THE ATENEO Blue Eagles halted the Sanzar Pharmaceuticals Fire Tigers’ late-game rally yesterday at the Villar Coliseum in the City of Las Piñas to win, 89-79, and booked their place into the 2023 Bola.TV AsiaBasket Las Piñas Championship finals.
Kai Ballungay won player-of-the-game honors yet again as he led the Katipunan-based squad with 17 points and six rebounds. Mason Amos followed suit with 16 points, while Joseph Obasa dropped 14 points and grabbed seven boards.
From the onset, the Blue Eagles immediately showcased their offensive firepower as they found and fed Amos for wide-open perimeter jump shots. The rookie sharpshooter tallied 11 out of Ateneo’s first 31 points to provide his squad an early 12-point lead by the end of the first quarter, 31-19.
However, the Blue and White failed to replicate their hot start to open the second canto. Nevertheless, Ateneo maintained their defensive intensity which forced Sanzar to settle for contested jumpers.
Turning defense into offense, the Blue Eagles regained their offensive momentum during the latter end of the second quarter. This change in tide was highlighted by an emphatic slam from Godslove Nwabude off a Gab Gomez lob. Revitalized, Ateneo headed into halftime with a 17-point advantage, 53-36.
After the resumption, the Blue Eagles seemingly settled for inside shot attempts as they continuously attacked the painted area. However, this new approach was deemed ineffective as the Fire Tigers blitzed Ateneo through fastbreak attempts to cut the Katipunan-based squad’s lead to only eight points, 70-62.
Trailing for almost the entire contest, Sanzar tied the game at 72 apiece with eight minutes left after several tenacious defensive stops that led to Ateneo turnovers. Nevertheless, the Blue Eagles showed their mettle and went on a 15-1 salvo spearheaded by Ballungay’s ferocious drives to the paint to put them back up by double digits, 87-73.
With their lead successfully recovered after a sloppy start in the fourth, the Blue Eagles put the finishing blows on a resilient Fire Tigers team to officially secure their spot in the finals, 89-79.
After the game, the six-foot-seven swingman said that he is satisfied with the continuous improvement that his team has been showing heading into their title defense in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 86.
“I’m really glad that we’re getting these opportunities and scenarios to go through this pre-season to learn from going into the UAAP season,” added Ballungay.
Adeshokan Odou paced Sanzar with 17 points and seven rebounds, while team captain Ian Torres dropped an all-around performance of 13 points, six assists, and six steals.
As they aim to bag another preseason title under their belts, Ateneo will face the College of Saint Benilde Blazers this Sunday, July 30 at Villar Coliseum in the City of Las Piñas.
