THE UNIVERSITY Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 80 3×3 Basketball tournament concluded with tremendous success, showcasing the talents of some of the league’s most promising athletes. After a 3-month hiatus since the last UAAP Basketball game, the tournament was able to rekindle sportsmanship and likewise, the rivalries between the competing teams. The first ever edition of the event was held on Sunday, March 4 in the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall, Pasay City.
Men’s Division
Ateneo was one of the four teams in Pool A along with De La Salle University (DLSU), Adamson University (AdU), and the University of the East (UE) with players from the current Glory B (Team B) in Rodney Manuel, Dan Wong, Gabe Natividad, and Quinito Banzon comprising the 4-man lineup for the event. The other high-profile lineups did not seem to faze the Blue Eagles, who fought fearlessly against some of the biggest names in the tournament despite being on the UAAP stage for the first time.
Blue Eagles vs Green Archers
In their first match, the Blue Eagles faced their Taft-based rivals from DLSU. The Season 80 bridesmaid finishers were headlined by UAAP standouts Aljun Melecio, Andrei Caracut, Santi Santillan and Justine Baltazar. Down 4-1 early in the game, the game quickly began to shift in Ateneo’s favor after a series of difficult shots from Manuel, including two consecutive treys, which gave the team an 8-5 lead halfway through the game. The Blue Eagles nearly pulled off an incredible upset, but veteran instincts by Melecio, Caracut and Baltazar outsmarted Ateneo, 5-1, in the final stretch of the match. A missed attempt by Wong concluded the game, handing Ateneo its first loss, 9-10.
Blue Eagles vs Soaring Falcons
The second match saw them face AdU composed of Brendan Matthew Espeleta, Jasper Jude Longalong, June Rey Buenaventura and Lenda Demercia Douanga. It was a crucial game for both squads as only the match’s victor would avoid elimination from semi-final contention. Both teams came in waxing hot, with Wong and Natividad leading Ateneo’s three-point barrage. The Blue Eagles were able to hold on to win the match, 19-12.
Blue Eagles vs Red Warriors
In their final elimination round game, the Blue Eagles were pitted against a UE squad made up of Philip Manalang, Jason Varilla, Mark Maloles, and UAAP Season 80 Mythical Five member Alvin Pasaol. The stakes were still high in the match as Ateneo needed to scrape another win in order to advance to the knockout semis. Ateneo rushed off to a hot start, executing a brilliant display of outside shooting, highlighted by the five three point conversions by Wong. As the game drew to a close, late game heroics by Pasaol effectively countered Ateneo’s attack as the Red Warriors tied the game 17-all in the dying seconds. A costly turnover by Ateneo proved to be fatal for Ateneo as Manalang delivered the lethal buzzer-beating three, which eliminated the Blue Eagles from advancing to the semi-finals.
The Blue Eagles fought hard in all three games, but unfortunately fell short of advancing, finishing on a 1-2 card.
Women’s Division
UAAP mainstays Katrina Guytinco and Nicole Cancio played alongside rookie Jhazmin Joson, and newcomer Johanne Nimes in Pool A of the Women’s Division. The Lady Eagles also played against opponents from DLSU, AdU, and UE.
Lady Eagles vs Lady Archers
The Lady Eagles faced off against bitter rivals DLSU composed of Vea Melarde, Lauryn Del Campo, Angel Figueroa and Marga Jimenez in their first match. Ateneo Coach John Flores noted that things were sailing smoothly during the first four minutes of the game. “When we were running our defense, the game plan was fine, but when the fatigue set in, we paid for lapses in the game plan,” he said. The Lady Archers forced a sudden-death scenario after rallying back from three points down in the final two minutes of the game. During the extra period, it was DLSU’s Del Campo who connected on the go-ahead three, which handed Ateneo its opening loss, 9-11.
Lady Eagles vs Lady Warriors
In their second match, the Blue and White took on UE’s Christine Cortizano, Joyce Francisco, Princess Pedregosa, and Anna Requiron. Having adjusted in their first match in terms of defense, the Lady Eagles capitalized on an aggressive attack, which allowed them to cruise past UE, 8-4.
Lady Eagles vs Lady Falcons
For their last elimination round game, the Lady Eagles were matched up against Pool A leaders AdU made up of Jonalyn Lacson, Jaime Grace Alcoy, April Cabug, and Nathalia Prado. Ateneo took an early lead following highlight plays by Guytinco and Joson, 3-1. Adamson would eventually retaliate with a run of their own, eventually taking the lead, 8-7 with less than a minute to go. Down by one with the ball in Ateneo’s possession, the Katipunan-based side had a chance to tie or take the game. Johanne Nimes was able to draw a foul, but then went on to commit a costly free throw violation, which led to their second loss of the day.
Lady Eagles vs. Lady Bullpups
Despite ending the elimination round with a 1-2 record, Ateneo was able to advance to the knockout semi-finals by virtue of the quotient system to face an undefeated NU Lady Bullpups fo Jack Danielle Animam, Annick Tiky, Ria Nabalan and 3-time UAAP Most Valuable Player (Season 77, 78, and 79) Afril Bernardino. The low scoring affair saw NU take total control early in the match, before Nimes put Ateneo on the board, 1-6. Refusing to succumb to defeat, the Lady Eagles mustered a 4-1 run, through a triple from Nimes and an and-one play from Guytinco. Unfortunately, these would be the last points Ateneo would score as NU went on to win the game, 9-5.
Regardless of the tough losses, Coach Flores was proud of what the team was able to accomplish in the event. “I knew we could beat NU. I felt we could beat [them].”
Similarly in the Men’s Division, the Blue Eagles were able to prove that they could compete against the big names in the tournament, with games being decided by just a few points. Both of the teams’ excellent performances might be glimpses of the bright future of Ateneo Basketball.
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