THE ATENEO Blue Eagles defeated arch rivals De La Salle Green University (DLSU) Green Archers and ended their unbeaten run, 83-71, on Saturday, November 5, at the SMART Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
The win improves the Blue Eagles’ record to 7-4, while DLSU gets its first loss of the season, falling to 12-1 in the second round of the University Athletic Association of the Philipppines (UAAP) Men’s Basketball Tournament.
The Katipunan-based squad were led by Aaron Black, who scored 16 on 70% shooting and grabbed seven rebounds. Matt Nieto also had an efficient game with 15 points and four dimes, while Isaac Go scored 10 and had 7 boards and provided solid interior interior defense.
DLSU on the other hand was top-scored by Jeron Teng, who scored 18 on 35% shooting. Ben Mbala had a double-double with 17 points and 15 boards, but he was held to a 5/13 shooting clip. Aljun Melecio scored nine of his 11 points from behind the arc.
The Green Archers started hot and raced to a 5-0 lead to begin the game, but Anton Asistio responded with his first triple to put Ateneo on the board. After some back and forth action by both teams, the Blue Eagles went on a 12-1 run, spearheaded by a Wong triple that gave them an eight-point lead (21-13). Melecio responded with a triple that cut Ateneo’s lead to five point to end the first quarter.
The closely contested second period began with rookies Raffy Verano and Melecio trading jumpers. Black then went on a 4-0 solo run, but Prince Rivero scored four straight of his own in response. The Green Archers had a response for every Ateneo basket as the quarter progressed, matching the Blue Eagles point-for-point until Jolo Mendoza sank a single free throw that extended Ateneo’s lead to eight points by halftime, 44-36.
The second half started slowly for both squads, but Teng ended the drought with a layup. Wong responded with a layup of his own, but the Green Archers then went on a 5-0 run, highlighted by an Mbala slam dunk that cut Ateneo’s lead to three points (46-43). The Blue Eagles went on an 8-0 run moments after, with Black, Vince Tolentino, and both Nietos all scoring. Both teams started to trade baskets yet again, but the strong Ateneo quarter was capped with a Go basket that ended the period 61-50 in favor of the Blue Eagles.
Matt Nieto began the final period with a smooth layup, but Mbala completed a three-point play moments after that cut the the Blue Eagles’ lead to 10 points. At the six minute mark of the quarter, Go went on a 4-0 solo run, capped by a sequence with Go scoring after multiple putback attempts, that stretched the lead to 15. The Blue Eagles gripped to their double-digit lead as the period progressed, until Teng hit a triple that cut the lead to nine with 28.9 seconds remaining in the game. It proved to be too little, too late though for the Green Archers, as Ateneo held on and ended up winning by 12, 83-71.
Ateneo shot an efficient 50% from the floor as a team, and their defense held DLSU’s high-powered offense to a mere 28% field goal percentage. The Blue Eagles also out-rebounded La Salle 48-43, and had twice the amount of assists compared to DLSU (20-10). The DLSU loss means that there will be a final four, and not a stepladder playoff.
After the game, Coach Sandy Arespacochaga reminded everyone that DLSU is still number one in the standings and said that they’re a really tough team to beat. “The beauty of the sport of basketball, and also the Ateneo-La Salle rivalry, is that when it’s Ateneo-La Salle, standings don’t matter,” he added. “We played a very good game. We have to give credit to our players, who stuck to the gameplan. They displayed a lot of heart.”
The Blue Eagles’ next match is against the second placed Far Eastern University Tamaraw at 2PM on Wednesday, November 9, in the Mall Of Asia Arena, Pasay City.
Quarter Scores: 23-16, 44-36, 61-50, 83-71
Box Score:
Ateneo: Black- 16, Ma. Nieto- 15, Wong- 11, Go- 10, Asistio- 9, Verano- 6, Ravena- 4, Tolentino- 4, Mi. Nieto- 4, Mendoza- 4
DLSU: Teng- 18, Mbala- 17, Melecio- 11, Montalbo- 6, Caracut- 6, Rivero- 4, Perkins- 3, Torres- 3, Tratter- 3
