THE ATENEO Blue Eagles suffered a nail-biting overtime defeat at the hands of the never-say-die University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons as they dropped the first of their best-of-three finals matchup, 74-81, in Season 84 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Men’s Basketball Tournament at the Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena earlier today.
Ateneo got the ball rolling early, scoring the first six points of the contest. UP answered quickly, going on a 10-5 run heading into the first timeout thanks to the press defense that similarly hurt the De La Salle Green Archers during the semifinals. The rest of the quarter saw both teams trading punches, ending 19-17 in favor of the defending champions.
The boys in blue still had troubles figuring out the Fighting Maroon defense in the second quarter, failing to extend their lead because of key turnovers down the stretch. With Ange Kouame out because of early foul trouble, Malick Diouf crashed the boards with eight rebounds in the first half, giving UP a slim 32-31 lead heading into the second half.
The game also saw Ateneo’s famous third quarter run in effect; they cleaned up on both ends of the floor. A couple of threes from SJ Belangel and Raffy Verano gave Ateneo a double-digit lead midway through the third. After a Ricci Rivero and-1 play, UP crawled back and cut the lead to five heading into the fourth, 49-54.
After a Verano 15-footer from left wing gave Ateneo the six-point cushion at the ending moments of the fourth quarter, UP’s Zav Lucero picked up a missed Carl Tamayo missed free-throw and converted on an and-1 play to inch the Fighting Maroons closer, 67-70.
A costly Kouame turnover off the inbound with 27.6 seconds left in the fourth then led to a booming James Spencer three for UP, tying the game 70-70 to end regulation.
To start the overtime period, Kouame was quick to contribute four points—which gave the Blue Eagles a 74-71 lead. UP was quick to lock down on Kouame and the rest of the Blue Eagles, completely shutting down and stagnating Ateneo’s offense. Kouame’s four points proved to be the Blue and White’s last hurrah as they failed to score a basket the rest of the way and committed three shot clock violations at the dying last minutes of the game. UP ended the game on a 10-0 run to end the match, 81-74 in favor of the Fighting Maroons.
On top of their overtime woes, Ateneo also shot a lackluster 44% free throw shooting percentage after going just 11/25, while UP converted on 83.3% from charity. The Blue Eagles also had a mediocre outing taking care of the ball as they committed 26 turnovers compared to the Fighting Maroons’ 19.
Verano and Belangel chipped in for Ateneo with 17 markers each while Kouame led the team with 18 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, two steals, and four blocks. UP’s Rivero led all scorers with 19, followed by Lucero and Spencer who had 17 and 13 points, respectively, for UP.
In a press conference after the game, Head Coach Tab Baldwin had the following to say: “I think that game was winnable but I’m not sure if you deserve to win if you let your opponents have 50% offensive rebounding and give them 26 turnovers.”
After their defeat, the Blue Eagles now have their backs against the wall as they try to extend the series with a win this Wednesday, May 11, 6:00 PM at the MOA Arena.
Box Score:
Ateneo (74): Kouame – 18, Belangel – 17, Verano – 17, Mamuyac – 7, Ildefonso – 6, Andrade – 3, Chiu – 2, Koon – 2, Davees – 2
UP (81): Rivero – 19, Lucero – 17, Spencer – 13, Diouf – 10, Tamayo – 10, Cagulangan – 4, Alarcon – 4, Abadiano – 4
Quarter Scores:
Ateneo-UP: 19-17, 31-32, 54-49, 70-70, 81-74
