The Ateneo Blue Eagles suffered another loss on Wednesday, July 17, at the Mall of Asia Arena as the University of the East Red Warriors triumphed with a 72-68 victory.
The Red Warriors opened the game strong with Charles Mammie dominating the paint with his offensive rebounds and inside shots. The Blue Eagles retaliated with a triple from Nico Elorde, a layup from Ryan Buenafe and key plays from JP Erram that inched Ateneo closer at 12-14.
Unfortunately for the boys in Blue, Roi Sumang answered back quickly for the Red Warriors. Sumang connected with a three pointer of his own and followed up by a split trip to the foul line by Mammie that led the Red Warriors on top at 18-12 at the end of the first quarter.
Sumang continued his shooting streak in the start of the second quarter as UE was able to carry a ten point advantage at 22-12. Fortunately for Ateneo, Von Pessumal lined up seven quick points that cooled down the Red Warriors’ offensive outburst. At halftime, the Blue Eagles found themselves down by six, 31-37.
UE started the second half on fire as a 9-0 scoring run delivered the Red Warriors on top as much as 15 at 46-31. But team captain, Juami Tiongson refused to back down, as he exploded with four three pointers in the quarter. Accompanied by Chris Newsome’s athleticism in driving to the hoop and Pessumal’s deadeye shooting, the Blue Eagles managed to tie the game at 54-all at the end of the third quarter.
The fourth quarter featured a back-and-forth affair between the two squads. Ralf Olivares picked up the slack for UE with consistency on his jump shots but was answered back by Kiefer Ravena’s 5-0 run: a three pointer and a breakaway layup that brought Ateneo ahead, 64-61. Mammie would regain the lead for UE at 65-64 with a perfect trip to the foul line and an offensive putback on their next possession. Olivares would then get to the foul line and split his free throws to further extend the Red Warriors’ lead by three, 66-63.
Ateneo would regain the lead at 67-66 with a 4-0 run care of a silky inside play by Tiongson and a 15-foot jumper by Frank Golla. Unfortunately for the Blue Eagles, John Noble was able to find a hole in the Ateneo defense off a time out as he connected on an easy layup that recaptured the lead for the Red Warriors at 68-67.
Tiongson was disqualified from the game, as he was called for an offensive foul on the next play. Sumang capitalized on the Ateneo turnover as he quickly scored for his squad to extend the lead at 70-67. With an attempt to shrink the lead down to a single possession, Ravena was able to find his way to the free throw strike. Unfortunately for the Ateneans, the Phenom was only able connect on one of his free throws.
Mammie would then get himself to the free throw line care of his aggressiveness in the paint as he was fouled after his crucial offensive rebound. He buried both free throws and sealed the game for the Red Warriors as the Blue Eagles failed to line up a decent shot in the last 17 seconds of play.
Missing in action was King Eagle Ryan Buenafe, who landed awkwardly on his ankle in the first quarter. Buenafe was not able to return in the ball game in the second half. Tiongson finished with 17 points, followed by Pessumal’s 12 points off the bench.
Mammie dominated and finished with 20 points and 23 rebounds. Sumang and Dan Alberto finished with 14 points each.
Box scores:
ADMU 68 – Tiongson 17, Pessumal 12, Ravena 11, Newsome 10, Elorde 5, Golla 4, Buenafe, 4, Erram 3, Asuncion 2, Tolentino 0, Lim 0, Enriquez 0, Capacio 0.
UE 72 – Mammie 20, Sumang 14, Alberto 14, Casajeros 8, Noble 7, Olivares 5, Santos 2, Javier 2, Olayon 0, Sumido 0, Jumao-as 0, Hernandez 0, Guion 0.
