, Brown – 11, Koon – 7, Amos – 6, Lazaro – 5, Tuano – 4, Quitevis – 4, Nieto – 3, Bongo – 2
UE (69): Lingo-lingo – 12, Galang – 12, Momowei – 12, Remogat – 9, Cruz-Dumont – 8, Wilson – 7, Sawat – 7, Tulabut – 2
Quarter scores:
Ateneo-UE: 18-22, 43-38, 59-58, 76-69
