THE ATENEO Blue Eagles remain unbeaten in the second round of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 81 Men’s Basketball Tournament after defeating the Adamson University (AdU) Soaring Falcons, 62-48, on Sunday, November 4, at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.

Turnovers hampered Ateneo early on as the team surrendered 14 turnovers in the first 20 minutes of action alone, nearly matching their season average of 14.5 per game. The Blue and White, however, did well to stifle the Soaring Falcons’ offense as AdU was held to a 17/62 (27.42%) shooting clip from the field—a good 11.9% below their season average of 39.3%. The Blue Eagles also forced the San Marcelino-based squad a new season high in terms of turnovers at 22 possessions given up.

Isaac Go led the way for Ateneo in scoring with a 12-point output on a 4/8 (50%) shooting clip from the field. Thirdy Ravena came close to securing another double-double with a ten-point, nine-rebound performance in about 19 minutes of action on the court.

On the opposing side, the talented wing pairing of Jerrick Ahanmisi and Sean Manganti were held to just ten and six points respectively, with Ahanmisi shooting 4/12 (33%) and Mangati shooting 2/12 (17%) from the field.
To open the proceedings, a Ravena triple off an Angelo Kouame flare screen enabled the Blue and White to grab the first points of the match, 3-0.

Following the triple, however, turnovers haunted the Blue Eagles as a communication error saw the Katipunan-based side surrender their third consecutive turnover in quick fashion. Both teams struggled to get their respective offenses rolling as AdU found themselves leading Ateneo, 6-5, around five minutes into the game.

Rookie SJ Belangel featured in the first quarter and was hugely impressive, draining a floater and successfully running a pick and roll with Go late in the quarter to see the Blue Eagles through the first ten minutes of play level with the Soaring Falcons at 9-9.

Elite defense from both sides continued to be a trend as the Blue and White put up the second quarter’s first point with a Tyler Tio free throw at the 8:07 mark. After missing the entire second round to a finger injury, point guard Matt Nieto then checked in to the game at the 7:02 mark with Ateneo struggling to put points on the board, 16-13.

Eventually, the Blue Eagles’ firepower seemingly hit its stride as a Kouame rebound and lay-up at the 3:52 mark prompted a timeout from AdU Head Coach Franz Pumaren, with Ateneo leading 16-11. Mike Nieto, who had been sidelined with dengue for the entirety of the second round, returned to the floor at the 3:08 mark to replace Ravena. Eventually, it would be Nieto who would deliver the Blue Eagles’ final point of the quarter, draining a corner triple off an assist from Gian Mamuyac to see the Blue and White to halftime leading by nine, 26-17.

Three free throws from Anton Asistio early in the third quarter gave the Blue Eagles their first double-digit lead of the game, 29-18.

Asistio’s range would continue to haunt the Soaring Falcons as a deep triple from Ateneo’s team captain prompted a timeout with the Blue Eagles leading by 20 at the 5:40 mark, 41-21. The Soaring Falcons’ frustrations persisted as a flagrant foul on Ravena from Simon Camacho enabled the Blue Eagle swingman to sink two free throws from the charity stripe. By the end of the third quarter, 15 points stood between the Blue Eagles and the Soaring Falcons, 46-31.

In the fourth and final quarter, the Blue Eagles sustained their double-digit lead after buckets from Kouame and Raffy Verano forced AdU to call a timeout at the 6:24 mark with the Soaring Falcons trailing by 14, 50-36.

Matt Nieto and Tio were huge for the Blue Eagles this quarter, with Nieto scoring off a triple and a floater and Tio following up with his own triple and an uncontested layup to see the Blue Eagles maintain a double-digit lead throughout the quarter. A Ravena steal and breakaway slam proved to be the final nail in the coffin as the Blue Eagles closed out the game, 62-48, to keep a firm grip on their spot atop the standings.

Assistant Coach Sandy Arespacochaga explained the team’s defensive mindset entering the game in the post-match press conference. “Our emphasis was really [to hold on] defensively,” he said. “We needed to make sure that [Jerrick] Ahanmisi and [Sean] Manganti won’t have their way [along with] Papi Sarr.”

The Blue Eagles will be looking to maintain an unblemished second round record with another victory over their archrivals, the De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Archers, at 4:00 PM, on Sunday, November 11, at the SMART Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.

Quarter Scores (Ateneo – AdU): 9-9, 26-17, 46-31, 62-48

Box Scores:

Ateneo (62): Go – 12, Ravena – 10, Asistio – 9, Tio – 6, Kouame – 6, Verano – 5, Ma. Nieto – 5, Mamuyac – 4, Mi. Nieto – 3, Belangel – 2

Adamson (48): Lastimosa – 13, Ahanmisi – 10, Sarr – 9, Manganti – 6, Mojica – 3, Camacho – 2, Magbuhos – 2, Zaldivar – 2, Macion – 1