Eaglets remain unbeaten

Games Saturday (The Arena, San Juan City) 9 a.m. — FEU vs Adamson 11 a.m. — UST vs UE 1 p.m. — NU vs UPIS 3 p.m. — Ateneo vs La Salle

Employing a sustained defensive pressure, Ateneo made life miserable for National University, 64-49, yesterday to remain as the lone unbeaten team in the UAAP Season 80 juniors basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan City.

SJ Belangel dished out an allaround performance of 14 points, eight assists, seven rebounds, and four steals while towering center Kai Sotto anchored the lane with eight blocks as the Blue Eaglets put the clamps down on the erstwhile rampaging Bullpups.

With the dominant victory, Ateneo streaked to its sixth straight win and claimed the solo leadership in the process. NU, meanwhile, suffered its first loss after six starts.

“Again, it’s all about defense. That’s where we’re focusing on this season,” said Ateneo coach Joe Silva, pleased no end with how his wards stymied their rivals throughout, forcing them to miss 59 of their 78 attempts.

Dave Ildefonso had a double-double showing of 12 points and as many rebounds while the 7-foot-2 Sotto also contributed six points and 12 boards for the Blue Eaglets, who got off to a decisive 19-5 start and never looked back.

So suffocating was Ateneo’s defense that no NU cager scored in double figures, with Terrence Fortea emerging as the top scorer with nine points off the bench.

Bullpups ace Rhayyan Amsali struggled with just six points on 2-of13 shooting clip, no thanks to Sotto’s intimidating presence down low.

Earlier, University of Santo Tomas vented its ire on De La Salle-Zobel, 8372.

CJ Cansino continued his fine showing with 23 points, 15 rebounds and four assists while Kobe Palencia had 16 points to help the Tiger Cubs get back on track and improve their mark to 4-2, good for solo third.

RC Calimag tallied 14 points while two other teammates scored at least 11 points each but the Junior Archers still ran out of steam, putting an end to their two-game winning run while dropping to a 2-4 mark. The scores: UST 83 – Cansino 23, Palencia 16, Baquial 11, Benzonan 9, Dolendo 8, Lina 5, Anunciacion 5, Manabat 4, Dela Cruz 2, Co 0, Biag 0.

DLSZ 72 – Calimag 14, Santos 13, Pascual 11, Cortez 10, Bonalos 7, Vesagas 6, Damiles 5, Terrado 3, Cosejo 3, Buncayo 0, Carlos 0, Escandor 0, Barcuma 0, Udal 0. Quarters: 23-10, 44-23, 65-51, 83-72. ATENEO 64 – Belangel 14, Ildefonso 12, Manuel 10, Credo 9, Sotto 6, Angeles 6, David 4, Diaz 2, Chiu 1, Jaymalin 0, Santos 0, Gusi 0, Lopa 0.

NU 49 – Fortea 9, Oczon 8, Minerva 7, Pradella 8, Amsali 6, Javillonar 4, Gonzales 3, Malonzo 2, Felicida 2, Pangilinan 1, Manalang 0, Coyoca 0.

Quarters: 19-5, 36-17, 50-34, 64-49.