THE ATENEO Blue Eagles defeated the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons, 79-64, to perch themselves in second place in the standings on Wednesday, September 28, 2016 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
The win brings Ateneo’s record up to 4-2, moving them into second in the 1st round of the UAAP Men’s Basketball tournament.
Thirdy Ravena nabbed an efficient double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds on 70% field goal shooting, whilst center Chibueze Ikeh finished with 14 points and seven boards, six of which being offensive rebounds.
The Fighting Maroon duo of Paul Desiderio and Jett Manuel combined for 42 of UP’s 64 total points. Desiderio finished with 25 points and six rebounds, while Manuel scored 17 points and gathered eight boards.
In the first quarter, Ikeh tied up the at 12-all through a three-point old fashion play, but a 5-1 run including a jumper by Dave Moralde and a triple by Desiderio would allow UP to secure a four-point lead at the end of the period (17-13).
The Blue Eagles then stormed back with a 10-0 run to lead by six, which forced UP Coach Bo Perasol to call a timeout at the 7:34 mark of the second period. Although UP was able to get the deficit down to as low as one at 30-29, an 8-0 Ateneo run including an Anton Asistio three pointer and charities by Adrian Wong got the Blue Eagle advantage back up to 9 at the half, 38-29.
In the third quarter, the Blue Eagles were able to get the lead up to 11, but an 8-2 run by the Fighting Maroons through baskets by Diego Dario and Desiderio cut the lead down to four (58-54) heading into the final period.
The Blue Eagles, however, were able to pull away in the fourth quarter. Another triple by Asistio and a putback by Captain Vince Tolentino got the lead up to 11 again before UP called a timeout with 4:35 left in the game to stop the bleeding. After the timeout, the Blue Eagles went on 6-2 run through points in the paint by Ikeh, Ravena, and Asistio to take their lead up to 15, putting the game out of reach with less than 2 minutes left. When the final whistle was blown with scoreboard showing 79-64 in favor of the blue side.
Next up for the Blue Eagles is a much-awaited clash against archrival and league-leading De La Salle University Green Archers on Sunday, October 2, at 4pm at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Quarter Scores: (Ateneo-UP) 13-17, 38-29, 58-54, 79-64
Box Score:
Ateneo: Ravena- 22, Ikeh- 14, Asistio- 10, M. Nieto- 7, Tolentino- 7, Wong- 6, J. Nieto- 5, Verano- 4, Babilonia- 2,
UP: Desiderio- 25, Manuel- 17, Lim- 7, Moralde- 6, Dario- 4, Espanola- 3, Prado- 2,
