THE ATENEO Blue Eagles defeated the University of the East (UE) Red Warriors, 75-61, on Wednesday, October 19 at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

The Blue Eagles now stand at solo third place with win-loss record of 5-4 in the University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Men’s Basketball tournament.

Jolo Mendoza led the Blue and White with 15 points, which were all incurred in the first half of the game. Thirdy Ravena and Adrian Wong followed with 14 points and 11 points, respectively.

In the Red Warrior’s side, Philip Manalang led UE with 16 points and five rebounds, while Ronnie de Leon scored 13 points and five rebounds as well.

The Blue Eagles opened the game trailing behind the Red Warriors (0-5) until Chibueze Ikeh was able to sink one charity, which turned out to be his only point in the match. The deficit increased as the Red Warriors cruised through the Blue Eagles’ defenses and Edson Batiller scored a triple, which made it a 14-point deficit for the Blue Eagles (7-21). However, Mendoza was able to utilize his given minutes by ending the quarter with a 5-0 run, courtesy of a triple and a layup (16-23).

The second quarter looked hopeful for the Blue Eagles, as they continued decreasing UE’s lead with their successful free throws until Ravena made at 3-0 run to inch closer to the Red Warriors’ lead (31-32). To turn the game around, Mike Nieto scores a basket to kickstart Ateneo’s lead and to put UE at a deadlock, as Wong and Mendoza continuously shot triples and ended the first half in favor of the Blue and White (42-37).

The Blue Eagles came out stronger in the second half, as they were able to extend the lead to 10 due to the consistent scoring of M. Nieto, Anton Asistio and Wong (53-43). As the fouls started plague the game, Go capped of the third quarter by making a three from the middle with only one second left on the shot clock (60-48).

Upon his return to the court, Aaron Black was able to get back into the game by making his first basket and following it with layup at the start of the fourth quarter. The foul-ridden last quarter reached its peak during Ravena and Manalang’s scramble for the ball, which merited both players with two charities each. As Ravena was able to sink both in and Manalang’s resulted into a split, M. Nieto further extends the lead with two free throws before ending the game at 75-61.

Coming off from two straight losses, the Blue Eagles were hungry for win to keep their final four dreams alive. Head Coach Sandy Arespacochaga credits the win to the hard work of whole team and the players’ eagerness to learn from their errors in the past matches. “It was a good thing that all of our players [were] hardworking and had the right attitude,” said Coach Arespacochaga. “For example, Jolo, he was not really part of the players who would get a lot of minutes, but he was [prepared] today and he gave us a big boost.”

The next game will be against the National University (NU) Bulldogs on Sunday, October 23 at the Araneta Coliseum.

Quarter scores (Ateneo- UE): 16-23, 42-37, 60-48, 75-61

Box Scores:

Ateneo: Mendoza- 15, Ravena- 14, Wong- 11, Mike Nieto- 10, Go- 8, Asistio- 4, Tolentino- 4, Black- 4, Verano- 4, Ikeh- 1

UE: Manalang- 16, de Leon- 13, Varilla- 7, Pasaol- 7, Batiller- 5, Olayon- 4, Bartolome- 4, Palma- 3, Derige- 2