TEAM GLORY Be of the Ateneo Men’s Basketball team earned the championship in the Milcu x Got Skills Elite Showcase tournament by defeating the National University (NU) Bulldogs, 84-71, last Sunday, September 13, inside the Enderun College gymnasium in Taguig City.

With the title hanging in the balance, the Blue and White went on a massive offensive explosion—scoring 41 points in the third quarter to turn a tied-game at the half into a blowout win.

The first half of the game was a virtual back-and-forth affair, as both teams were able to neutralize their opponent’s strengths. However, the Blue Eagles got a break towards the end of the half when former De La Salle Green Archer Matt Salem picked up his third foul and import Issa Gaye went down after a collision under their basket.

During the halftime huddle, Head Coach Yuri Escueta reminded his troops to focus on the game plan and to continue applying pressure on the Bulldogs. The Blue and White responded by outscoring the Bulldogs by 18 points in the third quarter, giving them a huge lead heading into the final stretch.

NU continued to fight back despite the gap in the scoreboard by utilizing Gaye’s presence down low. However, the lead of the Blue Eagles proved to be insurmountable for the Manila-based squad, as the Eagles’ timely outside shooting neutralized any form of a comeback.

CJ Perez led three Blue Eagles in double figures with 20 points, but only made 9/26 shot attempts to go along with five rebounds and a game-high seven assists. Dan Wong would also finish with 20 points while shooting an impressive 7/8 from the field, including five three-pointers–four of them coming in the crucial third quarter. Anton Asistio added 14 of his own, including nine from downtown.

Gaye led NU with 19 points and 13 rebounds, but his double-double performance could not overcome the poor display of Salem, who finished with only two points while missing all five of his shot attempts.

The Blue and White’s relentless defensive pressure forced the Bulldogs to commit 21 turnovers, which took NU out of their comfort zone. The team also had 21 assists while only committing nine turnovers themselves.

Aside from being named part of the league’s mythical five, Perez was also awarded the Most Valuable Player award for his consistent and dominant play throughout the tournament.

With this win, they were able to avenge their only loss in the tournament against the same team when they loss 83-85 during the elimination round.

Box Scores:

Ateneo 84: Perez 20, Wong 20, Asistio 14, Carino 8, Porter 7, Javelosa 5, Asuncion 5, Micek 2, Murphy 2, Cu 1, Gamboa 0, T. Ramos 0.

Quarter Scores: 13-13, 30-30, 71-53, 84-71