THE ATENEO Blue Eagles are back in the Final Four after defeating the Adamson Soaring Falcons, 67-52, on Saturday, September 6, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
This win puts the Blue Eagles at 10–3 in the elimination round standings and clinches them a spot in the Final Four playoff round.
It was a slow start for both clubs, who finished the first quarter with a 10-4 score as the buzzer sounded. The Blue Eagles’ crisp ball movement in the early going could not overcome their horrid shooting performance on the court. The highest scorer for the Blue and White was shooting guard Von Pessumal, who registered his only points of the period via a corner three at the 5:09 mark.
The second quarter featured both teams employing full court press defenses against each other, quickly turning the game into a physical contest. Kiefer Ravena continued his shooting woes from the previous game, missing shot after shot until finally converting on a tough corner fadeaway to push their lead to seven points, 17-10.
The Falcons then went on a 6-0 run in the last two minutes to end the half, capped off by Jansen Rios shooting a buzzer-beating jumper to put his team within striking distance, 23-16.
The game remained close after the half until Arvin Tolentino stole the ball from the Adamson backcourt at the 7:04 mark and gave Ateneo their first fastbreak points of the game. The play sparked an 8-0 for the Eagles, who took advantage of several turnovers by Celedonia Trollano to push their advantage to 31-19.
However, the Soaring Falcons quickly regrouped after a timeout by Coach Kenneth Duremdes and continued to push Ateneo with their physical style of play. Forward Chris Newsome, who was sporting a black facemask because of a previous injury, was sent to the floor numerous times throughout the game by the larger Adamson frontcourt.
The Blue Eagle used a balanced scoring attack to eventually break away from their opponents in the fourth quarter. Both Alfonso Gotladera and Gwyne Capacio came off the bench and contributed several key shots for the Blue and White. However, the game was still within reach for the Falcons until Ravena delivered the dagger three-point shot with 1:17 left in the game. Pessumal then immediately followed with an easy layup and padded the lead to 67-51. The late offensive surge was enough for the Blue Eagles to quell the hopes for an Adamson comeback.
Ravena made up for his lackluster shooting of four out of 14 attempts by contributing 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Chris Newsome stuffed the stat sheet as well, going off for 12 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in the contest.
Trollano, meanwhile, kept the Falcons afloat for the majority of the game by registering 20 points for his team.
The Blue Eagles will next face the top-seeded Far Eastern University Tamaraws on Saturday, September 13, 2:00 PM at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
