FOR THE third time in four games, the Blue Eagles used a fourth quarter explosion to pull off a win, outscoring the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons by 15 in the final period to secure a 96-82 victory in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Men’s Basketball tournament on Wednesday, November 8 at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
The win serves as the 13th in a row for Ateneo, who lock up the top seed through elimination rounds and move a win away from snagging an automatic finals berth. The Blue Eagles will be going for the sweep on Sunday, November 12, when they face archrivals De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Archers at the Araneta Coliseum.
The game leaves the Maroons tied with the National University (NU) Bulldogs at fifth with a 5-8 record, putting both teams a game behind the fourth-placed Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws.
Matt Nieto was the catalyst for the Ateneo offense, as he top-scored with 19 points on an efficient five of eight field goal shooting. Isaac Go and Gian Mamuyac both provided a spark off the bench, dropping 13 markers, which served as the new career best for the latter. Thirdy Ravena struggled with his shooting, converting just 2/11 field goal attempts, but still registered a packed statline of 10 points, nine rebounds, six assists, and four steals.
Rookie Juan Gomez de Liano starred for the Fighting Maroons, scoring 21 points and grabbing six boards. King Maroon Paul Desiderio chipped in with 16 markers, but made just a third of his shot attempts, while his fellow Cebuano Jun Manzo also finished in double figures with 13 points.
The Blue Eagles opened the match with five unanswered points, but Manzo immediately responded with five points of his own. The two teams traded baskets throughout the first, with neither team gaining an edge, but progress from beyond the arc eventually gave UP a slight advantage in the first. Manzo and Felix Jaboneta both hit a triple, and Desiderio drained a pair from deep to put the Fighting Maroons up by a one-point lead (22-23) heading into the second.
The back-and-forth action continued in the ensuing period. Hot shooting from Manzo and Desiderio gave UP a five point cushion (28-33), but Ateneo responded with a quick 6-0 spurt to regain the lead. UP’s Jarrel Lim’s productive play in the final minutes spearheaded an 8-2 run that gave his team a 42-48 advantage at the half.
The Fighting Maroons widened the gap to double-digits in the first two minutes (54-42), but Ateneo responded with a triple by Mamuyac and an and-1 dunk by Ravena. Juan Gomez De Liano had an answer, however, to the Blue Eagles’ shots, undoing the damage with back-to-back triples. Despite this, the Blue Eagles slowly reduced their deficit as the period progressed. Consecutive baskets by Jolo Mendoza and Go cut UP’s cushion to a single-point (63-64) at the end of the third.
Go exploded early in the fourth, with the Ateneo center scoring and assisting on nine unanswered points, highlighted by a pair of threes. The run gave the Blue Eagles an 11-point advantage (79-68), but the Fighting Maroons responded with an 11-0 run of their own that tied the game 79-all midway through the fourth. UP only scored two points from that point, however. Their defense, combined with a lethal Ateneo attack led by Matt Nieto, helped the Blue Eagles outscore UP by 15 points in the final minutes.
After the game, Assistant Coach Sandy Arespacochaga commended the valiant effort that their counterparts displayed. “There was certainly a lot of fight in UP this game,” he said. “They showed their heart, they showed up with a lot of intensity from the start. There were a lot of individuals in UP that stepped up. UP had a great gameplan, which they followed to the letter.”
Quarter Scores
Ateneo-UP: 22-23, 48-42, 63-64, 96-82
Box Scores
Ateneo (96): Ma. Nieto – 19, Go – 13, Mamuyac – 13, Ravena – 10, Tolentino – 10, Mi. Nieto – 9, Verano – 8, Ikeh – 6, Asistio – 4, Mendoza – 4
UP (82): Ju. Gomez de Liano – 21, Desiderio – 16, Manzo – 13, Dario – 8, Ja. Gomez de Liano – 7, Lim – 4, Ouattara – 3, Jaboneta – 3, Webb – 2, Romero – 2, Lao – 2, Prado – 1
