Eagles rip Maroons to grab solo lead

Thirdy Ravena came through with his best offensive game as he powered Ateneo to an 83-66 win over University of the Philippines last night in the 81st UAAP men’s basketball at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

Ravena, who averaged 10.43 points in the first round, scored 20 points on 9-of-21 shooting from the field while adding 10 rebounds in almost 34 minutes of action.

Tyler Tio had a solid outing with 12 points and five assists, while Raffy Verano, Jolo Mendoza and center Angelo Kouame each had 10 points.

The win pushed the Blue Eagles on top of the standings with a 6-2 win loss record, a game ahead of idle Adamson (5-2).

UP suffered its second straight defeat for a 3-5 slate. MVP leading contender Bright Akhuetie had 20 points and Paul Desiderio contributed 16 points for the Maroons.

In the first game, University of Santo Tomas proved that its first win over Far Eastern University was no fluke as the Growling Tigers downed the Tamaraws 78-70.

Zach Huang scored a careerhigh 20 points, while seldom-used Germy Mahinay stepped up big as he added a personal-best 10 points and eight rebounds, coming in for injured Enrique Caunan, who hurt his ankle early in the second quarter.

The win extended UST’s streak to three, and halted FEU’s own winning run to three games. Also, the Tigers have made it back-to-back against the Tamaraws, having won 76-74 on September 12.

UST moved to solo fifth with a 4-4 card, half a behind De La Salle (4-3).

It also gave UST coach Aldin Ayo a 6-0 record against FEU dating back to his stint with La Salle as mentor.

The scores:

UST 78 – Huang 20, Lee 17, Subido 14, Mahinay 10, Cansino 5, Bataller 4, Caunan 2, Marcos 2, Bonleon 2, Cosejo 2, Zamora 0, Agustin 0. FEU 70 – Escoto 12, Tolentino 11, Orizu 8, Stockton 8, Gonzales 7, Cani 6, Eboña 6, Comboy 5, Parker 3, Iñigo 2, Bayquin 2, Tuffin 0. Quarters: 23-19, 37-33, 49-49,

78-70. ATENEO 83 – Ravena 21, Tio 12, Verano 10, Mendoza 10, Asistio 9, Kouame 9, Mamuyac 6, Belangel 4, Go 2, Navarro 0, Black 0, Wong 0. UP 66 – Akhuetie 20, Desiderio 16, Manzo 8, Gomez de Liaño Ju. 5, Gomez de Liaño Ja. 4, Dario 3, Jaboneta 2, Prado 2, Murrell 2, Vito 2, Gozum 2, Spencer 0, Lim 0 Quarters: 18-15, 35-29, 54-48, 83-66.