In a battle between two champions, the late rally of the UAAP Men’s Basketball Champions Ateneo Pilipinas against defending Jones Cup Kings 3D Global Sports fell short, 78-86, Tuesday afternoon at the Xinzhuang Gym in New Taipei City, Taiwan.
It was a tale of two halves for Ateneo Pilipinas, who fall to a 1-2 card.
Showing their form, 3D Global Sports was on fire in the opening half. Behind the hot hands of Terry Thomas, Connor Wood, and Shaquille Keith, the Canadians knocked down 11 triples in the first 20 minutes of action to build a lead that went as high as 27 points, 41-14, early in the second stanza.
Though some teams would deflate when faced with that high of a margin, the Blue Eagles fought back.
A huge 27-point third canto, led by Matt Nieto, pumped life back to the Philippine-based squad.
The surge continued in the final frame, as Nieto and Thirdy Ravena continued to attack the paint. Moreover, Adrian Wong and Angelo Kouame did their part on the other end to limit the Canadians.
Free throws by Nieto with 1:04 left sliced the lead down to just six points with 1:04 left. However, with no timeouts remaining, the Canadians overpowered the young Ateneans in the paint, resulting in free throws from Alex Campbell and Keith to avoid the titanic upset.
Matt Nieto led Ateneo’s late charge with 18 points on 6-for-11 shooting. Thirdy Ravena and Adrian Wong had 12 and 11 points respectively, with the former tallying nine rebounds and two blocks as well.
Matt’s twin brother Mike led the bench mob with 10 markers.
Keith powered the Canadians with 18 points to go along with seven rebounds and five assists. Wood added 16 markers, spiked by four triples.
As a team, Canada knocked down 13 triples.
Down to just nine players in the tournament, the Canadians lost another man in the game as Mamadou Guaye – who was averaging 13.0 points and 6.7 rebounds prior to this game – was not included in the team’s start list.
Ateneo Pilipinas looks to snap out of its funk when it faces Japan-B on Wednesday, July 17 at 5:00pm.
The Scores:
Philippines 78 – Nieto Ma 18, Ravena 12, Wong 11, Nieto Mi 10, Go 8, Black 5, Navarro 4, Kouame 4, Andrade 3, Tio 2, Asistio 1, Maagdenberg 0.
Canada 86 – Keith 18, Wood 16, Thomas 14, Kyser 12, Stutz 10, Post 9, Campbell 7, Gyamfi 0.
Quarterscores: 14-35, 27-51, 54-68, 78-86.
