THE ATENEO Blue Eagles fall to the domineering team of the tournament- The De La Salle University Green Archers- in the semifinals with the ending game score of 92-77 on Friday, June 10 at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan City.
The Green Archers remain undefeated throughout the season, extending their winning streak to 9-0, while the Blue Eagles stand at 5-4 in the Filoil Preseason Premier Cup.
Ateneo Blue Eagles’ player of the game, Aaron Black, led the team with a total of 24 points. Thirdy Ravena followed with 10 points and Wong with 8 points.
The first quarter tipped-off with a close fight between the two teams. However, the heated aggression between both teams resulted to the maxing out of their team fouls. By the end of the period, the Green Archers widened the point gap to 13 points with their heavy possession.
The Blue Eagle team improved their play in the second quarter with Aaron Black and Adrian Wong leading the team on offensive output and incurring less team fouls than the previous quarter. The two key players successfully decreased the lead of the Green Archers by 8 points, resulting to a halftime score of 48-40.
The struggle to beat the Green Archers continued through the next half of the game with DLSU key players- Aljun Melecio and Thomas Torres- executing numerous 3- pointers in the game. The Blue Eagles mostly took advantage of the free throws granted onto them to close the gap until the end of the match.
“I am happy with the efforts of our players,” says Coach Sandy Arespacochaga. “We are still strikes in each game and we are learning a lot, which is the most important thing for us right now.”
The next game will be against the National University Bulldogs in the battle for 3rd place on Sunday, June 12, 2pm at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan City.
Box Scores:
Ateneo: Black- 24, Ravena- 10, Wong- 8, Porter- 7, Tolentino- 7, Ikeh- 6, Go- 4, Asistio- 3, J. Nieto- 2, Babilonia- 2, Allmond- 2, Mendoza- 2
La Salle- Torres- 17, Mbala- 16, Melecio- 15, Tratter- 14, Caracut- 13, Montalbo- 7, Go- 6, Gob- 2, Rivero- 2
Quarterscores: 27- 14, 48- 40, 66- 56, 92- 77
