THE ATENEO Blue Eagles fell victim to tough shooting woes in their University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 opener against the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons, 61-77.
The young, new-look Ateneo squad made their debut earlier tonight at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
Prized rookie Jared Bahay delivered for the Blue Eagles in his highly anticipated debut, recording 13 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Returning veterans Josh Lazaro and Shawn Tuano also chipped in with 11 markers each.
Both Katipunan co-tenants commenced their respective seasons with apparent rust, as they struggled to find the bottom of the net in the opening canto. Ateneo’s vulnerable interior defense was eventually exploited by the Fighting Maroons, with drives from JD Cagulangan and Mark Belmonte giving UP a 7-3 lead. Realizing this, the Blue Eagles upped their defensive intensity midway through the quarter in a sequence capped by an emphatic Lazaro block on Cagulangan.
Meanwhile, Bahay made an immediate impact to start his UAAP career off the bench, first finding Lazaro for an easy bucket in the paint to help Ateneo draw closer, 7-8. The 1st-ranked high school prospect then sent the Blue and White crowd into a frenzy by drilling two straight heavily contested jumpers to put his squad up 13-8. Despite this early run, Ateneo continued to be overwhelmed by UP’s constant driving plays, handing the opposition a handful of chances at the charity line. The physical and competitive quarter ended with the Blue Eagles down one, 16-17.
In contrast to the previous frame, both teams kicked off the second quarter with hot shooting, trading buckets and not letting the other take a convincing lead, 21-20. However, Ateneo’s foul troubles persisted, allowing UP to go on an 11-2 run almost exclusively due to free throws. On the other side, despite being handed a similar number of foul shots, the Blue Eagles could not take advantage, shooting a measly 40 percent clip from the charity stripe for the entire half.
The Blue and White suffered another blow when Team Captain Chris Koon was sidelined for the rest of the game after injuring his foot due to a collision. This, coupled with UP’s efficient 48 percent shooting clip in the half placed the Loyola Heights-based team in a 30-40 halftime deficit.
Ateneo faced more woes in the third canto as they struggled to find their rhythm on both ends, while UP capitalized on scoring opportunities to accumulate a 50-32 advantage. Boldly answering back against the Fighting Maroons’ increasing lead, Blue Eagle newcomers Waki Espina and Kristian Porter continuously attacked the basket to cut the deficit to 12, 40-52.
Despite Ateneo’s efforts, UP simply matched their neighboring rivals’ intensity with ease, applying their strong inside game to maintain a double-digit advantage to conclude the third up 58-45.
The final quarter had the Blue and White pitted against an even more intense Fighting Maroons defense, which maintained the latter’s 11-point advantage despite giving up an above the break Bahay triple, 62-51.
Midway through the fourth, the contest slowed down due to some lapses committed by both squads. Determined to finally settle into the ballgame, the Blue Eagles trimmed the deficit to within single digits after a Tuano field goal, 54-62. However, UP decisively weathered the Ateneo storm as timely highlight-reel baskets by Francis Lopez and Cagulangan put the Blue Eagles away for good, 61-77.
Despite valiantly showing flashes on the defensive end, Ateneo concluded the contest shooting an abysmal 19/40 from the free throw line and 4/22 from long range, ultimately being the deciding factor in tonight’s contest.
Sharing his thoughts on the Blue Eagles’ performance, Head Coach Tab Baldwin noted that he was proud of how hard his young team played even after their captain went down. However, the tactician also did not hesitate to express his disappointment in the team’s dismal shooting night. “When you get to the line 40 times, you should probably win the game, free throw shooting was really huge for us,” the Kiwi-American tactician shared.
The Blue Eagles will look to get on the win column when they face the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers on Wednesday, September 11, at 6:30 PM in the same venue.
Box scores:
Ateneo (61): Bahay – 13, Lazaro – 11, Tuano – 11, Espina – 7, Espinosa – 4, Balogun – 4, Koon – 3, Gamber – 3, Porter – 3, Bongo – 2, Edu – 0, Quitevis – 0, Ong – 0
UP (77): Cagulangan – 17, Lopez – 14, Fortea – 8, Millora-Brown – 7, Bayla – 7 Ududo – 7, Alarcon – 6, Abadiano – 5, Belmonte – 4, Torres – 2, Briones – 0, Stevens – 0, Alter – 0, Felicilda – 0
Quarter scores:
Ateneo-UP: 16-17, 30-40, 45-58, 61-77
Current Standings (W-L):
- UP Fighting Maroons (1-0)
- AdU Soaring Falcons (0-0)
- DLSU Green Archers (0-0)
- FEU Tamaraws (0-0)
- NU Bulldogs (0-0)
- UE Red Warriors (0-0)
- UST Growling Tigers (0-0)
- ATENEO Blue Eagles (0-1)
