WITH THE game hanging in the balance, Team Glory Be of the Ateneo Men’s Basketball team relied on timely buckets from both CJ Perez and Earl Murphy to defeat the Mapúa Cardinals, 82-78, last Friday, August 21 in the Got Skills Elite Showcase tournament at Enderun Colleges.

The Blue Eagles started off sluggishly as they failed to establish a rhythm early in the game. But after being down 14-17 at the end of the first quarter, Head Coach Yuri Escueta challenged his players to turn up the defensive pressure to ignite their fast break attack. His players responded by scoring 32 points in the second quarter, a majority coming off transition and 3-pointers.

However, despite facing an 11-point deficit heading into the final quarter, the Cardinals took advantage of the trigger-happy Blue Eagles as they capitalized off their opponent’s misses to fuel their own offense.

With the game tied at 74 apiece, Perez made a tough layup and followed it up with a difficult and-one play off a Murphy pass to give them a 5-point lead with about a minute to go in the game. After Mapúa scored on two free throws on the other end, Murphy again scored on a lay-in off a timeout to virtually seal the game.

“Baby Beast” would once again lead the Blue and White in scoring, finishing with a season-high 35 points to lead three players in double figures. The comebacking Anton Asistio, who had missed the past month nursing a sprained ankle, made his return to the lineup by scoring 13 points. Murphy followed suit with 11 of his own.

This is the team’s third straight win in the 16-team tournament as they improved their record to 5-1.

Quarter Scores: 14-17, 46-39, 64-53, 82-78