Ateneo nips DLSU, 76-75
NU Bulldogs add to struggles of UP Maroons
THE league-leading Ateneo Blue Eagles remained unblemished in Season 80 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) after beating rivals and defending champions De La Salle Green Archers, 76-75, on the final day of first-round elimination play yesterday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Towed by their hot shooting at the start, the Eagles built enough momentum and confidence which they rode the rest of the way to weather the ferocious challenge of the Archers in the end.
Earlier in the day, the National University (NU) Bulldogs arrested a three-game losing streak by beating and, in the process, adding to the struggles of the suddenly skidding University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons, 77-70.
Guard Anton Asistio got the scoring going for Ateneo, draining three triples inside the first four minutes of the first quarter to help his team to a 13-5 lead.
Matt Nieto waxed thereafter from beyond the arc to give the Eagles further boost and hold a 12-point cushion at the end, 2816.
An early basket by Raffy Verano gave Ateneo its biggest lead of 14 points, 30-16, in the second quarter, but led by Ben Mbala and Prince Rivero, La Salle started to make its move thereafter.
The Eagles though would continue to hold sway as the period drew to a close, 43-36.
Mbala once again jump-started an aggressive rally by La Salle in the third period.
Scoring six quick points, the reigning league most valuable player got the Archers within six points, 50-44.
La Salle continued to chip away on Ateneo’s lead and was rewarded accordingly and just trailed by a point by the end of the third quarter, 63-62.
Rattled in the preceding period, the Eagles steadied to start the fourth, scoring five straight points in the opening minute to take their lead to five, 67-62.
It proved to be short- lived though as Ricci Rivero led the Archers to tie the knot at 69-all halfway into the period and to take the lead, 73-71, with three minutes to go.
Three converted free throws by Chibueze Ikeh and Nieto allowed Ateneo to regain the lead 74-73 with under two minutes left.
Mbala gave the upper hand back to his team with two free throws of his own, 75-74, at the 1:03 mark.
Ateneo had two chances to get back the lead but attempts to the basket by Asistio and Thirdy Ravena failed to produce a result.
With seven ticks remaining, the Eagles got a shot at redemption, forcing a La Salle turnover that resulted in Nieto being fouled and connecting two free throws to go up, 76-75, with 3.9 seconds remaining.
Mbala tried to bulldoze his way to the basket to try and snatch the win but Ateneo’s defense stood its ground and held on for the win.
Nieto finished the game with 16 points to lead Ateneo while Asistio and Jolo Mendoza had 14 and 10 points, respectively.
Ricci Rivero top-scored for La Salle with 19 points with Mbala adding 18 points and 13 boards.
SKID HALTED
In the first game, meanwhile, NU ended the first round of the eliminations on a winning note after losing three straight with a victory over UP.
The Bulldogs used a spirited fight in the second half to outlast the Maroons, who dropped their third straight game.
NU trailed UP, 38- 33, at the halftime break before the Bulldogs, led by Matt Salem, foreign player Issa Gaye and guard Rev Diputado charged back and overtake the Maroons, 56-53, by the end of the third period.
Making matters worse for UP, it saw main playmaker Jun Manzo go down with an apparent ankle injury in the quarter and never came back.
With the outcome of the game still open, the two teams battled it out in the payoff quarter.
They fought to a 70-all stalemate with 1: 34 remaining after which veteran Jayjay Alejandro gave the Bulldogs the upper hand, 72-70, with a basket in the paint.
Moments later, Salem gave NU further breathing room when he drilled a three- pointer with 45 ticks to go, 75-70.
The Maroons tried to claw their way back but the Bulldogs held firm and secured the win with two free throws from Jordan Bartlett for the final score.
Salem finished with a doubledouble of 21 points and 10 rebounds. Gaye had 13 points and eight boards while Alejandro had 12 points and seven assists.
UP, for its part, was paced by Paul Desiderio with 15 points with guard Diego Dario adding 11 points and Javi Gomez de Liano 10.
“UP really fought hard today and we were both in a situation that we needed the win. We are happy that in the end we came up with the victory,” said NU coach Jamike Jarin in the postmatch press conference.
The win allowed NU to tie UP for joint fifth place with a 3- 4 record, behind Ateneo (7-0), La Salle ( 5- 2), Adamson Soaring Falcons ( 5- 2) and Far Eastern University Tamaraws (4-3).
The University of the East Red Warriors (1-6) are at seventh place while the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers (0-7) are at the bottom at the end of the first round of eliminations.