THE ATENEO Blue Eagles were a force to be reckoned with in today’s match as they dominated the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers en route to a whopping 102-62 victory in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 81 Men’s Basketball Tournament on Wednesday, November 14, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

Despite the absence of Head Coach Tab Baldwin, the Blue Eagles broke their previous season-high scoring output of 90 points after putting up a whopping 102 points to join the De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Archers as the only team to score in triple-digits so far this season. The Blue Eagles were also excellent in the turnover department—holding the Growling Tigers to 25 turnovers, while achieving a new season-low of just six giveaways.

Ateneo’s last match of the elimination rounds also saw an equal distribution of minutes for the Blue and White, with no player racking up more than 17 minutes of action on the court. Big man Angelo Kouame was dominant as he grabbed a 22-point, 10-rebound double-double in just 13.17 minutes of action.

Will Navarro had quite the afternoon as well as he recorded 17 points on an immaculate 7/7 shooting clip from the field to go with another perfect 3/3 from the charity stripe. In just 8.17 minutes of action, BJ Andrade was also immensely productive—putting up 9 points on 3/4 (75%) shooting from beyond the arc.

Clearly missing the presence of CJ Cansino, whose promising rookie year was ended by an Anterior Cruciate Ligament injury during a game against the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons, the Growling Tigers struggled mightily on both ends of the court in the first quarter.

On the other hand, the same could not be said for the Blue Eagles as the team wasted no time to get things going, with a pick-and-roll play between Matt Nieto and Kouame opening up the scoring in today’s festivities.

Following the bucket, the Blue Eagles’ onslaught would continue as an Anton Asistio triple saw UST on the receiving end of a 14-0 scoring run, prompting UST Head Coach Aldin Ayo to call a timeout at the 6:02 mark.

A floater from Marvin Lee about a minute later spared the Growling Tigers from their blushes with their first points on the board. Navarro was particularly impressive this quarter, scoring off a number of isolation plays with a series of strong drives to the basket. Eventually, a lay-up from Navarro would serve as the Blue Eagles’ final bucket of the quarter, capping off a dominant 23-point advantage, 34-11.

In the second frame, the Blue Eagles continued from where they left off, with triples from Sj Belangel, Andrade, Jolo Mendoza, and Mike Nieto keeping the Blue Eagles in favorable distance from UST. The Growling Tigers meanwhile, had a much improved offensive showing, with Renzo Subido, Joshua Marcos, and Zach Huang all doing their bit to contribute to the 20 points the team put up in this quarter.

However, the Growling Tigers’ improved scoring output proved to be futile, as the team entered halftime still down by 27, 58-31. On the Blue Eagles’ end, they finished the first half shooting an outstanding 20/37 (54%) shooting clip from the field, while racking up 10 team assists in an excellent display of ball movement. Ending the quarter, Kouame and Navarro led the way for the Blue Eagles in terms of scoring, contributing 11 points and 8 points on perfect 4/4 and 3/3 shooting clips, respectively.

To begin the second half, Kouame scored on a number of baskets around and inside the painted area. Continuing their dominance on the offensive end, the Blue and White found themselves with a monstrous 39-point lead, 74-35, at the officials’ timeout call about 4:11 minutes in. The Blue Eagles’ intricate ball movement continued to be a trend as Thirdy Ravena set up Kouame and Asistio for a lob and corner triple, respectively.

To the end the quarter, the Blue Eagles found themselves with a commanding 83-point scoring output to go along with a 41-point lead, 83-42.

In the fourth and final quarter of action, the Blue Eagles refused to release their foot off the gas, with Navarro answering a Marcos bucket with a thundering left-handed slam on the other end. Andrade put in a strong performance in his time on the court—contributing a triple and a lob to Matthew Daves in the fourth quarter.

Eventually, the Blue Eagles’ efforts resulted in a 40-point blowout of the Growling Tigers, 102-62.

Ending the eliminations round on a 12-2 win-loss record and a seven-game winning streak, Assistant Coach Sandy Arespacochaga remains cautious f the post-season looming. “All schools are dangerous; all schools are going to be a tough match-up,” he said. “[We] cannot [afford to] count out any school.”

The Blue Eagles will face either of the league’s tied fourth-seed contenders, the Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws or the DLSU Green Archers in the semi-finals of the tourney. For FEU to secure a slot in the post-season, they will need to win their match over the Adamson University Soaring Falcons to force a playoff against the Green Archers.

Quarter Scores (Ateneo-UST): 34-13, 58-31, 83-42, 102-62

Box Scores:

Ateneo (102): Kouame – 22, Navarro – 17, Mendoza – 9, Andrade – 9, Go – 8, Ravena – 6, Asistio – 6, Mi. Nieto – 5, Ma. Nieto – 5, Black – 4, Verano – 4, Daves – 4, Belangel – 3

UST (62): Subido – 18, Agustin – 15, Marcos – 13, Mahinay – 6, Huang – 4, Lee – 2, Ando – 2, Consejo – 2