STUNNING THE road crowd, the Ateneo Blue Eagles prevailed over the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers, 67-64, to kickstart their first win streak in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87. The second-round contest was held earlier today at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion in the City of Manila.
Following back-to-back victories, Ateneo improves their record to 3-6 to place at fifth in the standings, one slot away from the Final Four. On the other hand, the fourth-seeded UST continues to struggle in the second round with a three-game losing skid and a 4-6 record, only one win ahead of Ateneo.
Veterans Andrew Bongo and Ian Espinosa led the charge for the Blue Eagles with 14 and 11 points, respectively. Meanwhile, Nic Cabañero carried the offensive load for the Growling Tigers with 18 markers.
Co-Captain Chris Koon immediately set the tone for the Blue and White after converting on a low-post shot and a three-pointer to open up an early 7-0 lead. Bongo then waxed hot from deep, drilling back-to-back triples to widen the gap, 15-4.
The Katipunan-based squad also prevented the home favorites from sparking any offensive runs by showcasing stingy defense early on that only saw a few Cabañero layups. Limiting UST to eight points in the quarter, Ateneo jumped off to one of their best starts of the season, 17-8.
In the second period, the Blue Eagles continued to pounce on the Growling Tigers’ Mo Tounkara-less front court, grabbing multiple second-chance opportunities including a Balogun three-point play. However, Ateneo could not capitalize on this advantage as turnovers began to pile up, which allowed the Growling Tigers to go on a 13-3 run and eventually take the lead, 21-20.
Although momentarily losing their momentum, Shawn Tuano and Bongo spearheaded an 8-0 counter run for Ateneo. The aggression and offensive prowess from the sophomore wings became crucial in Ateneo’s offense as they thrived off attacks to the rim.
Meanwhile, Balogun’s efforts on the glass paid dividends as the España-based squad entered penalty. Showing renewed vigor to win the hustle and rebounding battle, Ateneo entered the halftime break with an eight-point advantage, 33-25.
Despite the strong ending to the first half, the Blue Eagles suffered a quick outburst from UST star Cabañero, who single-handedly cut the Ateneo lead to one in the opening minutes of the third, 35-34. In similar fashion to previous outings, the Katipunan-based squad struggled to put points on the board, eventually giving up the lead midway through the quarter, 37-39.
Overcoming the UST outpour, the Blue Eagles once again banked on the efforts of Bongo, who scored six points in the dying moments of the third. The forward then converted a tough and-one, which sent the Ateneo faithful into a frenzy as his squad entered the final canto up seven, 48-41.
The Blue Eagles once again stumbled in the early moments of the fourth period, as the Growling Tigers went off with a 7-0 run to immediately cut Ateneo’s advantage to a single point, 48-47.
However, Jared Bahay quickly silenced the UST crowd after draining a deep bomb, 52-48. Looking to build momentum for the Blue Eagles, Koon then sinked in a dazzling spin layup to put his squad back up by six, 56-50.
Gelo Crisostomo and Christian Manaytay responded right away by leading the charge for another UST comeback, sinking in clutch threes to bring their team within three, 55-58. With heightened determination in the final stretch, Tuano provided four-straight points to bring Ateneo back up seven, 62-55. However, the Blue Eagles could not contain the perimeter anew, giving up a 7-2 run to make it a two-point contest with 11 seconds remaining, 64-62.
In a moment that eventually decided the contest, Co-Captain Sean Quitevis showcased his defensive prowess by stealing the ball on an inbound play intended for Cabañero and downed a fastbreak layup on the other end to land Ateneo a four-point cushion, 66-62.
In a dramatic ending to the game, a missed second Espinosa free throw gave UST a final fastbreak opportunity to tie the game. However, another captain would once again come up big for the Blue and White amid the chaos, as Koon snatched the ball and secured Ateneo their third victory of the season, 67-64.
“It was a mystery to us why that happened, but it did. What it required from us was to really gut it out. I think this was one of the gutsiest wins we had in a few years,” Head Coach Tab Baldwin stated when asked about the daunting challenge of playing in what seemed to be a road game for Ateneo.
Aiming to notch their third-straight win, the Blue Eagles will face the Adamson University Soaring Falcons on Wednesday, October 23, 3:30 PM at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
ADDENDUM: Following the result of Saturday’s games, the UAAP Media Group currently lists Ateneo as fifth in the standings among the three schools in the tiebreaker for the spot, based on point differential.
Box scores:
Ateneo (67): Bongo – 14, Espinosa – 11, Koon – 10, Tuano – 10,Balogun – 9, Bahay – 8, Porter – 3, Quitevis – 2, Edu -0, Lazaro – 0, Espina – 0
UST (64): Cabañero – 18, Manaytay – 11, Padrigao – 8, Estacio – 8, Paranada – 6, Laure – 6, Crisostomo – 5, Robinson – 2, Pangilinan- 0, Danting – 0, Llemit – 0, Acido- 0, Mahmood- 0
Quarter scores:
Ateneo-UST: 17-8, 33-25, 48-41, 67-64
Current Standings (W-L):
- DLSU Green Archers (9-1)
- UP Fighting Maroons (7-1)
- UE Red Warriors (5-3)
- UST Growling Tigers (4-5)
- ATENEO Blue Eagles (3-6)
- FEU Tamaraws (3-6)
- AdU Soaring Falcons (3-6)
- NU Bulldogs (2-7)
