THE ATENEO Men’s 3×3 Basketball Team experienced the first loss of their University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 88 Men’s 3×3 Basketball campaign, succumbing to the De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Archers. The game was played earlier today, May 1, at the Ayala Malls Manila Bay in the City of Parañaque.
With the 14-21 loss to the Green Archers, this puts the Blue Eagles in second place in the tournament standings with a 5-1 record.
Drew Bongo led the offense for Ateneo with six points, including a pair of two-point conversions. Shawn Tuano also tallied five markers in the loss, with Kyle Gamber and Thirdy Ebdane rounding up the scoring department with point tallies of two and one, respectively.
The Green Archers grabbed control of the game right from the opening possession following a two-point basket from Earl Abadam, 0-2. Not long after, Gamber responded with his own shot from beyond the arc to put the Blue Eagles on the board at 2-2.
As the game progressed, the Katipunan-based squad struggled to contain the opposition’s offense, which relied heavily on Andrei Dungo and Luis Pablo to stretch the deficit to five, 2–7.
While Bongo added a free throw and an outside connection to keep Ateneo within striking distance at 5–9, the Blue Eagles’ comeback attempts were stumped by the Green Archers. Following a turnaround jumper from JC Macalalag and a long-range bomb from Dungo, these plays ballooned La Salle’s advantage to 6-13. However, momentum briefly shifted for the Blue and White as Bongo and Tuano connected on two shots from outside to close the gap at 10–14. Consecutive baskets from Tuano then brought the deficit down to just three,13–16.
The Blue Eagles’ push threatened to swing the game, but the Green Archers quickly regained control through a Dungo putback and another timely conversion from Pablo inside, who continued to exploit the paint and space from outside to push the lead back to 13–19.
While Ebdane managed a late basket for Ateneo to keep them in the game at 14-19, Abadam delivered the finishing blow with a two-point shot from distance to seal the 21–14 win.
Ateneo will face their Katipunan rivals, the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons, to end the elimination rounds at 3:40 PM tomorrow in the same venue.
Box scores:
Ateneo (14): Bongo- 6, Tuano- 5, Gamber- 2, Ebdane- 1
DLSU (21): Pablo- 8, Dungo- 6, Abadam- 5, Macalalag- 2
Current Standings (W-L):
- DLSU Green Archers (6-0)*
- ATENEO Blue Eagles (5-1)*
- NU Bulldogs (3-3)
- AdU Soaring Falcons (3-3)
- UP Fighting Maroons (3-3)
- FEU Tamaraws (2-4)
- UE Red Warriors (1-5)
- UST Growling Tigers (1-5)
*- Clinched Final Four
