THE ATENEO Blue Eagles slipped further down in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 standings despite a fourth-quarter comeback bid, falling to the National University (NU) Bulldogs, 68-78. Ateneo’s final first round elimination game was held earlier tonight at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
The Blue Eagles concluded their first round campaign in infamy with a 1-6 win-loss record. The loss further distanced the now-eighth seeded Katipunan-based squad from securing their expected benchmark—a Final Four appearance. Adding to the series of misfortunes stemming from tonight’s match, the Blue Eagles still have yet to beat NU since Season 85.
With matching season-high numbers in scoring, Andrew Bongo and Jared Bahay carried the load for Ateneo’s offense in tonight’s game, notching 17 and 15 points, respectively. Meanwhile, Kenshin Padrones had a breakout game for NU as he finished with 15 points and six rebounds.
From the onset of the contest, NU’s frontcourt pairing of PJ Palacielo and Padrones asserted their dominance on the low post. Ateneo also fell victim to another error-plagued start on the offensive end, allowing the Bulldogs to cop a 10-2 lead at the five-minute mark of the first period.
Despite their poor start, Ateneo’s patient basketball utilized excellent ball movement to eventually convert baskets. The substitutions of Josh Lazaro and Victor Balogun benefited the Blue and White with a mid-range jumper and three-point play, respectively, putting some points on the board, 8-12. However, Ateneo found difficulty once again in protecting the paint as the Jhocson-based bigs continued to shine for NU until the end of the opening frame, 15-16.
While additional scoring contributions were made by Shawn Tuano and Kyle Gamber in the second quarter, Ateneo dug themselves deeper into a 19-27 hole after committing undisciplined turnovers and fouls. The Bulldogs thrived off drives to the basket courtesy of Jolo Manansala and Season 86 juniors champion Tebol Garcia, exploiting the undersized Blue Eagles’ defense, which currently is the league’s last in terms of opposing two-point field goal percentage.
Both teams’ season-long woes from beyond the arc also continued to unfold as Ateneo went 3 out of 14 from distance in the first half. While NU failed to bury a single triple in the first two frames, Ateneo was unable to capitalize on the Bulldogs’ inefficiencies from downtown, allowing NU to dominate the paint including a quarter-ending layup from Manansala that put the Bulldogs up 34-28 at the half.
Following the halftime break, the Blue Eagles still found difficulty converting their field goal attempts, scoring only one point by the 5:55 marker. NU pounced on Ateneo’s offensive woes, immediately tearing open the paint with their constant attacks on the other end, 40-29. This continuous aggression of the Bulldogs led them to connect on their first three of the game to worsen the bleeding for Ateneo, 43-29.
The Blue and White persevered to hang on through consistent conversions from the charity line and the paint, 36-50. However, Ateneo still failed to match NU’s tenacity from the interior and perimeter, allowing the boys in Blue and Gold to stay lethal with their three-level scoring, 46-58.
In the final frame, Andrew Bongo summoned his preseason form, bombarding the Bulldogs’ defense with two treys, 52-59. Reignited by Bongo’s call for a comeback, Ateneo sparked a stretch of lively offensive sequences to close in to the Bulldogs, 58-63.
Despite their commendable fight, Ateneo saw the manageable distance slowly widen before them, as the Bulldogs continued with their barrage of attacks from inside the arc, 58-71.
Facing an 11-point deficit with only two minutes remaining, Bahay drilled numerous shots from rainbow country in an attempt to manifest a miraculous Blue Eagle win, 68-76. This effort ultimately ended up futile, as the Blue Eagles could only stare at the impending loss with the Bulldogs nailing the majority of their remaining free-throw attempts, 68-78.
Following the match, Head Coach Tab Baldwin expressed his frustrations over the overall state of the team. “Win or lose, it’s the school we choose–we don’t want people coming to us and saying that. We both want the pressure and we want to handle the pressure better,” Baldwin said.
The Blue Eagle Band of Brothers will return for a shot at redemption in their UAAP Season 87 run when the tournament’s second round commences on October 12.
Box scores:
Ateneo (68): Bongo – 17, Bahay – 15, Lazaro – 7, Gamber – 7, Balogun – 6, Tuano – 5, Espinosa – 4, Koon – 2, Quitevis – 2, Espina – 2, Ong – 1, Porter – 0
NU (78): Padrones- 18, Figueroa- 15, Enriquez – 9, Manansala – 8, Garcia – 7, Francisco – 6, Jumamoy – 4, Palacielo – 4, Perciano – 3, Cruz – 2, Lim – 1, Santiago – 1, Yu – 0, Parks 0
Quarter scores:
Ateneo-NU: 13-15, 28-34, 46-58, 68-78
Current Standings (W-L):
- UP Fighting Maroons (6-0)
- DLSU Green Archers (5-1)
- UE Red Warriors (4-2)
- UST Growling Tigers (4-3)
- AdU Soaring Falcons (3-3)
- NU Bulldogs (2-5)
- FEU Tamaraws (1-6)
- ATENEO Blue Eagles (1-6)
