The Ateneo Blue Eagles end the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 85 elimination round with the league’s best record after downing the Adamson Soaring Falcons, 66-61. The Blue and White’s triumphant victory in the UAAP Men’s Basketball Tournament was held earlier today at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
After a grueling 14-game season, the Blue Eagles rode a red-hot six-game winning streak to finish the elimination round at 11-3 and secure a fifth-consecutive top-seeded finish since Season 80. Today’s result jeopardizes Adamson’s playoff hopes—as it forces the Soaring Falcons (7-7) to a win-or-go-home duel against the De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Archers (7-7) with the last Final Four slot at stake.
Filipino-American forward Kai Ballungay’s 18 points was key in Ateneo’s first seed-clinching victory. Ange Kouame continued his dominant late-season rampage with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Both playing for momentous stakes, the Blue Eagles and Soaring Falcons’ respective offensive arsenals went blow-for-blow early on in the opening frame, with Ateneo taking a 12-7 lead with a Ballungay putback shot. The Final Four-seeking Adamson quickly responded, with Adrian Manlapaz racking up five-straight points to knot up the contest at 16 apiece. Gab Gomez then went one for three on his trip to the foul line as Ateneo concluded what was otherwise a rather productive quarter ending with the Ateneans in the lead, 17-16.
[First Quarter]
— Anton Mercado (@Anton_TheGUIDON) November 30, 2022
A 5-0 run by Ateneo puts them at 12 points!
Ateneo 12 AdU 7#UAAPBasketball pic.twitter.com/r3PvrxGdfV
The back-and-forth tussle between the two offenses continued in the start of the second quarter, with the Soaring Falcons sticking close to Ateneo after Aaron Flowers’ rainbow shot shaved Ateneo’s two-possession lead to 23-22. Reigning MVP Kouame started to assert himself with less than four minutes left in the half, extending the Ateneo lead to 27-22 after bodying Lenda Douanga in the paint en route to an and-one. An eight-point Blue Eagle lead was swiftly cut by Jerom Lastimosa’s two-point conversion, ending the half at 33-27 with Ateneo still on the high side.
[Second Quarter]
— Anton Mercado (@Anton_TheGUIDON) November 30, 2022
High pick and roll between Ildefonso and Kouame results in a potential three-point play for Kouame. He missed the bonus.
Ateneo 29 AdU 24#UAAPBasketball pic.twitter.com/4fXyj1doA8
Ateneo left the dugout in their typical fiery fashion, opening up the third frame with a swift 13-4 run led by their frontcourt of Kouame and Ballungay. Ballungay’s two triples lifted Ateneo’s lead to as much as 15, 46-31. Adamson’s Manlapaz, with 10 points of his own to sever Ateneo’s grip on the game, gave the Soaring Falcons a fighting chance heading into the final quarter. From a 15-point lead, the Blue Eagles finished the third with only an eight point advantage, 49-41.
Despite Adamson’s efforts to end the third, the Blue and White still had enough left in the tank to hold them at bay for the last 10 minutes of the game. Team Captain BJ Andrade’s four points helped bring Ateneo’s lead back to 53-43, but Adamson immediately answered with their own run. The Soaring Falcons did not balk under pressure and managed to cut the lead to as low as one, 62-61. Multiple failed attempts beyond the three-point line prevented Adamson from completing the comeback, as Andrade sealed the game with two free throws to end 66-61.
The first-seeded Blue Eagles enter the Final Four with a twice-to-beat advantage and now await their first playoff assignment to be determined by a La Salle-versus-Adamson knockout game on Sunday, December 4.
Box Scores:
Ateneo (66): Ballungay – 18, Andrade – 13, Kouame – 12, Coon – 7, Padrigao -6, Ildefonso – 3, Gomez -3, Lazaro – 2, Chiu – 2
Adamson (61): Manlapaz – 22, Lastimosa – 10, Douanga – 7, Hanapi – 5, Flowers -5, Yerro – 4, Manzano -4, Sabandal – 2, Magbuhos – 2
Quarter Score:
Ateneo-AdU: 17-16, 33-27, 49-41, 66-61
