THE ATENEO Blue Eagles surrender the first game of the semifinals to the Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws, 62-61, on Saturday, November 26 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Aaron Black led the Blue Eagles with 11 points, all coming from the second half. Thirdy Ravena followed by notching 10 points and six rebounds for the Katipunan-based squad.
FEU was led by Raymar Jose who contributed a 20-20 with 20 points and 23 rebounds. Monbert Arong also made 13 markers and Prince Orizu barely missed out on a double double with nine points and 10 rebounds.
The first half resulted to a low-scoring match, with FEU nabbing 23 points on a 31% shooting, while Ateneo got 20 markers on 28% shooting. In first quarter, Anton Asistio hit the first two baskets for the Blue and White, but Alejandrino Iñigo drew fouls after each bucket to tie the game at 4-4. The seesaw battle continued with centers Isaac Go and Orizu dropping the ball inside rim, and Wendel Comboy managed a layup to garner the lead for FEU. However, Go’s baby hook tied the score at 10-all before the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter opened with both teams failing to score until Comboy broke the drought with 7:51 minutes left in the first half (10-12). Kris Porter then made a bucket that was followed by a Matt Nieto jumper in the next sequence, and this enabled the Blue and White to gain the lead from FEU (14-12). Raffy Verano further extended the lead by hitting the only triple out of the 25 attempts from both teams, however, FEU went on a 7-0 run to cap the first half through contributions from Comboy and Jose (20-23).
Coming out of the halftime break, Black opened the game with a bomb from downtown, but Arong and Jose kept FEU’s lead at bay (23-27). However, the Blue Eagles turned red hot with Ikeh hitting an 18-footer and Verano completing an and-1 play, which was capped off by Asistio’s triple (32-27). Although Jose managed a bucket, the Blue Eagles were still able to widen the score gap to a 10-point lead, highlighted by a Ravena tip-in off a miss by Verano. However, the Tamaraws were able to cut the deficit to seven, with Orizu scoring over the two Eagle defenders by the end of the third (42-35).
The fourth quarter opened with Black making a 7-2 personal run to bring the lead back to 10 (49-39). However, the Tamaraws continued to draw fouls and was able to inch closer to Ateneo’s score (51-49). The powerful comeback by FEU was highlighted by the strong plays from Arong and Jose as the two-minute mark of the game struck. Arong tied the game at 55-all by successfully making a freebie and the Tamaraws continued to close the game out in the freethrow line. With the attempt to salvage the game for the Blue Eagles, Ravena clutched a pair of threes in the last two possesions off the dribble after going 0-5 in the game. Unfortunately, the Blue Eagles still fell short of one point and surrendered the game to the season’s defending champions (61-62).
Despite the loss, Blue Eagles’ Head Coach Tab Baldwin commended the Tamaraws for playing like how a defending champion team should play. FEU cornered the Blue Eagles and forced the players to shoot from the outside which cut Ateneo’s field goal percentage to 33.33%. “We had the right players to shoot the ball, but they just [did not] go down. Our players [were not] expecting to shoot the ball,” explains Coach Baldwin. “Their [FEU] defense was pretty clear and that is what they forced us to do.”
The Ateneo Blue Eagles will meet FEU Tamaraws once again on Wednesday, November 30 at 12nn for a do-or-die game for the right to face the De La Salle Green Archers in the Finals. The game will be held at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
Quarter Scores (Ateneo-FEU): 10-10, 20-23, 42-35, 61-62
Box Scores:
Ateneo: Black- 11, Ravena- 10, Asistio- 9, Go- 8, Verano- 7, Ikeh- 5, Mike Nieto- 4, Matt Nieto- 3, Wong- 2, Porter- 2.
FEU: Jose- 20, Arong- 13, Orizu- 9, Comboy- 8, Dennison- 6, Iñigo- 4, Tuffin- 2
