CONTINUING TO fall victim to second half struggles, the Ateneo Blue Eagles conceded their University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 match against the De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Archers, 61-74. The first round of the rivalry game was held earlier this evening at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
With the loss, the Blue Eagles fall to a woeful 0-3 record in the UAAP for the first time in 11 years.
Shawn Tuano continued to be Ateneo’s main point of attack, producing 18 points, two steals, and two assists. Meanwhile, DLSU’s frontcourt of Kevin Quiambao and Michael Phillips both finished with double-double performances, scoring 13 points apiece and grabbing 13 and 14 rebounds, respectively.
Early into the first quarter, Ateneo got off to a sluggish start as they committed four turnovers. The combined pestering defense of La Salle and the pressure of a rivalry match caused a young Blue Eagles squad to misfire on the offensive end. Capitalizing on the Blue and White’s errors, DLSU found success running the ball, producing an Earl Abadam three-pointer and a JC Macalalag layup to take an early 7-2 lead.
Finding their rhythm, Josh Lazaro drilled a fastbreak jumper and Andrew Bongo buried a triple to cut Ateneo’s deficit to two at the five-minute mark, 7-9. Victor Balogun would then alleviate some of the team’s early defensive struggles, anchoring the paint with two blocks early in the game. While Tuano’s offensive prowess also boosted Ateneo amid the back-and-forth exchanges, the Blue Eagles never managed to take the lead. The combined error-forcing defense and ball movement of the Green Archers kept them ahead, 21-18, at the end of the opening quarter.
The rival schools continued exchanging runs in the second period. The Blue Eagles fell victim to another early quarter scoring outburst by La Salle courtesy of EJ Gollena and Abadam’s three-pointers, 29-22. This perimeter eruption from DLSU left Ateneo’s interior defense vulnerable, as they continued to face disadvantages against a much taller DLSU frontcourt. Quiambao added to the Blue Eagles’ defensive concerns, first dishing out assists to Henry Agunanne and Raven Gonzales, then sinking a long-distance jumper to put Ateneo in a 25-36 hole.
Refusing to fall behind, Ateneo stormed back to within single digits by riding a 6-2 counter run, 29-36. Following baskets from Kristian Porter and Tuano, Waki Espina immediately sent the Ateneo crowd into a frenzy with back-to-back triples to force a 40-all deadlock. Although the Katipunan-based side garnered momentum in the end stages of the second quarter, a buzzer-beating tip-in from Phillips made it a 40-44 deficit for Ateneo to work with heading into halftime.
Phillips’ second-chance play capped off a dominant rebounding display by the Green Archers—who outclassed Ateneo in the boards with a 31-16 discrepancy at the half.
Despite the intense fight shown by the Blue Eagles to end the first half, it was DLSU that took the early momentum in the third quarter. Ateneo failed to contain La Salle’s midrange accuracy and the inside presence of Phillips, 42-48.
A seven-minute scoring drought also proved another huge factor in Ateneo’s woeful third quarter. In a stark contrast to the previous two frames, the Katipunan-based squad could not seem to find the bottom of the net, scoring only four points in the entirety of the third canto. Taking advantage of Ateneo’s ice-cold shooting, La Salle sprinted to a 13-2 run as the Blue Eagle deficit swelled to 15 at the end of the penultimate quarter, 44-59.
The Blue and White’s inability to convert field goals carried over to the final period, allowing the DLSU lead to balloon to 20 with 8:30 remaining, 66-46. Adding on to Ateneo’s challenges was their size disadvantage, as Quiambao and Joshua David easily manhandled the fatigued Ateneo frontcourt.
Shining light in a horrid stretch, the Blue Eagles stepped up in the defensive end, with multiple interceptions by Tuano and Jared Bahay to make life a little more difficult for the Green Archers. However, this effort was not enough to bring Ateneo back into the contest as the game ended 74-61 in favor of DLSU.
Points in the paint and bench scoring ended up as the biggest downfalls in Ateneo’s third loss, as they were outscored by the Green Archers in both statistics, 26-38 and 19-38, respectively.
Ateneo was also out-rebounded by 24, portraying the apparent contrast in both teams’ size. In a rare highlight of the Loyola Heights-based team’s night, Ateneo forced 22 La Salle turnovers in comparison to the latter’s 13.
The Blue Eagles will look to claim their first victory when they face the Adamson Soaring Falcons on Saturday, September 21, at 6:30 PM in the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
Box scores:
Ateneo (61): Tuano – 18, Bongo – 9, Bahay – 8, Porter – 8, Espina – 6, Lazaro – 6, Balogun – 3, Quitevis – 2, Espinosa – 1, Gamber – 0, Ong – 0,
DLSU (74): Quiambao – 13, Phillips – 13, Macalalag – 9, David – 8, Gonzales – 7, Gollena – 6, Dungo – 6, Abadam – 2, Ramiro – 2, Agunanne – 2, Marasigan – 2, Konov – 0, Rubico – 0
Quarter scores:
Ateneo-DLSU: 18-21, 40-44, 44-59, 61-74
Current Standings (W-L):
- DLSU Green Archers (3-0)
- UP Fighting Maroons (2-0)
- UST Growling Tigers (2-1)
- ADU Soaring Falcons (2-1)
- NU Bulldogs (1-1)
- FEU Tamaraws (0-2)
- UE Red Warriors (0-2)
- ATENEO Blue Eagles (0-3)
