Eagles tab No. 12; UP now second
Eagles cruise to 12-0 as chase for the next best possible positions in the stepladder semifinals heats up with Maroons now No. 2
Ateneo moved within two more wins of an elimination round sweep in the UAAP basketball tournament after mowing down UE without mercy on Sunday, 84-50. UP took temporary hold of second place after rallying from 12 points down in the fourth quarter to beat Adamson, 8177. A sweep by the Eagles would mean a stepladder semifinals where finishing No. 2 is of utmost importance.
ANTIPOLO—AS methodical as defending champio na teneo was, the same could not be said for a Un iversity of the Philippines team that showe dt he resilience that has marke d its campaign in UAAP Season 82.
There seems to ben o stopping the Blue Eagles’ march to an elimination round sweep—and an outright finals berth—with the way they dismantled University of the East, 84-50, on Sund aya t Ynares Center here.
Tha ti s unless t hef ighting Maroons can play longer stretches of efficient an ddi sciplined basketball like the way they finishe do ff Adamson i na thrilling 81-77 win that saw them claw their way back from a 12-point hole in t hef ourth quarter and solidify their hol dof second spot.
Atene oi sn ow 12-0, jus tt wo games away fro mape rfect elimination-round , wh ich can only happen if the Eagles bea tt he Maroons (7-4) in the ir r ematch on Oct. 30.
For now, the door remains open for five othe rt eams as they scramble for abe tter seedi ngn ot jus ti naf inal Four—but ap ossible stepladder forma tin the even to f an A teneo sweep where t he N o . 2 see d will be armed wit ha twice-to-beat edge.
Four straight wi nsw ill actually seal a third straight cro wn f or the Eagles, but coach Tab Baldwin isn’t looking too far ahead.
“No, we’re jus tt hinking about NU (National U),” said Baldwin, referring tot he already-eliminated Bulldogs, whom they will face o n Sa turday.
“For any team in thi sp osition, things like undefeated seasons, sweeps, they happen because you take it o ne s t ep a t a ti men ot because you make some grand statement about ho wg ood yo ua re i nf ron to fam icrophone.”
Isaac Go fired a season-high 13 p oints, while Ange Kouame and Thirdy Ravena contributed 11 each for Ateneo , wh ich had the luxury o fg iving rookies Geo Chi u an d Jaso nc redo minutes in t hef ourth quarter when the outcome was alread yse ttled.
Baldwi nsa id he’ dr ather have his team do t he talking on the court.
“Sport i sab out performance, not about bragging about performance,” said Baldwin. “So we’re very much focuse do n wha to ur next performance i sg oing to be. Hopefully when we step up against NU, we’ll be prepared for that game an dt hey (Maroons) will be the cente ro f our attention and we’ll take care of business.”
The loss sent University of the East crashing ou to f playoff contentio n af te rt hey los tt heir fourt hs traight game for a 3-9 card.
The Falco nsa re als ot eetering on t he b rink after falling to 4-7.
Just like their firs t ro und meeting last mont h, A damson put UP on the ropes, before the Maroons unleashed afu rio usf inish that lef tt he Falcons reeling.
“Although this i sab i gw in for us, we nee dto focus on the next game (against NU on
… Sweeps, they happen because you take it one step at a time not because you make some grand statement about how good you are in front of a microphone.
TAB BALDWIN Ateneo Eagles coach
Wednesday), because thi sw in will all be for naught,” said UP coach Bo Perasol, who also has to face La Salle on Sunday before the ird uel with the Eagles.
Kobe Paras scattered 21 points, Jun Manzo finished with 17 p oint s an d Juan Gomez De Liaño posted a season-high 15 point sf or t he Maroons, who once again deal tt he Falcons another heartbreaking defeat .UP also beat Adamson, 83-82, in overtime in their firs t ro und meeting last month.
Manzo shone t heb rightest, scori ng f i ve p oints in the last 4:02, while Paras drained a triple to shatter a 76-all deadlo ckw ith 1:25 left.
Bright Akhuetie helped seal t hev ictory, 81-76, with two foul shots time down to 1:08 remaining.
UP c oach Bo Peraso lpa id tribute to Manzo for epitomizing the Maroons’ never-say-di e sp irit.
“When I saw Jun insid e, I thought he was very tired,” said Perasol. “The face was a look of ave r ys tressful person because he badly wante d to win. We wante d to honor hi mw it ha ver yg ood game.”