THE ATENEO Blue Eagles incurred their first loss of the season after finishing with a 60-64 tally in their matchup against National University (NU) last Saturday, July 26, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
NU started on a scoring run at the beginning of the match, with shots from Jeth Rosario and free throws from Gelo Alolino that propelled them to a fast 6-0 advantage. The Blue and White squad, however, did not allow their scoring drought to continue and immediately countered with two free throws care of Kris Porter and a Nico Elorde jump shot.
Towards the end of the quarter, the Bulldog’s Jess Diputado’s triple gave NU a seven-point lead at 15-8. Ateneo’s sharp-shooter Von Pessumal answered back with the same strategy as he nailed a three pointer of his own. Alongside the starters Kiefer Ravena and Chris Newsome’s hardcore alley-oop connection, Ateneo gained the momentum they needed to catch up and close in the deficit. Ravena then added two free throws and tied the game at 15 at the end of the first quarter.
The second and third periods featured back-to-back exchanges of leads between the two unyielding competitors. Arvin Tolentino’s free throws and three pointers became crucial to maintaining Ateneo’s lead at the start of the second quarter. But NU’s Rosario repeatedly answered back with constant inside baskets as he helped his team stay on top until the end of the third period at 49-43.
The Blue Eagle’s bench player Isaac Lim then started the final quarter with a corner jump shot that trimmed the NU lead to four at 45-49. The rest of the quarter saw exchanges in defensive fouls, with both teams garnering bulk of their points from the foul line. Alfonso Gotladera’s putback before the start of the two-minute mark then closed in Ateneo’s deficit to one at 56-57.
The last two minutes featured a pressure-filled Ateneo team, who needed a come-from-behind turnaround to secure them the lead and the match. Unfortunately for the Katipunan-based team, their successive attempts at the basket failed to deliver. Three-point efforts from Tolentino, Ravena and Elorde went unrewarded. Careless turnovers aggravated their situation as they were still in a discrepancy when the game clock hit the one minute mark.
With only 44 seconds left in the game, Ateneo trailed by five at 56-61. While Ravena and Newsome provided the free throw points to close in the deficit to 60-63, the team was unable to cut down NU’s lead. A split free throw by Rosario then closed the game with a final mark of 60-64.
The ever-reliable rookie Tolentino spearheaded the scoring department as he once again raked in the most points for Ateneo at 17. He also managed to get nine rebounds and sunk in four out of four free throws. Team captain Kiefer Ravena struggled from the field as he only made three baskets out of his 20 attempts. But he followed as the team’s second leading scorer with 13 marks as well as three rebounds and six assists. Alfonso Gotladera and Von Pessumal also pumped up the scoring field with seven points each.
The Blue Eagles were outrebounded by the Bulldogs with the 48-34 final tally. Glenn Khobuntin and Alfred Aroga led the Bulldogs with 16 and 11 rebounds respectively.
The Blue Eagles currently stand at a 3-1 win-loss record and are tied with the NU Bulldogs at second place. They will look to redeem themselves in their match against Far Eastern University, which will be held next Sunday, August 3 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
THE SCORES
ATENEO – Tolentino 17, K. Ravena 13, Gotladera 7, Pessumal 7, Newsome 6, Elorde 6, Porter 2, Lim 2
NU – Rosario 16, Diputado 10, Aroga 9, Khobuntin 8, Alolino 6, Javelona 6, Betayene 4, Atangan 2, Celda 2, Alejandro 1
