THE ATENEO Blue Eagles opened the World University Basketball Series with a convincing win over Indonesia’s University of Pelita Harapan (UPH) Eagles, 125-39, at the Yoyogi National Stadium Second Gymnasium, earlier today in Tokyo, Japan.
The victory puts the team at a massive head start of the four-team round-robin tournament. This is due to the tournament’s structure where a team’s margin of victory will be used as the basis in case of leaderboard ties at the end of the tournament.
Team Captain BJ Andrade led the charge alongside new recruits Paul Garcia and Kai Balunggay as the Blue Eagles were able to maximize their offensive arsenal en route to their massive lead. Proving their mettle, Garcia and Balunggay were the top scorers for the team with 17 and 15 points, respectively. Veteran Dave Ildefonso and UAAP Season 84 MVP Ange Kouame did not suit up as both players are still nursing injuries.
From the start of the match, Ateneo showcased their patented defense as they forced turnovers and exhibited exceptionally crisp ball movement. Ateneo thus forced UPH to only one field goal while assisting on 13 of their 21 field goal attempts in the first half.
The Blue and White continued their onslaught against UPH in the 2nd half as the lead ballooned to as much as 86. The Blue Eagles finished the game with 16/34 shooting from the three-point line while also dominating the boards with 53 rebounds compared to UPH’s 24.
[POST-GAME STATS]
— Anton Mercado (@Anton_TheGUIDON) August 9, 2022
• Ateneo with an efficient offensive performance, going 70% from the inside the line and 47% from outside.
• UPH almost doubles their opponent’s TOs with 26 as opposed to 14
• The Blue Eagles dominated the glass with 53 rebounds against just 24 from UPH. pic.twitter.com/5USd0vj4VU
This game marks the first time the Blue Eagles competed in a tournament after the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 84 finals. Ateneo looks to use this competition as preparation for the upcoming UAAP season.
Ateneo’s next game will be against Taiwan’s National Chengchi University tomorrow, 6:35 PM. The games are live streamed at Smart Sports and can be viewed through: www.facebook.com/SMARTSportsPhilippines
Quarter Scores:
Ateneo-UPH: 28-6, 56-13, 90-23, 125-39
