THE ATENEO Blue Eagles live to fight another day.
With their backs against the wall for the first time in years, Ateneo survived another threatening University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons comeback after grinding out a 69-66 victory at the Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena earlier today to extend the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 84 Men’s Basketball Finals to a deciding Game 3.
Ange Kouame proved once more why he was hailed as this season’s Most Valuable Player as he anchored the Blue Eagles through another monstrous outing with 14 points, 14 rebounds, and eight blocks.
Not only were Kouame’s eight rejections crucial for Ateneo, but they were also historic, as he set a new UAAP Men’s Basketball Finals record. The previous record of seven blocks was held by fellow Atenean great Nonoy Baclao, dating back to Game 1 of the UAAP Season 71 Finals.
Both teams started slowly, suffering from a turnover-plagued opening quarter. After UP waxed hot with back-to-back threes, Ateneo’s bench took care of the offense with 13 first quarter points. The first quarter was highlighted by an emphatic Josh Lazaro block on Carl Tamayo, which then resulted in a Tyler Tio layup to give the Blue Eagles a slim 17-16 margin.
The Blue Eagles then started to find their groove in the second quarter, going on a 7-0 run which handed them a 28-20 lead. With Malick Diouf out due to foul trouble, Kouame made a living down low, scoring six points in the quarter to spearhead Ateneo to a 37-28 advantage heading into the second half.
Ateneo carried their momentum into the third, leading 45-30 after going on another 7-0 run capped off by a Lazaro midrange jumper. However, UP went on an 8-0 run of their own built on Diouf going 4-4 from charity, cutting the lead to 45-49 in favor of Ateneo.
Two consecutive threes from newly minted rookie-of-the-year Tamayo gave the Fighting Maroons their first taste of the lead, 57-56, with about five minutes remaining in the final frame. Kouame then cleaned up a Gian Mamuyac miss followed by a layup from Belangel off another UP turnover to give the Blue Eagles a 65-61 lead.
After trading trips to the charity for both teams, miscommunication from the Fighting Maroons caused a careless James Spencer turnover off the inbound. Ateneo capitalized on this via an easy freebie layup from Mamuyac to hand Ateneo the 69-63 advantage.
Ricci Rivero then answered with a layup on the other end to inch UP closer, 65-69, in the final minute of the ballgame. But on the next play, the graduating UP guard chewed too much time off the clock, before he drove to the basket and was subsequently fouled. Rivero went on to split his attempts from the charity stripe, giving Ateneo the deserved 69-66 victory.
“The loss in game one is a blessing because we fail in life. It happens to everybody, and I think our players and coaches looked at that as an opportunity to grow,” said Ateneo Head Coach Tab Baldwin after Ateneo finally ended their two-game losing streak against UP.
Sweet-shooting guard Tio—who bounced back from a scoreless performance in the first game—had a huge 14-point contribution of his own for Ateneo. Meanwhile, Tamayo and Rivero led the way for the Fighting Maroons with 18 and 16 points, respectively.
Ateneo and UP will face each other one last time this Friday, May 13, at the MOA Arena, 6:00 PM, in Game Three of the UAAP Men’s Basketball Finals to hail this season’s champion. Ateneo’s bid for a four-peat or UP’s first Men’s Basketball Championship in over three decades are at stake.
Box Score:
Ateneo (69): Kouame – 14, Tio – 14, Ildefonso – 10, Mamuyac – 7, Belangel – 6, Koon – 6, Verano – 4, Lazaro – 3, Andrade – 3, Chiu – 2
UP (66): Tamayo – 18, Rivero – 16, Cagulangan – 8, Lucero – 8, Diouf – 8, Alarcon – 5, Spencer – 3
Quarter Scores:
Ateneo-UP: 17-16, 37-28, 49-45, 69-66
