Photo by Ryan Y. Racca
THE ATENEO Blue Eagles moved one step closer to securing a twice-to-beat advantage for the Final Four with a comfortable win over the National University (NU) Bulldogs, 70-56, on September 13 at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
It was a well-rounded game by the men in blue, who hurdled their woes as of late in terms of turnovers and three-point shooting, and were defensively sound as well, particularly in the second half.
Nico Salva put the Blue and White up four, 8-4, with 5:25 to go in the first quarter. This was Ateneo’s biggest lead of the half. Emmanuel Mbe then scored five straight points care of a three-point play and a breakaway dunk to put NU up, 9-8, with 5:14 left. Mbe’s efforts sparked an 11-4 run for NU, which pushed the Bulldogs ahead, 15-12, with three minutes left after a reverse layup by Bobby Ray Parks.
However, Kiefer Ravena and Nico Elorde answered back for Ateneo to put them up once again, 16-15, until Jeoffrey Javillonar swung the lead back to NU with 12 seconds left. It proved to be the final shot as the quarter ended 17-16 to the Bulldogs.
Justin Chua gave the Blue Eagles the advantage with the second quarter’s first shot, but Javillonar once again answered with the game’s first three-pointer to put NU up 20-18.
The Bulldogs led from thereon, even giving themselves a four-point cushion—their highest for the half as well—care of a Parks three with less than four minutes until the half, 29-25.
Ateneo managed to bite back, with Ravena and Tiongson putting the teams on even ground with 3:14 remaining. After a dry spell from both teams, Mbe put his team up once again a minute and a half later with free throws, 31-29, but Greg Slaughter answered on the other end to the score again.
The Blue Eagles, however, could not find the finishing touches to give them the advantage. Mbe sank another couple of charities that ended the first half with the Katipunan-based squad facing a two-point deficit, 31-33.
The Blue Eagles once again cranked things up a notch in the third quarter. Although Eric Altamirano’s boys put up strong resistance in the first five minutes, a precise Elorde pass found Ravena, who rose for the layup over Henri Betayene to further Ateneo’s lead to seven, 45-38, with 4:52 left.
Two minutes later, Ryan Buenafe, who has been quiet since his breakout performance against La Salle, drained a three-pointer that put the Blue Eagles up double-digits for the first time, 50-40.
The entire third quarter featured excellent defense from Ateneo that forced errors from NU and translated into fast break opportunities for the Blue Eagles.
With 50 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Elorde spotted up for a three that put Ateneo up by 11, 53-42. As the clock ran down, Ravena pulled the trigger from the corner for another three for the Blue Eagles with 10 seconds to go, 56-42. Javillonar answered with a three to end the quarter, but Ateneo held a comfortable 56-45 advantage.
The fourth quarter showcased the damage that the seven-foot Slaughter is capable of. Ateneo’s starting center buried eight crucial points of the team’s 14 for the quarter. One highlight featured Slaughter receiving the ball at the post and spinning away from Mbe for the clear basket to further the lead to 64-48 with 5:17 left in the game.
NU was desperately in need of a spark, but just when the reigning Most Valuable Player Parks spotted up for a three, the smaller Ravena rejected him.
Slaughter then handed Ateneo its largest margin, 18, with 3:47 on the clock at 68-50. Parks, however, took matters into his own hands. The league’s scoring leader scored six in quick succession, cutting NU’s deficit to 12 points, 68-56, with just a little over two minutes remaining. However, Ravena drained a step-back jumper over Parks with 1:06 remaining to drain any hopes of a comeback by the Bulldogs.
Coach Norman Black sent in his second stringers to round out the clock, and so the game ended, as it were, after the Ravena jumper, 70-56.
The Blue Eagles banked on their third quarter performance to carry them to victory, scoring 25 points while limiting their opponents to just 12. Ateneo also made NU commit 23 turnovers, converting them into 29 turnover points.
The Blue and White also had a good outing from the field, making 33 of 58 (56.9%) from all areas of the court. This includes their three of five (60%) shooting from beyond the arc. On the other end, Ateneo limited the Bulldogs in their specialty, where they only made 3 of 15 (20%).
One thing of note was that the Blue Eagles contained Parks, who only contributed 11 points from one of six shooting from three-point land and four of 11 from the field—his season-low. He also gave up five turnovers. Mbe still had a good outing—19 points and 14 rebounds—but he was hounded and gave the ball up on four occasions.
Slaughter was the player of the game, scoring 22 points coupled with seven boards. Salva and Ravena contributed 14 points apiece.
“All the credit goes to the players for listening to the coaching staff,” said Coach Black after the game. “Just following instructions and executing the game plan for us. And of course the performance of Greg [Slaughter] in the second half was also a big story for us.”
“We really need to come out and get these last two wins,” said Slaughter. “NU is a really hot team and we mainly focused on our defense.”
Ateneo is still at solo first with an 11-2 record. NU is now tied with La Salle for the fourth spot with a 7-5 record.
The Blue Eagles take on the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers in their last game of the elimination round at 4:00 PM on Saturday, September 15, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Updated September 15, 2012, 10:51PM.
Box scores:
Ateneo 70 – Slaughter 22, Salva 14, Ravena 14, Tiongson 6, Elorde 5, Buenafe 3, Sumalinog 2, Golla 2, Chua 2, Pessumal 0, Gonzaga 0
NU 56 – Mbe 19, Javillonar 15, Parks 11, de Guzman 5, Rosario 2, Khobuntin 2, Alolino 2, Villamor 0, Roño 0, Betayene 0
