The Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles surged past the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers in the final frame to take a 73-69 win Sunday afternoon at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
Sophomore Aaron Black led the Blue Eagles with 23 points on an excellent 10-of-15 shooting to go along with seven rebounds and five assists. Thirdy Ravena, who is returning to the UAAP after a year off, tallied 17 points and 11 rebounds.
But it was the bench who stepped up for the cagers from Loyola Heights during the crucial point of the game.
“The team came out with a sluggish start. Our defense picked up in the start of the fourth quarter,” Black said. “It was a good team effort today and a lot of the bench guys helped us in the final quarter.”
With Ateneo clinging to a solitary point lead heading into the final frame, the Blue Eagles clamped down on the hosts as the Growling Tigers were limited to just two points in the first five minutes of the quarter.
On the other end, Anton Asistio, who was relegated to Team Glory Be a season ago, knocked down two backbreaking triples to spark a 12-2 Ateneo rally. Fifth year big man GBoy Babilonia added four points during the run as well.
“Like I said, not that we played bad but they played tough defense on us. We also played unselfish,” Ateneo head coach Sandy Arespacochaga added.
“A couple of guys also stepped up for us including Anton Asistio and Jolo Mendoza, Mike Nieto hit crucial shots for us. Thirdy also helped stop Louie Vigil.”
Behind the hustle of big man Jeepy Faundo, the Growling Tigers were able to cut the lead to just five, 66-71, with 54 ticks remaining in the game. However, Black, who was scorching for the entire game, knocked down a long two 23 seconds later to end UST’s comeback hopes.
“It was a good game. UST, like we said, you can’t take any team for granted. We knew they were a good team,” Arespacochaga added.
“We played well enough defensively and hit some crucial shots in the fourth quarter.”
10 of the 13 players scored for the Blue Eagles, who shot 40 percent from the field.
For UST, Vigil scored 21 points in the game but was limited to just three points in the final quarter. He grabbed five rebounds and dished out nine dimes as well. Jan Macasaet added 12 points and nine rebounds in the loss.
The Blue Eagles (1-0) will next face the NU Bulldogs on Sunday, September 11 at 4:00pm. The Growling Tigers (0-1) go up against the UE Red Warriors on Saturday, September 10 at 2:00pm. Both games will be played at the Big Dome.
The Scores:
ADMU (73) – Black 23, Ravena 17, Nieto Mi. 7, Asistio 6, Wong 5, Mendoza 5, Babilonia 4, Tolentino 2, Go 2, Nieto Ma. 2, Ikeh 0, Porter 0, Verano 0
UST (69) – Vigil 21, Macasaet 12, Bonleon 9, Lao 8, Basibas 7, Faundo 6, Subido 2, Afoakwah 2, De Guzman 2, Sheriff 0, Lee 0, Arana 0, Huang 0
Quarterscores: 14-17, 34-34, 52-51, 73-69
