THE ATENEO Blue Eagles earn an important victory over the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers, defeating them, 74-64, on Saturday, November 12 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
This win improves the Blue Eagles’ record to 9-4 of the University Athletics Association of the Philippines men’s basketball tournament. They retain their second place in the elimination standings with one more game left for the team.
The Katipunan-based squad was led by Isaac Go, who scored his third consecutive career-high of 15 points on 78% shooting. Mike Nieto contributed 13 points and six boards while Vince Tolentino had a near double-double, scoring 11 and grabbing nine rebounds.
The Growling Tigers were top-scored by Louie Vigil, who had 14 points on a 5/16 shooting from the field. Jon Sheriff and Marvin Lee had nine points apiece.
The first half was a tightly knit affair. The first six minutes of the game featured back and forth action by both teams, culminating in a 13-all deadlock. After a free throw by Chibueze Ikeh that gave the Blue Eagles a one-point lead, the quarter was capped by a slam dunk from the baseline by Jeepy Faundo. Raffy Verano responded moments later with a layup that gave Ateneo a 16-15 lead as the first period buzzer sounded.
Henri Subido began the second quarter with a triple for UST, and Aaron Black responded back with a midrange jumper. Midway through the period, Oliver De Guzman hit back-to-back triples that gave the Growling Tigers a seven-point cushion (20-27). UST held the largest lead of the game at that moment, but the Blue Eagles clawed back with a 12-0 run— highlighted by back-to-back scoring from Go and triples from Mike Nieto and Adrian Wong. The half ended with Kent Lao sinking three free throws after being fouled while shooting a triple, which cut UST’s deficit to two points as the buzzer sounded (38-36) .
Sheriff began the second half hot as he scored five points in the opening three minutes. Ateneo did not lax however, as they kept the scoring coming and trading baskets with UST as the quarter progressed. The period ended with a shot off a spin by Matt Nieto as the buzzer sounded, giving Ateneo a five-point lead (58-53).
The final period began with Lee scoring for UST, but Ateneo responded with a Verano corner triple that gave the Blue and White a six-point cushion (61-55). At the halfway point of the period, Jeepy Faundo hit a hook shot that cut the Blue Eagles’ lead to a mere three points (62-59), but Mike Nieto responded yet again a fallaway corner three as the shot clock expired. The period was highlighted by a four-point play by Anton Asistio, which extended the Blue Eagles’ lead to eight points (69-61). Ateneo never looked back as Go ices the game with a free throw for the Blue Eagles to win by 10, 74-64.
Despite retaining the second seed in the eliminations with the victory, Coach Tab Baldwin was disappointed with the way the team played. “It [was not] an efficient game for us. We [want to] have our game probably more characterized by better defense than what we played today,” he explained. “We need to play better basketball than we did today.”
The Blue Eagles’ next and final game of the second round will be against the Adamson Falcons at 4PM on Wednesday, November 16, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Quarter Scores: 16-15, 38-36, 58-53, 74-64
Box Score:
Ateneo: Go- 15, Mi. Nieto- 13, Tolentino- 11, Asistio- 6, Wong- 5, Ikeh- 5, Black- 5, Verano- 5, Mendoza- 4, Ravena- 3, Ma. Nieto- 2
UST: Vigil- 14, Lee- 9, Sheriff- 9, Faundo- 8, Macasaet- 8, De Guzman- 8, Subido- 3, Lao- 3, Afoakwah- 2
