AT THE tail end of a season that will go down in infamy, the Ateneo Blue Eagles were dealt one last blow by the red-hot Adamson Soaring Falcons, 55-69. The Blue and White’s University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 finale was held earlier tonight at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.
Tonight’s loss caps Ateneo’s lowly season at eighth place with a horrid 4-10 record, ingloriously tying the Season 58 and Season 60 Blue Eagles for the team’s worst-ever finish in the Final Four era.
Despite Ateneo’s floundering final game performance, Chris Koon gave it his all on both ends of the court, tallying 10 markers and two steals in his UAAP swan song. Carrying a similar impact is rookie sensation Jared Bahay with his 14-point outing.
Kicking off their final Season 87 outing with fireworks, Ateneo quickly established a 7-2 lead courtesy of veteran-rookie duo Koon and Bahay. However, the Blue Eagles’ five-point advantage quickly vanished following swift buckets from the Soaring Falcons, 9-9.
Shots continued falling for Adamson as the frame progressed, with the Ermita-based squad’s lead ballooning to 14-9. Refusing to let the Soaring Falcons dictate the game’s pace further, the Blue Eagles bloomed from the charity line to head into the second quarter with a 15-16 scoreline.
Following a subdued first-quarter showing, Ateneo’s assemblage of guards turned up the dial and relentlessly penetrated the Adamson defense to reclaim a three-point advantage, 23-20. Regardless, the Soaring Falcons persisted in wreaking havoc on the offensive end, burying back-to-back treys to Ateneo’s dismay, 30-23.
Shawn Tuano persistently hunted for points from the low post, temporarily quelling the Soaring Falcons’ rampaging offense at the midpoint of the canto, 30-32. Despite the forward’s efforts, Adamson’s scalding threes still tore apart the Ateneo defense, ultimately leaving the Blue and White at a 33-37 disadvantage at the end of the first half.
By halftime, Ateneo found themselves outperformed in bench points, with 13 markers to Adamson’s 25. The Katipunan-based squad’s interior defense also showed signs of struggle, as they allowed the Soaring Falcons to score 18 points in the paint.
The Blue Eagles’ third-quarter efforts were met by a suffocating Adamson defense which blitzed any Atenean ball handler at will. With the Blue and White coughing up several turnovers due to the stifling pressure, the Soaring Falcons exploded with a 7-0 run that put the Tab Baldwin-coached squad down 35-44.
While the Ateneo offense started to settle, Adamson effortlessly countered on the other end, with AJ Fransman’s triple keeping the Loyola Heights-based unit down nine, 40-49. The Blue Eagles faced more issues in containing the Final Four-hungry squad, as the Soaring Falcons’ total of four free throws at the 3:39 mark nearly matched their five attempts from the entire opening half.
Already struggling on the defensive end, the Blue Eagles failed to hit a field goal for consecutive minutes down the stretch of the frame, placing them into a double-digit disadvantage, 41-51. However, two massive baskets from Bahay and Sean Quitevis in the final 30 seconds of the third quickly turned the game around for the Blue and White. With newfound life, Ateneo headed into the final quarter of their season staring down a more manageable 46-51 deficit.
Despite seeking to bow out of Season 87 on a winning note, the Blue Eagles saw their hopes dwindle after surrendering yet another 7-0 run with 7:09 left in the fourth, 46-58. After Andrew Bongo finally converted Ateneo’s first bucket of the quarter at the 6:32 threshold, the Blue Eagles were struck by several long-range bombs with Joshua Yerro leading the flurry for Adamson, 49-64.
The San Marcelino-based team then switched to a more conservative playstyle as they sought to nurse their advantage with the clock ticking. After scoring only nine points in the quarter, the Blue and White were handed their 10th and final loss in a season to forget, 55-69.
In the last press conference of the season, Head Coach Baldwin shared his final insights, saying, “Several of our players were afforded wonderful opportunities to grow and develop based on very difficult experiences in-game.”
“Because the lessons of not being successful are oftentimes far more powerful and instructive than the lessons of success,” the four-time UAAP champion added.
Although the Blue Eagle Band of Brothers fell short of their Final Four aspirations in an uncharacteristically bad season, their future ahead otherwise beams optimistically with hope. With talented rookies like Bahay and Porter ready to carry the torch left by departing veterans, the road to UAAP Season 88 could very well be paved with resurgence.
Ateneo will only need to further nurture these burgeoning Blue Eagles to propel themselves back to the top of Philippine college basketball.
Box scores:
Ateneo (55): Bahay – 14, Espinosa – 10, Koon – 10, Porter – 7, Bongo – 4, Tuano – 4, Lazaro – 3, Quitevis – 2, Ong – 1, Gamber – 0, Espina – 0, Asora – 0, Edu – 0, Reyes – 0
AdU (69): Mantua – 14, Anabo – 13, Erolon – 11, Fransman – 8, Calisay – 6, Manzano – 6, Yerro – 5, Ramos – 4, Ojarikre – 2, Barasi Jr. – 0, Ronzone – 0, Dignadice – 0, Barcelona – 0, Alexander – 0, Ignacio – 0, Montebon – 0
Quarter scores:
Ateneo-AdU: 15-16, 33-37, 46-51, 55-69
Final Standings (W-L):
- DLSU Green Archers (12-2)
- UP Fighting Maroons (11-3)
- UST Growling Tigers (7-7)
- UE Red Warriors (6-8)
- AdU Soaring Falcons (6-8)
- FEU Tamaraws (5-9)
- NU Bulldogs (5-9)
- ATENEO Blue Eagles (4-10)
