Photo by Mario T. Dagdag
FOR A quarter, inspired shooting helped the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons keep pace with the defending champions. But, when their shots started to fail, the Blue Eagles’ talent, depth and defense ultimately carried them to victory, allowing them to take first blood in this year’s Battle of Katipunan, 77-57, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on July 30.
The state scholars started the game on a three-point flurry—one by Francis Maniego and a pair by lead guard Mike Gamboa. Despite the hot start, they were never able to pull away as the Ateneo starting line-up combined for 16 first quarter points. A buzzer-beating hook shot by Ifeanyi Mbah, though, gave the Maroons a two-point lead heading into the second quarter, 21-19.
The Blue Eagles’ second unit effectively clamped down early in the second canto but simply didn’t do enough offensively to take over the game. It took back-to-back three-pointers by Emman Monfort at the 3:52 mark to finally break the game open for the Blue and White, with Ateneo finishing out the quarter on a 15-4 run.
With a double-digit lead in place, the Blue Eagles looked to cruise to victory. A 7-0 burst by the Fighting Maroons midway through the fourth quarter trimmed the lead to a manageable eight points, but any hopes of a comeback were quickly dimmed by a 15-1 run by Ateneo. This enabled coach Norman Black to clear the bench for the final two minutes of play.
For the first time this season, led by Kiefer Ravena’s 15 points, the entire Ateneo starting five scored in double-digits, while no player from UP breached the ten point mark. In stark contrast to their 1-17 mark against the UE Red Warriors, the Blue Eagles hit a sterling 6-10 from beyond the arc.
Though Kirk Long scored 14 points on just seven field goal attempts—a remarkable mark of efficiency—it would be his performance on the defensive end that would prove to be invaluable, as he held the explosive Mike Silungan to eight points despite taking fifteen shots.
“I have a lot of help from my teammates. It’s nice to have a seven-footer behind you, and when I’m not playing we have some players who can tire their important players out. We have a lot of players who can score,” Long said of his defensive performance. “I’m happy with my role.”
“I thought we buckled down defensively for the last three quarters. We recovered from three as well. Our defense and perimeter shooting did it for us,” said Ateneo Coach Norman Black.
The Blue Eagles look forward to continuing to their unbeaten run against the UST Growling Tigers on Thursday, August 4, 3:00 PM at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Scoring Leaders:
ADMU, 77: Ravena 15, Slaughter 14, Long 14, Monfort 13, Salva 10, Gonzaga 6, Golla 2, Chua 2, Tiongson 1
UP, 57: Silungan 8, Manuel, 8, Gamboa 8, Mbah 7, Maniego 7, Romero 6, Montecastro 6, Gomez 5, Pascual 2
Quarter Scoring: 19-21, 42-31, 57-43, 77-57
