THE ATENEO Men’s Basketball Team (AMBT) absorbed their fifth straight defeat after yielding to the top-seeded National University (NU) Bulldogs, 50-66. The match took place earlier today, October 26, at the University of Santo Tomas Quadricentennial Pavilion in the City of Manila.
With this loss, Ateneo dropped to sixth place with a 4-5 record in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 88 Men’s Basketball Tournament elimination round standings.
The Blue Eagles drew first blood after a well-executed pass from Andrew Bongo that found the cutting Dominic Escobar open for a layup, 2-0. However, the Bulldogs retaliated as they easily broke the Ateneo full-court press, resulting in back-to-back threes for Steve Nash Enriquez, 2-6.
Despite the early attacks of NU, the AMBT regained control of the game after they orchestrated a 7-4 run that included five points from the line, 14-12. The Blue and White closed the quarter with a 5-0 onslaught, via Bongo’s two points from the charity stripe and Kymani Ladi’s top-of-the-key three, 19-15.
At the start of the second frame, the Katipunan-based squad faced an early disadvantage, as they failed to contain a 9-2 NU run powered by Jolo Manansala’s six points, 21-24. To counter, rookie Lars Fjellvang forced a deadlock at 24, following a three-pointer from the wing.
While Ateneo attempted to control Omar John in the paint, the Blue Eagles’ defense crumbled as NU’s center scored six straight points, 26-30. Despite the cold offensive second quarter for Ateneo, Bongo’s open shot in the paint and Jaden Lazo’s putback put the game at par heading into halftime, 30-30.
Both teams continued to trade punches at the onset of the second half with Andrew Bongo drilling a trey, 33-30. Countering a Figueroa layup, 34-32, Ateneo produced a 6-0 run on the other end courtesy of Ladi’s mid-range jumpers, 40-32.
Despite seemingly breaking the game wide open, Ateneo was then mired by a cold spell as they remained without a field goal for the rest of the period. The Blue Eagles’ defense also failed to contain Figueroa’s drives to the basket, enabling a 14-0 Bulldog avalanche to end the quarter, 40-46.
Adding to their misery, Jaden Lazo exited the game with 30 seconds remaining in the third quarter due to an apparent groin injury.
Playing without their sharpshooter in the fourth quarter, Tuano steered Ateneo’s struggling offense with a floater, 42-46. However, the AMBT’s lack of size remained exploited by NU’s paint-centered approach, 42-50.
Following Joshua Lazaro’s jumper to keep within striking distance, 44-50, a Reinhard Jumamoy three-pointer and a Kenshin Padrones three-point play further put Ateneo at a deeper hole, 44-57.
Espinosa then attempted to launch a late-game comeback with a trey, 49-60, to no avail as Jumamoy quickly countered with a layup. With less than two minutes remaining, NU eventually ran away with the victory, handing Ateneo their fifth straight defeat, 50-66.
Eager to end their five-game losing skid, the AMBT will face the University of the East Red Warriors at 2:00 PM on Wednesday, November 5, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Box scores:
Ateneo (50): Ladi – 12, Bongo – 9, Escobar – 6, Espinosa – 5, Lazaro – 4, Tuano – 4, Espina – 3, Fjellvang – 3, Lazo – 2, Bahay – 2
NU (66): Figueroa – 17, Enriquez – 8, Jumamoy – 8, Manansala – 8, Palacielo – 7, John – 6, Francisco – 5, Padrones – 5, Dela Cruz – 2
Quarter scores:
Ateneo-NU: 19-15, 30-30, 40-46, 50-66
Current Standings (W-L):
- NU Bulldogs (7-2)
- UST Growling Tigers (5-3)
- UP Fighting Maroons (5-3)
- DLSU Green Archers (5-3)
- AdU Soaring Falcons (4-4)
- ATENEO Blue Eagles (4-5)
- FEU Tamaraws (3-5)
- UE Red Warriors (0-8)
