THE ATENEO Blue Eagles fell short in a thriller against the De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Archers, 92-95, in the 2025 Asiabasket College Campus Tour. The match was held earlier today at the Moro Lorenzo Sports Center in Quezon City.
Today’s loss places the Blue Eagles at 2-1 in the win-loss column, bringing them down to second in Group A of the preseason tournament. This also marks the penultimate game of Ateneo’s four-game home stretch.
Ian Espinosa led the way for the Blue and White with 17 points and seven assists, while Kymani Ladi tallied a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Kyle Gamber also contributed 15 points from five three-point makes.
The Blue Eagles looked to firmly defend home floor against their classic rivals as they put together a fiery start to open the first. An offensive surge—courtesy of Kymani Ladi’s three-point jumper, Shawn Tuano’s eurostep drive, and Divine Adili’s dunk on Mike Phillips—forced the Green Archers to call an early timeout, 9-1.
However, Ateneo struggled on the defensive end after the break, with DLSU’s adjustments helping them draw fouls and take a two-possession lead, 17-11. Unshaken by La Salle’s 16-2 run, the Katipunan-based squad regained momentum as Ladi and Gamber made it rain from deep, spearheading a 7-2 counter run to help Ateneo end the frame up 24-19.
The following canto saw sloppy offensive rhythm out of the gates from both teams, as high-quality looks came rare for the two sides. Despite neither side letting up on defense, Phillips eventually found openings in the paint to cut the Blue Eagle lead to one, 30-29. Determined to widen the gap once again, Espinosa scored five straight points for the Blue and White, highlighted by a rainbow and-one three that brought the lead to 44-36. An exchange of tough jumpers by Espinosa and Jacob Cortez ultimately ended the half with the home team up six, 46-40.
Ateneo shined offensively to begin the second half as a Ladi triple and an Adili deuce applied more pressure, 51-44, with Adili also flashing his two-way abilities after swatting Cortez on the other end. However, Phillips continued to be La Salle’s sole engine at that juncture of the game, as he answered Ateneo’s rampage with consecutive points in the paint, 55-49.
With the Blue Eagles’ cushion being threatened by the Green Archers, Gamber knocked down back-to-back treys to give the Tab Baldwin-headed unit some room for comfort, 65-55. Despite the advantage, Ateneo committed costly fouls and turnovers in the next two minutes of the frame, eventually surrendering a 5-0 run to La Salle, 65-60. Responding once more, the Blue Eagles quickly struck back with a floater from Espinosa and a corner three from Gamber to end the quarter with a nine-point lead, 70-61.
Entering the last quarter, the Blue and White struggled to contain the duo of Phillips and Cortez as they feasted in the paint to draw DLSU closer, 70-67. Ladi stalled La Salle’s momentum with a tough reverse layup, followed by Tuano scoring a heavily contested make over Mason Amos.
The succeeding possessions then saw both Phillips and Jared Bahay swap baskets, culminating in Bahay’s second three of the quarter. However, the Blue Eagles’ youthful inexperience showed as they slumped down the stretch, allowing Amos and Baclaan to hit a pair of threes that sparked a 10-0 game-tying La Salle run.
In a hectic possession, Adili’s putback bailed out the Blue and White, which helped them retake the lead, 90-88. The Blue Eagles then displayed defensive intensity on the other end, forcing an Amos jumper to hit the broad side of the board.
Despite the hustle, Ateneo’s efforts were shattered by a lead-taking Phillips and-one putback, 90-91. While a layup from Josh Lazaro led to another lead change, La Salle quickly stole the driver’s seat following a difficult jumper by Baclaan, 93-92. In the final possession, Espinosa found a good look but missed the potential game-tying three, ending the game in heartbreak for Ateneo, 92-95.
The Blue Eagles struggled to pull down boards throughout the match, with La Salle grabbing 56 rebounds compared to Ateneo’s 49. Additionally, the home team only had 22 free throw attempts compared to La Salle’s 41. Despite this, the Blue Eagles showed an improvement with their outside shooting, draining 14 out of 31 shots from deep.
After the game, Espinosa expressed his squad’s key takeaways from today’s rivalry match against the reigning University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) finalists.
“Siguro, ang una naming matutunan ‘yung rebounding talaga. Halata naman sa game na talo kami sa rebounds, lalo na kay Mike [Phillips]. Kailangan naming trabahuin pa, and siguro ‘yung execution namin and team defense, ” the Blue Eagles’ leading scorer said.
(The first thing that we can learn is rebounding. It was obvious in the game that we lost in the rebounds, especially against Mike [Phillips]. We still need to work on it and on our execution and team defense.)
The Blue and White will seek to return to the win column when they face the Emilio Aguinado College Generals on Saturday, April 5, at 4:00 PM in the same venue.
Box Scores:
Ateneo (92): Espinosa – 17, Gamber – 15, Ladi – 14, Tuano – 12, Bahay – 9, Adili – 9, Lazaro – 5, Bongo – 4, Ebdane – 3, Espinosa – 2, Ong – 2
DLSU (95): Phillips – 33, Cortez – 14, Baclaan – 13, Amos – 11, Macalalag – 10, Pablo – 5, Abadam – 3, Marasigan – 2, Gollena – 2, Nwanko – 2
Quarter Score:
Ateneo-DLSU: 24-19, 46-40, 70-61, 92-95
Group A Current Standings (W-L):
- DLSU Green Archers (2-0)
- ATENEO Blue Eagles (2-1)
- SBU Red Lions (2-1)
- EAC Generals (1-1)
- UE Red Warriors (0-2)
- SCC Saints (0-2)
- PCU Dolphins (0-0)
