THE ATENEO Blue Eagles ended their crucial match against the Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws with a victory, 74-59, on Wednesday, November 9 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
This win puts the Blue Eagles at an 8-4 standing, tying them with FEU for the second seed of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball elimination round.
Thirdy Ravena led the Blue Eagles with 15 points and 11 rebounds, followed by Isaac Go, who achieved another career-high of 14 points.
Meanwhile, the Green and Gold depended on Monbert Arong and Prince Orizu, who contributed 15 points and 11 points, respectively.
FEU drew first blood with Kenneth Tuffin, making a 5-2 run before Adrian Wong found a spot to make his first three, bringing the advantage to the Blue and White (7-5). After Tuffin and Wong exchanged three-pointers in the succeeding sequences, Ravena, Aaron Black and Go followed with their own to build up the lead of the Blue and White (24-14).
The second quarter opened slowly as Arong sank a bucket for FEU, while Ravena continued to earn points from his free throws and drives. Although numerous fouls were called on the Blue Eagles, the Tamaraws failed to take advantage of their bonus free throws. The Blue and White then took possession of the game and extended the lead to 18 points by the first half (46-28).
FEU came out stronger in the third, with Richard Escoto making back-to-back baskets to further close in on the Ateneo’s lead (50-28). Blue Eagle Ravena redeemed the team by driving and passing the ball to Anton Asistio, who made his first three of the game (58-35). However, FEU then countered with an 11-0 run—highlighted by Orizu’s four-point streak—which chipped away at the Blue Eagles’s lead by the end of the third period (58-46).
The last quarter began with both teams scoring off from the fouls made.With Chibueze Ikeh incurring five fouls, it was Go who stepped up to take his position.
Although Wong broke the Blue Eagles’ scoring drought with another three, the Tamaraws were able to close the score gap to seven points (63-56). However, a crucial layup by Ravena kicked off the Blue Eagles’ comeback as the clock hit the two-minute mark. Eventually, it was Go who ended the game strongly for his team, as he made a solo run for the Blue and White in the final minute of the game (74-59).
Coach Sandy Arespacochaga explained that the match against FEU was a crucial and tough match, as they are second top rebounding team in the UAAP. Ravena and Go also backed this up, as they believed that their victory against league-leading De La Salle University Green Archers should not leave the team complacent.
“Our mindset [in] the team was that hindi dapat kami maging kampante (we should not be complacent) because we just won against La Salle,” says Ravena. “This was also a big game for us so we wanted to come mentally and physically prepared. We just did not let that game affect us in a negative way.”
The Blue Eagles will square off against the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers on Saturday, November 12 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City
Quarter Scores: 24-14, 46-28, 58-46, 74-59
Box Scores:
Ateneo: Ravena- 15, Go- 14, Wong- 12, Mike Nieto- 8, Black- 7, Tolentino- 4, Porter- 4, Asistio- 3, Matt Nieto- 3, Ikeh- 2, Mendoza- 2
FEU: Arong- 15, Orizu- 11, Jose- 10, Tuffin- 10, Escoto- 6, Dennison- 3, Comboy- 3, Roxas- 1
Editor’s Note: This article has been reposted because of the failure of the website host to update the initial edits before the social media blast. We apologize for this matter.
