A COOL and composed Team Glory Be masterfully dismantled the National University (NU) Bulldogs (6-1), who were bannered by former Blue and White stalwarts Shaun Ildefonso and Enzo Joson, in the Milcu Got Skills Hard to Guard Showcase Under-25 Basketball Tournament on February 24, at the Philippine Buddhacare Academy in Quezon City.
The Blue Eagles never let up, leading from start to finish via superb inside defense and control on the boards to spoil NU’s perfect record and improve to a 5-4 slate.
Troy Lopez led all scorers with 18 points sparked by five threes off the bench. Quinito Banzon added 16 markers and five assists, while Angelo Kouame had a double-double of ten points and 17 boards along with four blocks to anchor the Ateneo defense.
Meanwhile, former Blue Eagle Ildefonso top scored for the Bulldogs with 16 points and eight rebounds. Chiang Kai Shek College alumnus JV Gallego provided the spark off the bench, scoring 13 markers, with Issa Gaye chipping in 11 points of his own to go with his six blocks.
Team Glory Be came firing out of the gates, going on a 15-2 scoring spurt highlighted by a William Navarro poster dunk. However, a string of Ateneo misses allowed NU to go on a 14-4 counter run to trim the lead down to three at the end of the opening period (19-16).
Back-to-back triples by Lopez and Marc Salandanan created some separation at the start of the second quarter, but the Bulldogs continued to execute well to keep the score within striking distance. The sharpshooting Lopez then caught fire with another string of back-to-back long shots to kickstart a 14-0 run that saw the lead balloon to 18 (43-25). Enzo Joson showed resilience with an and-one play and a triple to spark a 10-0 spurt, cutting the lead back down to single digits entering the break (43-35).
Ateneo continued their scoring barrage in the third with a collection of defensive stops and good offensive execution to go up by as much as sixteen after Lopez’s fourth triple (53-37). A back-to-back Salandanan to Duom Dawam connection led to a dunk and an easy layup to allow the Katipunan-based squad to enter the payoff period with a commanding 16-point lead (61-45).
However, Gallego and Ildefonso would not relent, combining for 14 in the first five minutes of the period to stay in the game (70-60). Gaye and Gallego made one last push with a 5-0 run in the last two minutes to bring the deficit down to seven (74-67), but a Kouame putback slam ultimately secured the win for Ateneo. The game ended with a final score of 76-69.
After the game, Assistant Coach Gabby Severino lauded his wards for reading the game well. “They played really well today not just because of the win, but because they shared the ball. We are trying to build a system, whether win or lose, [and] it depends on how they play, how they learn, and how they read the game.”
Asked to identify what the team can improve on, Coach Severino answered, “Just consistency, consistency in reading the open lanes and the open players, consistency in implementing our system, whether it’s a press brake system or other defensive system, just consistency in those things.”
The win allowed Team Glory Be to improve their record to 5-4 and stay in the hunt for a quarterfinals berth with three games remaining in their schedule.
Quarter Scores
Ateneo-NU: 19-16, 43-35, 61-45, 76-69
Box Score
Ateneo (76): Lopez – 18, Banzon – 16, Kouame – 10, Dawam – 9, Manuel – 6, Navarro – 6, Salandanan – 3, Berjay – 2, Javelosa – 2, Laud – 2, Romulo – 2, David – 0, Eustaquio – 0, Natividad – 0
NU (69): Ildefonso – 16, Gallego – 13, Gaye – 11, Clemente – 10, Joson – 10, Mosqueda – 4, Yu – 3, Menina – 2, Aquino – 0, Tibayan – 0
