DESPITE A hot start from beyond the arc, with 4-of-5 of their early first-half field goals coming from downtown, the Ateneo Blue Eagles found themselves bested at the final buzzer, 74-70, by the Adamson University (AdU) Soaring Falcons in Season 81 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Men’s Basketball Tournament.

Jerrick Ahanmisi’s deadly off-ball movement, along with his improved ability to score off the dribble, all played to his favor as he led all scorers with 23 points on 47% shooting from the field. Ahanmisi also found himself lighting up the scoreboard from downtown with four of his eight converted field goals coming from beyond the arc.

Meanwhile, Matt Nieto led Ateneo with 21 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the field, and 10/12 shooting from the free throw line. Nieto’s play on both ends of the court also saw him earn team-high statistics of two steals and a plus/minus of 12 on 26.5 minutes of action on the court.

Early on, Adamson’s defense caused the Blue and White problems as the Falcons’ relentless full-court trap earned them several easy buckets including a Jojo Espeleta breakaway layup off an errant pass from the backcourt. Misplaced passes and communication gaps continued to plague the Blue and White throughout the match, gifting AdU a total of 15 points off turnovers.

Meanwhile, the second quarter saw the Blue Eagles offense find its niche, as an Aaron Black lay-up from a fake dribble hand-off forced Adamson Head Coach Franz Pumaren to call a timeout with Ateneo leading the Falcons by their largest margin of the game at 11. Exiting the timeout however, five straight points from Ahanmisi along with an and-one from Jerom Lastimosa cut the Blue Eagles’ lead to two before Ahanmisi’s buzzer-beater from half court gave the Soaring Falcons a 39-40 advantage entering halftime.

The third quarter saw the fans of both sides reach their boiling point—as numerous technical fouls were called on both teams for flopping and improper bench conduct. The violations, which bought Ahanmisi five trips to the line, saw the Blue Eagles struggle to keep up with the Soaring Falcons as they entered the final quarter trailing by four points, 55-51.

In the final quarter, a flagrant foul from Lastimosa enabled Nieto tie the match at 61-all from the charity stripe. After a back-and-forth affair, an offensive rebound late in the game triggered an uncontested Papi Sarr lay-up in the low post to eventually give Adamson the advantage with less than a minute of play left on the clock. Eventually, two converted charities from Sean Manganti sealed the 70-74 victory for the Soaring Falcons.

Commenting on his team’s performance following the defeat, Assistant Coach Sandy Arespacochaga acknowledged the Blue Eagles’ shortcomings. “When we tried to move the ball, there were a couple of breakdowns on our end offensively,” he admitted. “We [have] to do a better job executing the offense and reading the opponent’s defense.”

Arespacochaga also commended the Soaring Falcons for their victory. “They deserved to win. They played excellent defense. They got a lot of offensive rebounds,” he said. “They also forced a lot of turnovers. These were key; they were the better team.”

This defeat sees the defending champions kick off their campaign at a 0-1 win-loss standing. The Blue Eagles will be looking to recover with a victory against their Katipunan rivals, the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons, at 4PM this Wednesday, September 12, at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao City.

Quarter Scores

(Ateneo-AdU): 20-18, 39-40, 51-55, 70-74

Box Scores

Ateneo (70): Ma .Nieto – 21, Verano – 10, Ravena – 7, Asistio – 7, Go – 6, Navarro – 5, Mendoza – 5, Mi. Nieto – 4, Black – 4, Kouame – 1

Adamson (74): Ahanmisi – 23, Magbuhos – 10, Sarr – 8, Espeleta – 7, Catapusan – 7, Lastimosa – 6, Manganti – 4, Pingoy – 3, Mojica – 3, Camacho – 2, Colonia -1