THE ATENEO Blue Eagles survive Chinese Taipei’s National Chengchi University (NCCU) Griffins, 88-78, to stay unblemished in the World University Basketball Series (WUBS). The tournament was held at the Yoyogi National Stadium Second Gymnasium, earlier today in Tokyo, Japan.
This win puts the Blue and White at 2-0 in the single-round robin tournament, placing Ateneo in a comfortable spot at the top of the standings with only one game remaining in the tournament.
Kai Ballungay led the Katipunan-based squad in his second game with his new team, dropping 21 points en route to the tough victory. On the opposite side, the Griffins’ Mouhamed Mbaye stepped up for his team with 20 points in an impressive outing despite the loss.
The game started off as a back-and-forth struggle between Ateneo and NCCU due in part to sloppy turnovers coming from both sides. However, the Griffins eked out a small lead on the scoreboard to end the first quarter due to their stellar outside shooting. At the end of the first period, the Blue Eagles found themselves down by four, 14-18.
The 6’7 power forward Ballungay started to find his rhythm in the second frame of the game, regaining the lead for his team with four makes from downtown, 26-24. The Griffins, however, responded to every haymaker thrown at them, preventing Coach Tab Baldwin’s team from extending their advantage. The first half ended with NCCU going on a 14-3 run, until newly recruited point guard Paul Garcia knocked down a buzzer-beating three to keep the Ateneo deficit at five, 39-44.
The third quarter saw more of the same game pattern, as erratic play from Ateneo was faced with hot shooting from the Griffins, putting the Blue Eagles down by seven points heading into the final frame, 57-64.
In the last quarter of the match, Ateneo started to gain some momentum, forcing the Taipei-based school to call for a timeout, yet the NCCU lead would be cut down to a single point, 69-68. Both teams then went tit-for-tat midway through the final period, with Ateneo eventually pulling away with nearly four minutes left in the game. The boys in blue never looked back, as they snatched the match from NCCU after a 31-14point performance differential in the fourth quarter.
Ateneo will look to finish the short invitational league with a convincing sweep as they take on the home team, Tokai University tomorrow at 1:50 PM. The winner of the match between the two teams will be named the champion of the tournament. The games are live streamed at Smart Sports and can be viewed through: https://www.facebook.com/SMARTSportsPhilippines
Quarter Scores:
Ateneo-NCCU: 14-18, 39-44, 57-64, 88-78
