Photo by Abram P. Barrameda

THREE PLAYERS ejected from play and numerous unsportsmanlike fouls surrounded the heated 77-64 second round victory of the Ateneo Blue Eagles over the FEU Tamaraws last August 29 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

Aside from all the controversy and physical play, the Blue and White escaped any more bruises as their three-point shooting—something they have been missing this season—allowed them to pull away from the Tamaraws in the second half.

Both teams were scoreless until the eight minute mark of the first quarter, when starting forward Nico Salva, who finished with 15 points and 3 rebounds, finally broke the deadlock. After Greg Slaughter’s baby hook made it 7-0 two minutes later, Arvie Bringas was tagged for an unsportsmanlike foul after hacking Nico Salva as the latter attempted a layup. Rookie Mark Belo was then called for another unsportsmanlike foul on FEU a few moments later for shoving an elbow to Salva’s side during transition play.

The Blue Eagles scored four more unanswered points, keeping FEU’s drought going at 11-0 with just over five minutes remaining. Bringas finally made the Tamaraws’ first basket shortly thereafter.

Things quickly turned ugly when Ryan Buenafe was tagged with the game’s third unsportsmanlike foul, after he fouled explosive center Anthony Hargrove. The ensuing scenes would see both Belo and Buenafe sent to the dugouts after picking up subsequent unsportsmanlike and technical fouls.

Bannered by Terrence Romeo, the Morayta-based squad cut the deficit to just one at 13-14. A Salva free throw gave Ateneo a two-point advantage to end the first quarter at 15-13.

FEU managed to snatch the lead early in the second quarter after four successive points from Roger Pogoy and Gryann Mendoza. After continuous exchanges, veteran JP Erram sank the final shot of the half and was fouled. After Erram completed the three-point play, FEU went into the break with a slender two-point advantage, 34-32.

The Blues scored in quick succession at the restart, thanks to Salva and two threes from Kiefer Ravena and Juami Tiongson. Although they only had a woeful two field goals in the third quarter, the Tamaraws did not let the Eagles escape with a double-digit lead. After Justin Chua sank both his charities with 49 seconds to go, the third quarter ended with the four-peat champs in the lead, 49-43.

Ateneo finally broke free in the final quarter and went on an 11-5 run. Tiongson buried his fourth three-pointer with 5:48 remaining to make it 60-48. The succeeding timeout saw Bringas ejected after collecting a second unsportsmanlike foul as he was caught spitting at the Ateneo bench.

Moments later, another Tiongson three made it look like it was going to be Ateneo’s game, but former MVP RR Garcia was not done yet. The Zamboanga native toiled to get his team back in contention, but after, Von Pessumal hit another three for the Blue and White to peg the score at 70-55 with 2:31 remaining.

As the clock ran down, the game was marred with several altercations and was threatening to turn into a full-on brawl, even after the final whistle. Despite this, cooler heads prevailed as Ateneo garnered its sixth straight win.

Buenafe, despite being ejected, will not be serving any suspension time, and will be available for Saturday’s blockbuster versus La Salle.

It was an all-around performance for the Blue Eagles, whose supporting players played pivotal roles. Tiongson tallied a career-high 16 points, which included fourfrom six shooting from beyond the arc. JP Erram also tallied a game-high 10 rebounds and contributed eight points. Ravena had 12 points and eight assists while Slaughter had 10 points and nine rebounds.

The FEU combo of Garcia and Romeo delivered as well, scoring 14 and 13 points, respectively.

In comparison to their first round performance the Blue Eagles shot fairly from beyond the arc as they made 7 of 17 (37%). This is a good indication seeing how Ateneo did not make a single three-point field goal in their previous game.

“We proved it over the years that we are not going to back down to anybody,” commented Coach Norman Black about the physicality of the game. “It’s part of the game actually.”

Ateneo still sits atop the league standings with an 8-1 record—two games away from a Final Four berth.

The Blue Eagles take on archrivals the De La Salle Green Archers at 4:00 PM on Saturday, September 1, as the rivalry returns to the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Box scores:

Ateneo 77 – Tiongson 16, Salva 15, Ravena 12, Slaughter 10, Erram 8, Chua 8, Pessumal 4, Elorde 4

FEU 64 – Garcia 14, Romeo 13, Hargrove 10, A. Bringas 7, Mendoza 6, Escoto 5, Cruz 3, Iñigo 2, Pogoy 2, M. Bringas 2