Blue bloods Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles and Colegio de San Juan de Letran Knights figured in a highly-physical game on Sunday afternoon in Group A of the 2017 Filoil Flying V Premier Cup.
After the smoke had cleared, it was Tyler Tio and the Blue Eagles who came out on top, taking a 78-76 win and spoiling the Knights’ 2017 debut.
“You got to play those games too, the games that are tough,” second-year Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin remarked about the 52 fouls committed by both teams in the game.
Incoming Blue Eagle Tyler Tio, who missed last season due to eligibility issues, led Ateneo with 17 points, including five triples. And his fifth triple was just clutch.
“We have a lot of confidence in Tyler,” Baldwin said about the former Xavier Stallion.
With 17.3 ticks left and Letran up 76-74, Tio squared up Bong Quinto before raising up and knocking down the go-ahead triple. A costly turnover by Jeo Ambohot led to a split on the stripe by Anton Asistio while Quinto badly missed a floater to seal the win for the Blue Eagles.
“Thirdy [Ravena] made a good defensive stand in the end,” Baldwin furthered as Ravena was able to seal off Rey Nambatac during the final sequence.
Ravena had 15 points and grabbed six rebounds while Anton Asistio chipped in nine points.
But the entire final frame of the game was just a sight for sore eyes fouls were committed left and right while emotions ran high — even Letran head coach Jeff Napa was called for a technical foul with 4:59 left.
“The fourth quarter was just really intense, really tough. They were doing a good job,” Baldwin reflected. “Their guards put us in bad situations where we had to foul. We have to learn discpline and a little frustration crept in during that time.”
Ateneo went a horrid 14-for-29 from the charity stripe while Letran attempted 36 free throws, knocking down 27. But the Blue Eagles dominated the boards, 48 to 27, to gain a 14-2 second chance points advantage.
Incoming fifth-year Knight Nambatac scored a game-high 25 points. Quinto and Jerrick Balanza added nine markers each.
Ateneo will have a month-long break from Filoil action before facing the JRU Heavy Bombers on Friday, June 2 at 5:00pm. Letran will next face the Lyceum Pirates on Wednesday, May 10 at 5:00pm.
The Scores:
ADMU (78) – Tio 17, Ravena 15, Asistio 9, Ikeh 7, Go 7, Nieto Mi 7, White 6, Verano 5, Nieto Ma 3, Porter 2, Tolentino 0, Wong 0, Mamuyac 0.
CSJL (76) – Nambatac 25, Quinto 9, Balanza 9, Caralipio 7, Calvo 6, Pamulaklakin 5, Ambohot 3, Gedaria 3, Taladua 3, Balagasay 2, Vacaro 2, Bernabe 2, Villanueva 0, Pascual 0, De Villa 0.
Quarterscores: 20-21, 31-33, 61-58, 78-76.
