THE ATENEO Blue Eagles complete a second half comeback as they win against the Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws, 71-65, earlier today at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Having been down by as much as 19 points in the first half, this hard-fought win pushes Ateneo to 8-3 in the standings. This win sets the Blue Eagles up for third place in the highly contested second round of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 85. The FEU Tamaraws have now lost three straight and are free falling in the standings with a 4-8 record.
Reigning Most Valuable Player (MVP) Ange Kouame was the engine of the Blue Eagle’s run with an astounding double-double of 20 points and 14 big rebounds. Ateneo’s lead point guard assisted Koaume during the comeback as he chipped in 13 points and dished out six assists. Tamaraw sniper Xyrus Torres made life difficult for the Blue and White as he exploded, accumulating 19 points with 15 points coming from behind the arc.
Both sides struggled coming out the gate in the opening frame, with neither Ateneo nor FEU successfully getting a field goal until the seven-minute mark of the quarter. The Tamaraws slowly started to pull away for the rest of the quarter, as only the scoring efforts of Kouame and Ballungay kept the Blue Eagles afloat. Ateneo ended the quarter facing a burdensome seven-point disadvantage, 14-21.
The deficit only grew much larger in the second quarter, as the FEU defense began clamping up Ateneo’s offense. Testament to this is the Tamaraws’ zone defense, which forced Ateneo into difficult long bombs that failed to make their way down the net. On the other end, the Blue Eagles’ defense also started faltering as the combined firepower of Patrick Sleat and Torres only padded the lead. The FEU duo ended the quarter with 15 combined points as Ateneo went into the half down 27-41.
The third quarter had both teams trading blows, with FEU wary of Ateneo’s usual third quarter explosion. The Blue Eagles’ offensive resurgence was countered by the Tamaraws’ hot shooting as Torres, Cholo Anonuevo, and LJ Gonzales all sank in threes. However, the standoff did not last, as Kouame began to show his patented dominance. He smothered the FEU offense on one end then punished them both inside the paint and beyond the three-point line. Kouame led Ateneo as they cut down FEU’s lead to five points by the end of the third, 49-54.
With Kouame on the bench to start the fourth, the rest of the Blue Eagles had to shoulder the load and keep FEU at bay until the MVP’s return. Ateneo managed to take the lead from FEU on the back of a triple from Paul Garcia, but back-to-back threes from Torres quickly countered it. When Kouame returned to the floor, Ateneo came alive once more and grabbed the 71-65 win using Kouame’s dominant two-way performance.
After the match, Coach Tab Baldwin lauded the boys for their late game execution before ultimately admitting his team’s shortcomings. “That win was just heart and decent execution in the 4th [quarter], but until then, we were pretty bad,” admitted the veteran coach.
The Blue Eagles’ next game will be against the University of the East Red Warriors on Wednesday, November 23, 4:30 PM at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Box Scores:
Ateneo (71): Kouame – 20, Padrigao – 13, Andrade – 9, Ildefonso – 8, Garcia – 8, Ballungay – 5, Koon – 4, Lazaro – 2, Daves – 2
FEU (65): Torres – 19, Gonzales – 15, Sleat – 10, Tchuente – 8, Anonuevo – 8, Bagunu- 3, Bautista – 2
