EVEN THOUGH it took an extra period to get the job done, the Ateneo Blue Eagles came back from a 21-point deficit to defeat the University of the East (UE) Red Warriors, 93-91, on August 10 at the Mall of Asia Arena.

“Well, if you have to go to the bottom line of this, it was just desire for us to be able to get back,” said Head Coach Bo Perasol. “I always give it to the leader, Kiefer [Ravena]. He’s always going to be the one who’s going to lead them. It doesn’t matter if he’s going to score or not… For me, it’s just showing the epitome of [his] can-do attitude.”

The victory puts the Blue Eagles at solo first, 6-1, to end the first round of eliminations. This is the first time in two years that Ateneo has once again been able to position themselves on the top of the league, a feeling that the team considers to be a blessing, above anything else.

“We’re lucky enough, we’re blessed enough, to put ourselves in a situation that we never got last year,” shared Team Captain Kiefer Ravena.

Coming from almost an entire week’s worth of rest, the UE Red Warriors opened the first quarter of the game with a lot of energy on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor. UE’s daunting full court press left the Ateneo players rattled as the team repeatedly failed to put points on the board. Behind Charles Mammie’s 10 first quarter points, the Red Warriors exploded for 28 and limited Ateneo to a meager 10, with six points coming from the stripe.

Though Ateneo managed to score a bit more in the next 10 minutes of play, UE continued to find nothing but net as King Warrior Roi Sumang attacked Ateneo on a combination of strong drives to the basket and perimeter jumpers. With 5:28 still left in the half, UE managed to establish their biggest lead of the game at 21, as they led Ateneo with 38-17.

Much like the first quarter, the Blue Eagles continued to struggle from the field and scored most of their points from the line. In fact, Ravena still led all scorers after two quarters despite only making two of his nine field goal attempts.

At the half, Ateneo trailed UE, 31-44.

To begin the third, Ateneo finally managed to force consecutive turnovers and key defensive stops. The Blue Eagles embarked on a 10-0 run capped off by six straight points from Ravena, 41-44, with still 8:02 left in the third. Unfortunately for the Blue Eagles, the Red Warriors answered back as Sumang caught fire once more. UE’s star guard scored nine of the Red Warrior’s 20 third quarter points to bring the lead back to 11, 55-64, with only a quarter left to play in regulation.

As Sumang continued to torch the Ateneo defense by opening the quarter with back-to-back treys from beyond the arc, the Blue Eagles continued to look rattled and unsure of their game. At the 6:04 mark, they still trailed UE, 58-73.

Consecutive outside shots from Ravena, Chris Newsome and Von Pessumal, however, allowed Ateneo to go on a 12-0 run and ultimately bring them back into the game, 70-73.

Though Pedrito Gallanza of the Red Warriors threatened to put the game away for good as he scored on back-to-back baskets to make the score 72-78 with 2:03 left in the game, the Blue Eagles remained relentless and finally tied the game with 23.4 seconds left care of a Ravena fade-away jump shot. It was this same game-tying jumper that forced the game into overtime.

As overtime began, both teams failed to get much going. Ateneo, however, drew first blood and finally regained the lead after four quarters as Arvin Tolentino split his charities. Five straight points from Ravena off consecutive UE turnovers stretched the lead to six, 91-85, with 59.4 seconds left in the game.

Though Sumang and Mammie tried to keep UE in the game, a key defensive stop by the Blue Eagles with 5.3 seconds left allowed them to put the game away for good. A Ravena free throw officially closed the game out for the Blue Eagles, 93-90.

Fueled by the strong inside presence of big men Mammie and Moustapha Arafat, UE once again exploited Ateneo’s lack of power in the paint as they scored 44 points to Ateneo’s 20. The Blue Eagles, meanwhile, had the upper hand in perimeter shooting as they led the Red Warriors, 40-32.

The biggest difference, however, came from the free shooting of both teams, as the Blue Eagles got 15 more attempts to the line than the UE did. Ateneo shot 33/45 from the line for a solid percentage of 73.33% while UE only made 50% (15/30) of its charities.

Ravena once again carried much of the offensive load for the Blue Eagles as he scored 38 points on 40% shooting, dished out nine assists and grabbed six boards, his best performance for the season thus far.

Pessumal shot the lights out of from beyond the arc as he knocked down six out of his seven three point attempts, a couple of which came in the most crucial moments of the ballgame.

Newsome was the third Blue Eagle to reach double figures as he flirted with a double double and added 18 points, nine boards and five dimes.

Sumang top billed for UE as he scored 30 points, grabbed five boards and dished out seven assists. Gallanza also added 19 points while Charles Mammie recorded 18 points and 13 rebounds.