THE ATENEO Blue Eagles took down the San Beda Red Lions, 87-68, to clinch their second-straight win in the 2025 Asiabasket College Campus Tour. The match was held earlier today at the Moro Lorenzo Sports Center in Quezon City.
With this victory, the Blue and White now sit comfortably atop Bracket A as the solo first seed with a 2-0 win-loss record in the preseason tournament.
Veteran guard Ian Espinosa was named Player of the Game after he posted a double-double of 12 points and 12 assists, while Divine Adili identically copped his own double-double with 12 markers and 12 rebounds.
Meanwhile, two players tied as the game’s leading scorers with Blue Eagle Kyle Gamber and Red Lion Janti Miller racking up 24 points each in the battle of the age-old rivals.
The Blue and White evidently lacked sharpness to begin the game, as they were riddled by turnovers in the opening minutes, while both sides employed smothering defenses that led to a toe-to-toe battle in the first four minutes, 9-7.
Thirdy Ebdane then boosted Ateneo’s offense off of his pull-up jumpers, giving the Blue Eagles a nine-point cushion, 20-11. With Josh Lazaro’s inside scoring and Ateneo’s defense forcing turnovers, the Blue and White were able to grow their lead to 11 at the end of the first period, 22-11.
The Katipunan-based squad kicked off the second frame with an offensive barrage spearheaded by Gamber, with Adili and Kymani Ladi scoring deuces of their own, 39-25. With the Blue Eagles boasting a 14-point cushion, the Red Lions tightened their defense which was catalyzed by Nygel Gonzales’ three steals, leading to back-to-back fastbreak points from Gonzales and Penny Estacio, 39-29.
With their regained momentum, San Beda rookie Miller took over and went on a scoring bonanza, sparking an 8-0 run for the Mendiola-based squad to cut Ateneo’s lead down to six, 39-33. Determined to halt the Red Lions’ flurry, Espinosa dropped five markers to end the half, putting Ateneo back ahead by double-digits, 47-37.
The Red Lions got off to a roaring start in the second half, as the Blue Eagles struggled to get shots up. Ateneo’s double-digit lead was cut down to just two at the start of the third quarter, as San Beda’s Jomel Puno and Miller made quick work of the Blue and White defenders in the paint, 49-47.
Despite the sudden surge, the Blue Eagles quickly countered with a 10-2 run as sparked by two Gamber triples, forcing the Red Lions to call for time, 59-49. Ateneo firmly safeguarded their advantage until the end of the third despite San Beda skipper Yukien Andrada’s attempts to chip at the lead, 59-54. The Blue and White then regained their momentum, capping the period off a Femi Edu fastbreak layup, 65-56.
Entering the final frame, the Blue Eagles traded baskets with the Red Lions, with Ladi leading the charge with two three-pointers to further extend Ateneo’s advantage, 73-59. On the other end, Miller took to the paint on multiple occasions, keeping the Red and White in the game, 63-75.
Following this, a long scoring drought ensued, which was only broken by the Katipunan-based squad at the four-minute mark. Kicked off by Gamber’s three, the Blue Eagles proceeded to go on a 6-0 run, capped off with a fastbreak layup from Chris Urbina, 82-63.
San Beda’s Gonzales then halted the Blue and White’s blitz by driving to the basket for an easy two, 82-65. In the final moments of the game, however, Gamber and Richi Calimag traded threes, closing out the game with an 87-68 scoreline.
Following today’s bout of historic National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rivals, the greatest University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) cage rivalry will be rekindled in more hotly-anticipated preseason action coming tomorrow.
With this, Espinosa delved into the key takeaways from today’s bout against the perennial NCAA contenders heading into their match against the reigning UAAP finalists.
“We know La Salle, mahilig sila mag-pressure, so papanoorin namin ‘yung game na ito, kasi alam ko maraming turnovers lalo na sa mga guards. Kailangan rin namin ayusin ‘yung execution para maganda laro namin bukas,” the guard said.
(We know La Salle, they love to put on the pressure, so we’ll rewatch this game, because I know we committed a lot of turnovers, especially the guards. We also need to fix our execution so that our play will be good tomorrow.)
The Blue Eagles will gun for three preseason wins in a row as they host the De La Salle Green Archers tomorrow afternoon, March 29, at 4:00 PM in the same venue.
Box Scores:
Ateneo (87): Gamber – 24, Ladi – 15, Espinosa – 12, Adili – 12, Ebdane – 10, Ong – 4, Lazaro – 4, Urbina – 4, Edu – 2, Espina – 0, Reyes – 0
San Beda (68): Miller – 24, Reyes – 11, Gonzales – 10, Puno – 5, Andrada – 5, Estacio – 3, Calimag – 3, Sajonia – 3, Songcuya – 2, Lina – 2, Hawkins – 0, Celzo – 0, Jalbuena – 0, Etulle – 0
Quarter scores:
Ateneo-San Beda: 22-11, 47-37, 65-56, 87-68
Bracket A Standings (W-L):
- ATENEO Blue Eagles (2-0)
- DLSU Green Archers (1-0)
- EAC Generals (1-0)
- SBU Red Lions (1-1)
- UE Red Warriors (0-2)
- SCC Saints (0-2)
- PCU-D Dolphins (0-0)
