THE ATENEO Blue Eagles dropped their fourth consecutive game in the 2023 Filoil EcoOil Preseason Cup after being dealt a 60-54 loss by the Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws. The contest took place earlier today at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in the City of San Juan.
With today’s outcome, the Blue Eagles fall to an underwhelming preseason record of 0-4, which ranks second-worst in the tournament’s Bracket B.
Kai Ballungay’s efficient 13-point and nine-rebound day was a strong showing in an otherwise error-laden outing for Ateneo. Joseph Obasa made key contributions of his own, recording eight points and four blocks earlier this afternoon.
Highlighted by star forward Ballungay and his immediate scoring impact, the Blue and White looked hungry early on to as they sought entry into the preseason win column, taking an 11-5 advantage with 4:53 to go in the first. In response, the Tamaraws stuck to their brand of scrappy basketball and successfully retaliated, as a Miguel Ona block on Jared Brown followed by an authoritative Cholo Añonuevo slam cut the Ateneo lead to 15-13. Already reeling from a costly Brown injury in the aforementioned play, the Katipunan-based squad’s offense stalled at the end of the opening quarter, as Ateneo went down 15-16 after a late triple by FEU’s Añonuevo.
To the detriment of the Blue Eagles, the Tamaraws continued to find their stroke from deep, as triples from Rojan Montemayor and Menard Songcuya padded FEU’s lead at the 6:02 mark of the second frame, 25-17. Free throw woes and missed opportunities from open shot attempts saw Coach Tab Baldwin’s squad register a mere six points from that point on, ending the half faced by a 23-30 deficit.
The Blue Eagles’ defense came alive after the break, as consecutive unanswered field goals by Ateneo trimmed the FEU lead, 29-30, to begin the second half. Fresh out of the Tamaraw timeout, the Blue Eagle offense remained hot as they recaptured control of the ballgame courtesy of two Ballungay baskets from the perimeter, 35-30. As the scorching-hot Ballungay took a much-needed breather, the Tamaraws capitalized by tightening their interior defense and took advantage of high-quality looks on offense, going on a 9-0 run to end the third ahead, 45-42.
The Blue Eagles began the final frame by giving up several crucial turnovers, as FEU stretched the lead to eight, 52-44. With six minutes left in the game, Ateneo orchestrated a comeback attempt kickstarted by an Obasa cleanup jam that saw the FEU lead cut to four at the 3:02 mark, 51-55 for the Tamaraws. Holding possession with 45.2 remaining in regulation, Obasa airmailed his shot attempt by the rim that would have made the contest a one-possession game. Patrick Sleat’s steal and layup preceding Ateneo’s final offensive sequence poetically put the nail in the coffin with a 60-54 loss for the defending champions.
In Ateneo’s turnover-prone loss wherein notable ball handlers Forthsky Padrigao and Jared Brown missed time, Baldwin highlighted the evident upside amid youngsters Ian Espinosa and Lebron Nieto’s growing pains.
“Lebron [Nieto] could give us good shooting, and Ian [Espinosa] can be a good decision-maker, but both of them have to broaden what they could do for us on the offensive end,” Baldwin remarked. “They’ve gotta be good distributors of the ball, they’ve gotta be good decision-makers, [and] they gotta shoot the ball well.”
The winless Blue Eagles will look to finally put an end to their losing streak in a matchup against the Adamson Soaring Falcons on Sunday, 4:00 PM at the same venue.
Box scores:
ADMU (54): Ballungay – 13, Obasa – 8, Credo – 6, Bongo – 6, Quitevis – 5, Espinosa – 5, Lazaro – 4, Chiu – 4, Nieto – 3
FEU (60): Torres – 14, Añonuevo – 12, Montemayor – 8, Sleat – 7, Pasaol – 6, Ona – 6, Bagunu – 4, Songcuya – 3
Quarter scores: ADMU-FEU: 15-16, 23-30, 42-45, 54-60
