AFTER BOWING out of postseason contention in a gut-wrenching loss to the Adamson Soaring Falcons, the Ateneo Blue Eagles surged towards a dominant bounce-back win over the Centro Escolar University (CEU) Scorpions, 77-52. The reigning University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) champions stayed consistent in all four quarters to snag its first victory at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in the City of San Juan.
With their 25-point rout of the Scorpions, the Blue Eagles rose to eighth place with a 1-5 record in Bracket B of the 2023 Filoil EcoOil Preseason Cup.
19-year-old point guard Ian Espinosa spearheaded Ateneo’s scoring barrage with 12 points, while Kai Ballungay and Sean Quitevis each recorded 10-point outings of their own.
Less than 24 hours after being eliminated from quarterfinal contention, Ateneo put together an uninspiring start—only scoring two points before Jason Credo’s three at the 6:02 mark of the first quarter. However, the Blue Eagles started to exploit the Scorpions’ glaring deficiencies in length and size, drawing more bodies in the paint and generating open looks from downtown. Despite inconsistencies in the defensive end, the Blue and White concluded the quarter in front, 20-13, after Josh Lazaro’s transition layup off a bad CEU pass.
The Blue Eagles added more to their lead by taking advantage of the Scorpions’ lack of urgency in guarding outside shooters. This was apparent when Rookie Shawn Tuaño knocked down an uncontested three off an inbound pass to pad Ateneo’s lead to 10 points, 25-25, with 8:36 remaining in the half. Ateneo continued to do damage from rainbow country throughout the frame—with Espinosa connecting on his third triple to extend the Blue Eagle margin to 36-18. The Katipunan-based unit benefited from CEU big man Victor Balogun’s foul trouble issues, ending the half up 41-18 after limiting the Scorpions to a mere five-point quarter.
The Blue Eagle defense held CEU to a nine-minute scoring drought until CEU’s Cedric Santos’ converted free throw made it a 48-19 ballgame at the 7:04 mark of the third quarter. Most notably, center Joseph Obasa and Ballungay were integral to the Loyola-based squad’s efforts on both ends of the court as the Scorpions had no answer to the stifling duo. Since the reigning UAAP champions held a 36-point lead at the 3:05 mark, Ateneo Head Coach Tab Baldwin called for a five-man platoon swap to play the quarter’s remaining minutes. Despite the Scorpions’ more productive 15-point showing in the third, the Blue Eagles waltzed to the end of the frame with a 67-33 advantage.
While the Scorpions ended the game valiantly by outscoring Ateneo 19-10 in the final quarter, the Blue Eagles successfully nursed their large cushion en route to a 77-52 win.
With three games left, Ateneo will look to finish strong despite failing to clinch a spot in the play-in rounds. The Blue Eagles are set to battle the University of the East (UE) Red Warriors on Wednesday, 4:00 PM, at the same venue.
Box scores:
Ateneo (77): Espinosa – 12, Ballungay – 10, Quitevis – 10, Credo – 9, Obasa – 8, Garcia – 7, Tuano – 5, Lazaro – 4, Chiu – 4, Nieto – 3, Opena – 3, Nwabude – 2
CEU (52): Marcelo – 18, Malicana – 10, Diaz – 4, Santos – 4, Balogun – 4, Penano – 4, Anagbogu – 3, Samaniego – 3, Cabotaje – 2
Quarter scores:
Ateneo-CEU: 20-13, 41-18, 67-33, 77-52
