THE ATENEO Blue Eagles were defeated by their chief rivals, the De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Archers, 81-97 on Sunday, October 2, 2016 in the Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay City.
The Katipunan-based squad finished the first round of the UAAP Men’s Basketball tournament with a 4-3 standing, while the Green Archers swept the first round, 7-0.
The Green Archers were without Head Coach Aldin Ayo, who was suspended due to his misdemeanor in the previous game, and Jeron Teng, due to injury. Aaron Black missed his fourth straight game for the Blue Eagles due to injury as well.
Adrian Wong top-scored the Blue Eagles in the losing effort. He had 15 points on 4/12 shooting from the floor and he shot 83% from the freethrow line. Matt Nieto had 13 points on 63% shooting while Anton Asistio scored nine of his 11 points from downtown. Thirdy Ravena nabbed his second straight double-double, but he turned the ball over seven times.
La Salle were lead by center Ben Mbala, who dominated the game with 28 points on 85% shooting, 13 boards, and 5 steals. He was supplemented by Andrei Caracut, who had 14 markers on a 50% shooting clip. Kib Montablo scored eight points, dished out eight assists, and had five steals.
The match started with Mbala and Chibueze Ikeh trading baskets; Mbala hit a hook shot, while Ikeh converted on an and-1. Moments later, Caracut hit a triple from the corner, but Asistio responded with a three of his own. Towards the end of the quarter, Ravena hit back-to-back threes to give Ateneo a four-point lead, but baskets from Mbala and Montablo tied the game 20-all to end the first quarter.
Ateneo started the second quarter with a 6-0 run, with Matt Nieto and Kris Porter both hitting from behind the arc. Things were staring to look up for Ateneo, but that ended up being the largest lead the Blue Eagles got in the whole game. DLSU went on an 11-0 run shortly after, capped by a nifty spin and lay up by Jason Perkins. Rookies Jolo Mendoza and Ricci Rivero traded threes midway through the second quarter, but Ateneo started to lose their grip on the game after back-to-back unsportsmanlike fouls were called on Vince Tolentino and Ravena. The baskets started pouring in for La Salle, and they ended up outscoring Ateneo 33-16 in the second quarter, en route to a 17-point deficit for the Blue and White by halftime.
The second half did not start well for the Blue Eagles, as Asistio and Ikeh were both called for the third fouls of the game shortly after the quarter started. DLSU raced to a 9-0 run, with Thomas Torres scoring five straight to give the Green Archers a 26-point lead at the 7:56 mark of the quarter. Asistio hit a three to stop the bleeding, but Mbala made his second dunk minutes later. Mbala slammed home an alley-oop that brought the plethora of DLSU fans to their feet, and Justine Baltazar had a highlight play of his own as he blocked a shot and converted on the fast break seconds later. Mbala muscled in a shot inside over Ikeh before the quarter ended to give DLSU a 22 point lead (58-80).
Torres hit a reverse lay up to start the fourth quarter for DLSU. Matt Nieto was called for an unsportsmanlike foul moments later, Ateneo’s third of the game, which elicited boos from the La Salle crowd. At the midway point of the fourth quarter, Ateneo hit three straight from behind the arc courtesy of Porter, Asistio, and Mendoza that cut DLSU’s lead to 16 (73-89). That run proved to be too late, as DLSU clung to their lead and they ended up winning by 16, 81-97.
After the game, Head Coach Tab Baldwin mentioned that La Salle’s talent and execution proved to be too much for the Blue Eagles. He said that the boys prepared well for the game, but he said that talking about how to play them is different from actually playing them. He mentions that one thing the team needs improve on for the second round is turnovers and taking care of the ball in order to navigate through the full court trap defenses present in the UAAP, especially their ability to handle pressure.
Quarter Scores: 20-20, 36-53, 58-80, 81-97
Box Score:
Ateneo: Wong- 15, Ma. Nieto- 13, Asistio- 11, Ravena- 11, Mendoza- 9, Ikeh- 7, Porter- 6, Go- 5, Babilonia- 2, Mi. Nieto- 2
DLSU: Mbala- 28, Caracut- 14, Tratter- 10, Torres- 8, Montablo- 8, R. Rivero- 8, Melecio- 5, Perkins- 5, Dyke- 4, Baltazar- 2, Go- 2, Paraiso- 2, P. Rivero- 1
