THE ATENEO Blue Eagles looked sharp in today’s match as they trumped their archrivals, the De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Archers, to a score of 71-55, on Saturday, October 6, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
The Blue Eagles racked up points from the perimeter as they put up 40 of their 71 points on mid-range jumpers and baskets from downtown. The Blue and White also did well to hinder the second highest scoring team in the league from doing damage on the offensive end as they forced DLSU to commit a tournament-high 28 turnovers and shoot a tournament low of 18/62 (29.03%) from the field. The Green Archers also registered a tournament low in team assists, as the team put up a measly three assists for the entirety of the match.
Blazing through his first year on the team, Angelo Kouame was dominant in today’s match as he went for his second consecutive 20-point game, to go along with 13 rebounds and a perfect 5/5 shooting clip from the charity stripe. The big Ivorian also made his presence known on the defensive end by contributing three steals, five blocks, along with a game high +/- of 24. Team Captain Anton Asistio was deadly from beyond the arc as he scored 12 points on 4/5 (80%) shooting clip from downtown.
The Green Archers began the first quarter on a quick 5-0 run off an Aljun Melecio triple and a Justine Baltazar putback. Ateneo however, responded with a five-point run of their own with a triple from Anton Asistio and a lay-up from Kouame. The two Blue Eagles continued their scoring to combine for ten of the team’s 12 points of the quarter to see the Blue Eagles end the first trailing by a point (12-13).
In the second quarter, Kouame came to life as he scored eight of his 20 points with a series of lay-ups, putbacks, and trips to the line. The Blue Eagles meanwhile, were impressive on both ends of the floor as they held DLSU to eight team points, while putting up sixteen of their own during the quarter.
Exiting halftime, the Blue Eagles found some difficulty on offense as they failed to put up any points on the board for the first three minutes. However, a triple from Kouame at the seven-minute mark put a halt to DLSU’s 5-0 scoring run. Tyler Tio, meanwhile, made his mark late in the quarter by scoring on an elbow jumper and a triple to see the Blue Eagles end the quarter with a 17-point advantage.
In the final quarter, Thirdy Ravena displayed his court vision, managing to find Raffy Verano who hit back-to-back corner triples. Kouame showed his versatility on the break with highlight plays including a coast-to-coast layup for an and-one at the 2:30 mark. The Ivorian then capped off yet another impressive individual showing with a steal and breakaway slam for his 20th point of the game.
At the end of the game, Blue Eagle Assistant Coach Sandy expressed his joy with how the players played despite the charged atmosphere. “It’s an Ateneo-La Salle game, [and a] very intense game, but we’re happy with how we played. Our players played the game individually and collectively as a team,” he said.
The Blue Eagles look to end the first round on a high-note in their match against the Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws on Wednesday, October 10, 4:00 PM, at the same venue.
Quarter Scores (Ateneo-DLSU): 12-13, 28-21, 50-33, 71-55
Box Scores:
Ateneo (71): Kouame – 20, Asistio – 12, Ravena – 9, Verano – 8, Navarro – 6, Go – 6, Tio – 5, Mi. Nieto – 6, Ma. Nieto – 2
DLSU (55): Melecio – 21, Santillan – 7, Dyke – 6, Baltazar – 4, Montalbo – 4, Caracut – 4, Bates – 3, Serrano – 3, Manuel – 3
