Blackwater gives Dyip rude exit
Eagles take fight out of toothless Bulldogs
Ateneo took the teeth out of National U with a 10-0 start to set the tone for a wire-to-wire 79-64 verdict and guarantee its stint in the UAAP Season 81 men’s basketball Final Four yesterday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The high-flying Blue Eagles drew career-high productions from Thirdy Ravena (23) and rookie SJ Belangel (11) and another solid outing from Angelo Kouame (19 markers, 17 boards, six blocks) to extend their streak to four and go 9-2 overall, ensuring their semis appearance for the fifth consecutive season.
“We didn’t know we made it to the Final Four (already). Our game plan was just focusing on NU and not looking beyond this game,” said AdMU assistant coach Sandy Arespacochaga. “We’ve been stressing that NU is a dangerous team and as expected, they came up with more intensity and more fire after the halftime break. It’s a good thing that we staved off their rally and we’re happy to come out with a win.”
In the second game, La Salle tightened the defensive screws on Far Eastern in the last five minutes to score a bounce-back 65-57 victory that cemented its hold of third spot at 6-4. Now winless in their last four outings, the Tams slid to 5-6 and No. 5.
With Ravena as spearhead, the Eagles jumped the gun on the Bulldogs with 10 unanswered points and kept their foot on the pedal to enjoy big leads that reached as high as 24 in the second quarter. The Bulldogs mounted rallies in the second half but the Ravena and Kouame-led Eagles kept them at bay with big baskets.
Arespacochaga said such minor slowdown coming out of intermission presents a concern for the hot-starting Eagles. It also happened in their preceding 9070 rout of University of the East. The Scores First Game AdMU 79 – Ravena 23, Kouame 19, Belangel 11, Go 7, Verano 7, Black 3, Tio 3, Daves 2, Mamuyac 2, Mendoza 2, Andrade 0, Asistio 0, Navarro 0, Wong 0.
NU 64 – Clemente 25, D. Ildefonso 13, S. Ildefonso 7, Diputado 5, Yu 5, Gaye 4, Joson 3, Rike 2, Galinato 0, Gallego 0, Malonzo 0, Morido 0, Sinclair 0. Quarterscores: 22-11, 47-25, 65-47, 79-64 Second Game DLSU 65 – Baltazar 15, Santillan 12, Bates 7, Caracut 7, Melecio 7, Montalbo 7, Dyke 5, Serrano 5, Go 0, Manuel 0.
FEU 57 – Tolentino 20, Parker 6, Stockton 6, Escoto 5, Inigo 5, Ramirez 5, Cani 4, Comboy 3, Ebona 3, Bienes 0, Tuffin 0.
Quarterscores: 14-13, 34-34, 48-47, 65-57
Games today (Smart Araneta Coliseum) 4:30 p.m. – Alaska vs NorthPort 6:45 p.m. – Ginebra vs Magnolia
Blackwater snapped out of back-to-back blowout losses, venting its ire on hapless Columbian Dyip, 120-99, last night to set up a virtual playoff match for a spot in the Top Four versus Phoenix Petroleum at the close of the PBA Governors Cup elimination round next Sunday.
Henry Walker went perfect from the field with a 9-of-9 clip, best typifying an impeccable game dished out by the Elite to fashion out the big win over the Dyip in their Petron Blaze Saturday showdown at the Alonte Sports Arena in Biñan, Laguna.
Walker piled up 26 points and 11 rebounds while locals Mac Belo, Paul Zamar, Allein Maliksi and Mike Digregorio put in doublefigure outputs in their determined effort to stay in the running for a twice-to-beat bonus in the quarterfinals.
They caught up with the Fuel Masters and the Alaska Milk Aces from third to sixth places with their identical 7-3 winloss cards.
The Aces go for an outright Top Four finish versus the NorthPort Batang Pier at 4:30 p.m. tonight at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Meanwhile, Barangay Ginebra also seeks an outright Top Four windup as it tangles with Magnolia in their keenly awaited showdown at 6:45 p.m. tonight. “Coming from back-to-back losses, we needed to bounce back. And we set out for this game with a mindset of starting strong, being aggressive and playing tough defense,” said Belo, who came through with 16 markers on 6-of-10 clip in 18 minutes of action off the bench.
San Miguel Beer stretched its streak to four games and inched within a game of joint third placers Alaska Milk, Phoenix Petroleum and Blackwater with a 109-97 drubbing of Rain or Shine later in the night.
“We need a late push for the playoffs,” said SMB guard Alex Cabagnot, a major contributor with 24 points in the win that jacked up their record to 6-4. The scores: First Game Blackwater 120 – Walker 26, Belo 16, Maliksi 13, Zamar 13, Digregorio 11, Erram 9, Pinto 8, Cortez 6, Javier 5, Jose 5, Palma 5, Sumang 3, Sena 0, Cruz 0, Banal 0.
Columbian 99 – Wright 28, King 11, McCarthy 11, Reyes 9, Khobuntin 7, Gabriel 7, Cabrera 6, Corpuz 5, Tubid 4, Ababou 4, Sara 3, Celda 2, Escoto 2, Cahilig 0. Quarterscores: 33-20, 63-42, 93-69, 120-99 Second Game San Miguel 109 – Murphy 28, Cabagnot 24, Standhardinger 22, Santos 13, Lassiter 12, Nabong 3, Vigil 2, Ross 2, Fajardo 2, Heruela 1, Semerad 0, Agovida 0.
Rain or Shine 97 – Ahanmisi 26, Ponferada 15, Watson 13, Norwood 9, Torres 8, Daquiaog 6, Borboran 5, Casino 4, Washington 3, Maiquez 3, Nambatac 3, Yap 2, Onwubere 0.
Quartersores: 23-31, 59-55, 89-75, 109-97