PLAYING THEIR first game of the second round, the Ateneo Blue Eagles pulled through against the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons in a close encounter, 73-66, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena last August 25.
The Blue and White edged their Katipunan Avenue neighbors after a subpar performance, one that was marred by 19 turnovers and the shooting woes from beyond the three-point line.
UP drew first blood in the opening seconds, and took an early 4-0 lead after two straight turnovers from the Blue Eagles. The Ateneo starting five attempted to vault their opponents, but the Fighting Maroons sank their shots to answer whatever the Blue Eagles made. This was the theme for much of the first quarter, until Ateneo’s trademark defense started to click.
After a Kiefer Ravena dunk at 3:54 shifted the momentum to the Blue and White, four straight points from JP Erram drew the game level at 15-15. Tonino Gonzaga then handed the Blue Eagles their first lead of the game with 24 seconds to go, but Henry Asilum sank two free throws at the death to end the quarter at 17-17.
The Katipunan-based squad continued its strong start in the second quarter and attempted to gain a comfortable foothold of the game. Excellent interior defense forced botched plays from the defending champs and prevented them from taking the lead.
Quality minutes from former Blue Eaglet Mike Gamboa allowed the Fighting Maroons to overtake the Blue Eagles, 31-30, with 1:00 remaining in the first half. A three from Mike Silungan furthered the lead, but Ravena managed to pull the score down to 34-32 before the buzzer sounded the end of the first half.
Ateneo once again managed to pull away in the third quarter, but resistance from the UP five caused multiple lead changes throughout the quarter. Free throws proved to be the bane of the Fighting Maroons.
Going into the penalty, the Fighting Maroons conceded 11 in one minute of play—including a technical foul called on the UP bench for improper decorum. This gave Ateneo its biggest lead at nine points, but JR Gallarza cut it to seven as the quarter ended at 53-46.
After the disheartening flurry of fouls tagged on the Fighting Maroons at the close of the previous quarter, the Blue Eagles managed to slowly break away in the final quarter. UP’s Asilum and Raul Soyud desperately attempted to cut the deficit, but it proved futile as Nico Salva closed the door and scored with eight seconds to go to conclude the final meeting between the two squads this season at 73-66.
This win increases Ateneo’s winning streak to six games, but it wasn’t pretty. It was a lethargic Blue Eagles squad playing on the floor without a sense of urgency. UP made Ateneo pay for its errors as the Fighting Maroons made 20 turnover points to Ateneo’s 10. Ateneo also missed all of its five attempts from beyond the arc.
Meanwhile, the Diliman-based squad failed to take full advantage of the Blue Eagles’ off day, making only 35.2% of their field goals while Ateneo shot 44.8%. UP also committed 27 fouls. This allowed Ateneo a total of 32 free throws from which they converted 21.
Ravena had a solid outing as he led Ateneo with 21 points and five rebounds. Nico Salva had another quiet game, but still contributed 10 points and eight rebounds.
For only the second time this season, Greg Slaughter scored in single digits, with nine points—the same number he had in the loss to UST. However, his contribution was more on the defensive with 13 rebounds and five blocks.
Soyud and Silungan had a good game themselves, scoring 14 and 13 points, respectively, for the Maroons.
Coach Norman Black expressed his dissatisfaction with regard to his boys playing intelligently and as a unit. “With FEU and De La Salle coming up in our next two games, we definitely have to play a lot better,” he added.
The Blue Eagles take on the FEU Tamaraws on Wednesday, 4:00 PM, August 29 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Box scores:
Ateneo 73 – Ravena 21, Salva 10, Gonzaga 10, Slaughter 9, Erram 9, Tiongson 6, Chua 3, Buenafe 3, Elorde 2, Sumalinog 0, Pessumal 0, Golla 0
UP 66 – Soyud 14, Silungan 13, Asilum 10, Lopez 8, Padilla 6, Gamboa 6, Gallarza 5, Montecastro 2, Hipolito 2, Mbah 0, Wierzba 0, Romero 0, Manuel 0
