THE ATENEO Blue Eagles held off the University of the East (UE) Red Warriors, 69-66, in a nail-biting overtime thriller earlier tonight at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
With tonight’s result, the Blue Eagles officially book an eighth-straight University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Final Four appearance一a streak which started since Season 77 in 2015.
With the win, Ateneo (9-3) snatches the second seed from the National University (NU) Bulldogs (9-4) with only two games left to play in the Season 85 eliminations. The Red Warriors bow out of playoff contention with the loss, falling to a 4-9 record which places them at seventh in the standings.
Despite a tough shooting night, it was Dave Ildefonso’s 12 points and 14 rebounds—two of which came at a critical juncture in overtime—that salvaged the contest for the Blue Eagles. Ange Kouame’s 12 points and 12 rebounds, and Kai Ballungay’s 14 points and seven rebounds also proved to be pivotal in the Blue and White’s three-point win.
After opening the game with three straight turnovers, Ateneo escaped their rut by going on an 8-2 run. This led UE Head Coach Jack Santiago to call an early timeout midway through the first period.
Following the timeout, the Blue Eagles still managed to maintain their lead even if UE was able to score nine points. Ateneo’s Gab Gomez, who missed the last game due to an injury, reintroduced himself to the court by draining a three pointer, minutes after he checked in to the ball game. The first quarter then ended with Ateneo up 18-11.
However, the Blue Eagles did not learn from their early first quarter woes as they started the second frame with a bunch of turnovers and a sloppy defense to keep the Red Warriors playing in the game. Coach Tab Baldwin then used one of his timeouts early in the period to stop UE’s 6-0 run.
Ateneo failed to find their groove after the break, as UE capitalized on solid play on both ends. The aggressive Red Warriors took the lead, 22-20, with five minutes left in halftime.
[Second Quarter]
— Anton Mercado (@Anton_TheGUIDON) November 23, 2022
Rey Remogat splashes home the trey and ties the game. On their next offensive possession, Villegas scores two.
Ateneo 20 UE 22#UAAPBasketball
The nightmare quarter continued as the turnovers kept coming for Ateneo. Ildefonso’s careless offensive plays and the team’s overall lack of interior defense resulted in UE taking the lead to end the first half, 30-29.
After a lethargic first two quarters, Ateneo had much work to do to start the third frame. The Red Warriors picked up where they left off as they led the Blue Eagles 41-36 midway through the period. Ange Kouame had trouble protecting the paint, allowing UE guard Rey Remogat to drive and draw fouls.
Ateneo finally got some much needed points from beyond the arc, courtesy of Gomez and Chris Koon to keep them in the game. However, these offensive plays were not enough to salvage the third quarter as Ateneo found themselves still trailing by three points after thirty minutes of action.
In a surprising turn of events, the final frame started with a pair of strong finishes by Ballungay to retake the lead for Ateneo.
[Fourth Quarter]
— Anton Mercado (@Anton_TheGUIDON) November 23, 2022
Back-to-back baskets for Ballungay forces head coach Jack Santiago to call for an early timeout. Ateneo now back on top.
Ateneo 51 UE 50#UAAPBasketball
With Rey Remogat driving and scoring over the Ateneo defense, however, UE was able to answer [object]. The Blue and White then failed to convert their trips to the free-throw line in the fourth quarter as the struggling Ildefonso made only one out of a possible three shots from the charity stripe. However, the star Ateneo wing was able to redeem himself with a big shot to tie the game at 62 with under a minute, rekindling hope for the Katipunan side.
[Fourth Quarter]
— Anton Mercado (@Anton_TheGUIDON) November 23, 2022
Ildefonso nails the clutch three pointer to tie the game with 43 seconds remaining!
Ateneo 62 UE 62#UAAPBasketball
The Red Warriors could not convert on their end as Ateneo ended up with the last shot to walk it off in regulation. The starting point guard handled the ball and ended up taking a tough, contested shot that was too strong, resulting in the match going to overtime.
As five more minutes were then added to the game, Ateneo failed to start strong as UE led the overtime early with a four-point lead, 66-62. However, thanks to some key foul calls, most of the Red Warrior bigs graduated with five fouls. This prompted Ange Kouame to dominate inside and score the go-ahead basket to put Ateneo up by one, 67-66.
[Overtime]
— Anton Mercado (@Anton_TheGUIDON) November 23, 2022
Kouame uses his size in the post and gives Ateneo the lead.
Ateneo 67 UE 66#UAAPBasketball
UE struggled to find a basket in crunch time as the starting point guard came up with a timely steal to keep Ateneo in the driver’s seat with under 40 seconds remaining.
Ildefonso merely sealed the win for the Blue Eagles when he collected two consecutive offensive rebounds. This then allowed the Blue and White to take as much time off the game clock before UE fouled Padrigao to send him to the line.
The Ateneo point guard sank both free throws to put his team up by three, ultimately picking up the hard-fought victory over the pesky Red Warriors, 69-66.
In a game that carries consequential postseason implications, the Blue Eagles (9-3) look to come alive against the top-seeded defending champions University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons (11-2). This season’s second installment of the Battle of Katipunan takes place on Saturday, at 6:30 PM at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
Box Scores:
Ateneo (69): Ballungay – 14, Ildefonso – 12, Kouame – 12, Padrigao – 9, Gomez – 6, Andrade – 6, Lazaro – 5, Koon – 3, Daves – 2UE (66): Remogat – 21, Villegas – 11, Sawat – 6, K. Paranada – 5, Pagsanjan – 5, Stevens – 5, Payawal – 5, Gilbuena – 4, N. Paranada – 2, Tulabut – 2
Quarter Scores:
Ateneo-UE: 18-11, 29-30, 47-50, 62-62, 69-66
