THE ATENEO Blue Eagles absorbed their first defeat in the 2026 Asiabasket NSAC College Basketball Campus Tour against the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons, 88-91. The match was held earlier today, April 19, at the Ateneo Blue Eagle Gym in Quezon City.
This loss puts the Blue Eagles at a 2-1 win-loss record, maintaining the top spot in the Group A standings.
In spite of the defeat, Shawn Tuano continued his stellar preseason performances with 18 points and six rebounds. Alongside Tuano, Team Captain Jared Bahay contributed 13 points along with seven assists.
The Blue Eagles entered an early deficit as UP’s Dieonte Miles and Jacob Bayla converted layups, 0-4. Despite being down early, Bahay sank a three-pointer from the wing and a free throw to tie the game at 4-4. Both teams entered a back-and-forth affair, with the Blue and White relying on Kieffer Alas to match Rey Remogat’s output, 8-10. Needing a spark plug off the bench, Head Coach Tab Baldwin called on Ian Espinosa, who promptly sank a triple, 11-12.
Midway through the quarter, Alas continued his accurate shooting, converting a layup and jumper, 15-14. UP’s Gani Stevens and Arvie Poyos made two buckets near the rim, 15-18. Looking to answer, Blue Eagles Logan Baltazar and Kyle Gamber created a 5-0 run with a triple and fastbreak points, 20-18. To end the opening quarter, Gamber and Bahay extended Ateneo’s lead by sinking threes and free throws, 26-22.
The second quarter opened with Bahay drilling a long-range bomb, 29-23. Quickly cutting their deficit, UP’s Elliot Dimaculangan and Remogat converted two baskets near the rim, 29-27. The Fighting Maroon’s mini-run was quickly answered by Shawn Tuano, who hit a mid-range jumper in the corner, 31-27. Both teams then entered a back-and-forth affair, exchanging shots to enter the mid-way point of the quarter tied up, 32-32.
Following the trading of buckets, Remogat continued being a thorn on the Blue Eagles’ side with two quick floaters, 33-36. The Blue and White quickly answered as Divine Adili and Alas contributed corner threes, 39-37. Unable to contain Remogat’s surge, the Fighting Maroon took the lead before the halftime break after sinking a three and effectively penetrating against the Blue Eagles’ defense, 47-41.
Tuano came out firing to start the third quarter, sinking a corner three, 44-47. Adili also put on a defensive clinic, swatting two straight shots to help Ateneo fend off UP’s attacks to the basket. The freshman center then followed it up with an and-one basket in the post, trimming the lead to two, 47-49.
Eager to take back the lead, Bahay drained a pull-up jumper from rainbow country, 50-51. Veterans Tuano and Bongo then drove to the basket to give Ateneo the lead, 54-53, but Bayla and Stevens were able to force another deadlock, 54-all.
With the game sitting on a standstill, Gamber extended the lead with an and-one jumper from beyond the arc and one free throw, 58-54. However, lapses in the Blue Eagles’ defense caused a 13-0 run for the Fighting Maroons, 58-67.
Tuano was able to stop the bleeding by draining one free throw for Ateneo, but UP’s Payosing immediately countered with two free throws of his own, 59-69.
With their deficit at 10 to start the fourth quarter, wingman Tuano penetrated the Diliman-based squad’s defense to cut the lead to seven, 64-71. Despite his efforts, Ateneo’s interior defense was unable to stop Payosing’s drives to the basket, absorbing an 11-point deficit early in the final frame, 64-75.
Payosing and Bayla continued to knock down jumpers for the Fighting Maroons, but Espinosa made it rain from deep to cut the lead to five, 75-80. Alas and Bongo then ran through UP’s defense, 79-83, as Ateneo drew closer to seizing the lead once again. However, the Blue Eagles absorbed another blow, as Dimaculangan buried a jumper at the top of the key, 79-86.
As the rest of the Blue Eagles struggled to find the net, Tuano stepped up to the occasion and sank back-to-back baskets, trimming the lead to four, 84-88. However, Fighting Maroon Veejay Pre was able to create separation with a turnaround jumper off an offensive rebound, 84-90.
Bahay then drew a foul behind the three-point line, but was only able to convert one of the three, 85-90. As the ball bounced off the glass, veteran Bongo outmuscled his defender, banking a shot in the post and sinking the bonus free throw after, 88-90.
The Blue Eagles decided to swarm the Fighting Maroons, executing a full court press in hopes of getting a defensive stop. However, Pre was able to draw a foul, sinking one of his two charities, 88-91. In hopes of tying the game, Espinosa fired a jumper near halfcourt, but the ball only rattled the rim to ultimately hand Ateneo’s first defeat in the tournament.
The Blue Eagles’ next game will be announced as they wait for the group phase to conclude.
Box scores:
Ateneo (88): Tuano – 18, Bahay – 13, Alas – 11, Adili – 10, Gamber – 10, Espinosa – 9, Bongo – 7, Espina – 4, Baruwa – 3, Baltazar – 2, Rogers – 1, Leal – 0
UP (91): Remogat – 22, Stevens – 16, Bayla – 12, Payosing – 9, Miles – 7, Dimaculangan – 6, Ogana – 5, Palanca – 4, Pre – 3, Franco – 3, Poyos – 2, Udodo – 2, Yniguez – 0
Quarter/Set scores:
Ateneo-UP: 26-22, 41-47, 59-69, 88-91
Group A Current Standings (W-L):
- ATENEO Blue Eagles (2-1)
- UP Fighting Maroons (1-0)
- CSB Blazers (1-1)
- LPU Pirates (0-2)
