By Mav Gonzales

The Ateneo Blue Eagles continued their winning streak via a come-from-behind win as they beat the University of the East (UE) Red Warriors 72-57 at the Araneta Coliseum on July 16.

Hampered by a slow start, the Blue Eagles failed to score until the last minutes of the first quarter and even faced a 17-point lead midway through the second canto. UE held on to the lead all throughout the first half, with Val Acuña leading their scoring front, and ended it with a score of 37-35.

“Sa start, sobrang nagmamadali yung mga shots namin (We were rushing our shots in the beginning),” reigning MVP Rabeh Al-Hussaini pointed out.

But as Al-Hussaini gained his momentum and made basket after basket in the third quarter, the Katipunan-based squad finally seized their first lead , 48-47 via an Al-Hussaini two-pointer.

The rattled Red Warriors completely slipped out of their shooting run within the last minutes of the game as the Eagles took advantage of UE’s poor offense and lax defense, posting a final score of 72-57.

“When UE gets the basketball, they shoot immediately. So we crowded them as much as possible and didn’t give them space to shoot,” said Coach Norman Black on how they defeated the Warriors.

Al-Hussaini was named player of the game with 27 points and 12 rebounds. Co-captain Nonoy Baclao also contributed 10 points off the bench.

The Blue Eagles will next face the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers on Sunday, July 19, 4pm at the Philsports Arena.