THE ATENEO de Manila University Blue Eagles’ wounds sustained from their fall from basketball supremacy in Season 76 are still fresh. These wounds seem to get aggravated whenever the Blue Eagles square off against the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers. Recently, this drove the Blue Eagles to a 69-58 victory Saturday night at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum in their second meeting of the season.
There has been a rivalry brewing between both squads, tracing its roots back to the final elimination game of Season 76 where the Growling Tigers advanced to the Final Four at the expense of the Blue Eagles. That loss marked the end of the 14 consecutive trips of the Katipunan-based squad to the Final Four since 1999.
King Eagle Kiefer Ravena was in his killer form, posting a double-double performance of 23 points and 13 rebounds. The six-foot superstar struggled from beyond the arc, converting just one out of five attempts but redeemed himself with slashes to the basket for layups and floaters.
In the first 10 minutes of action, Ateneo upped the tempo, running the break for easy baskets leading to an early 9-3 run. UST retaliated with drives to the basket leading to fouls that kept defensive anchor Ponso Gotladera glued to the bench with two early fouls. Sharpshooting Von Pessumal connected on two triples that pushed the Ateneo lead to as much as six, ending the first quarter with a comfortable 19-13 advantage.
Both squads exchanged runs in the second quarter, each putting up a string of points before the other orchestrated a scoring spree of their own. Big men Gideon Babilonia and John Apacible came up big, finding themselves open down low from drop passes, combining for 10 markers off the bench.
However Louie Vigil and Aljon Mariano wouldn’t let the Growling Tigers fall behind, picking up the scoring slack while chipping in with 14 and 12 points respectively. By the end of the first half of action, Ateneo was still up 38-30.
The Blue Eagles regained momentum once again, near the halfway mark of the third quarter, going on a 6-0 run to push their lead 50-40. UST countered the Ateneo offense on a variety of jumpers and drives, closing the quarter with 6-0 run of their own, to pull themselves within just four, 50-46, entering the final frame of action.
UST was poised to snatch the game from the Blue and White’s grasp up until Arvin Tolentino converted on a breakaway layup, ending the Blue Eagles’ scoring drought. From that point onward, Ateneo tightened its defensive screws, limiting the Growling Tigers to just nine points in the final six minutes of action. Chris Newsome sparked the defensive assault on UST; recording two steals, which led to easy opportunities on the offensive end for the Blue Eagles. Newsome and Nico Elorde kept the Growling Tigers at bay during crunch time, answering each basket with one of their own, en route for a combined 21-point effort.
The Phenom went on a scoring tear in the final minutes of play, dropping 10 of his 23 markers in the pivotal fourth quarter, including two sweet jumpers from the wings to seal the deal for the Blue and White.
With the victory, Ateneo grabbed the solo second spot with an 8-3 win-loss card while dropping UST to 5-6.
“The goal really is how we can win every set of games,” said head honcho Bo Perasol of the team’s mindset coming in to the final stretch of the second round. “Maghihintayan na lang iyan kung sinong babagsak, sinong matatalong una (We’re just going to wait to see who will fall, who will lose first),” he comments on how tight the battle for the Final Four slots will be.
The Blue and White’s next assignment will be against their Katipunan neighbors, the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons at 2:00 PM at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Follow the The GUIDON Sports on Twitter for updates regarding the Ateneo-UP matchup and everything Ateneo sports.
