THE ATENEO Blue Eagles’ 2026 Asiabasket NSAC postseason campaign comes to a close following an 84-86 defeat to the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers. The contest was held earlier today, May 23, at the Enrique M. Razon Sports Center in the City of Manila.
Team Captain Jared Bahay led the way with 18 points, followed by Kieffer Alas and Kyle Gamber, who contributed 14 and 11 markers, respectively.
The Blue Eagles relied on shots from long distance to open the game, kick-starting their offense with a three-pointer from Andrew Bongo off a Bahay assist, 3-2. Not long after, a dish from Bongo allowed Waki Espina to drain a corner three, placing Ateneo in front, 8-7.
Halfway through the first quarter, a transition play allowed Gamber to convert on a wide-open layup, which kept the game level at 12-all. However, the Blue Eagles were left searching for answers on defense as UST embarked on a three-point barrage, capped off with a basket from UST’s Charles Esteban, 14-18. Ateneo’s defensive struggles persisted letting in a 6-0 UST highlighted by a spin move conversion from Kirk Cañete, 17-26. Ending the frame, Bahay sank two free throws to conclude the first period with a 19-26 scoreline.
Entering the second frame, the Blue Eagles came out of the gates hot beyond the arc, with threes from Bahay and Bongo narrowing the game down to a one-possession deficit, 25-28.
The Growling Tigers continued to provide consistent offense along with their tight zone defense, with Mark Llemit hitting a tough layup and Amiel Acido converting a three-point play, 27-33. Alas showed guile by drawing a foul from three, but was only able to sink one of his charities, 28-33.
Despite Llemit converting his free throws from a loose ball foul courtesy of Divine Adili, the Blue and White continued to be gunslingers from deep, with Alas, Gamber, and Bongo keeping the game within arm’s reach, 37-38.
The end of the half was dominated by UST’s Collins Akowe who nabbed two free throws and a thunderous dunk, placing Ateneo down six, 37-43. Despite a four-point streak from Sultan Baruwa and three charities from Bahay, Akowe gave the Growling Tigers a delicate two-point lead at the break, 44-46.
Without hesitation, Bahay opened the second half guns blazing following back-to-back threes to take the lead for Ateneo, 50-48. Despite UST’s Gelo Crisostomo tying the game, 50-50, Espina swiftly sank a shot from rainbow country, 50-53.
As both teams went back-and-forth, crucial baskets from Alas kept the Blue and White in the fight before Adili fought his way inside the paint to tie the game at 57-all. Fatigue began to set in as the Blue Eagles allowed the Growling Tigers succumbed to a corner three from Cañete, 61-65. In response, Gamber unleashed two consecutive long-range bombs to draw the Blue Eagles within one, 67-68. After Growling Tiger Esteban split his free throws, the Katipunan-based squad ended the third canto down by two, 67-69.
Entering the final period, the Blue Eagles endured an early 9-4 run from their España-based adversaries, with a Donovan Sevilla, Cañete, and Llemit contributing to the early outburst, 71-76.
Both teams continued to trade buckets, with Alas and Rogers answering back Llemit’s four-point outburst to maintain a five-point game, 74-79. In a potentially momentum-swinging possession, Akowe blocked a Rogers layup attempt to keep the game within two possessions.
The Blue Eagles kept it competitive after a Rogers three from the corner, making it a two-point game, 77-79. The Katipunan-based squad’s defensive efforts continued to falter to UST’s shot-making, with inside buckets from Crisostomo and Akowe harming any potential Ateneo comeback, 79-85.
In a final bid to salvage a comeback, Bahay hit a tough layup to bring the game to 81-85. Espina then brought the deficit to one, knocking down a clutch three with eight seconds left, 84-85. With a chance to win or send the game to overtime after Acido split his freebies, Ateneo conceded a turnover off an inbound pass, ending their NSAC campaign at the quarterfinals, 84-86.
With the Blue Eagles’ Asiabasket campaign ending here, the Katipunan-based squad will now shift their efforts to the U-Belt Collegiate Invitational and Filoil Preseason Tournament this coming June.
Box scores:
Ateneo (84): Bahay – 18, Alas – 14, Gamber – 11, Bongo – 9, Espina – 9, Adili – 8, Rogers – 8, Baruwa – 4, Leal – 2, Tuano -1, Edu – 0, Espinosa – 0, Nwah – 0, Roberts – 0
UST (86): Llemit – 21, Akowe – 17, Crisostomo – 11, Cañete – 9, Acido – 7, Porter – 7, Acido- 6, Sevilla D. – 5, Danting – 2, Calum – 1, Sevilla J. – 0, Bucsit – 0, Bangco – 0
Quarter/Set scores: Ateneo-UST: 19-26, 44-46, 67-69, 84-86
