Ateneo de Manila University escaped Colegio de San Juan de Letran, 90-85, in the SBP Invitational Games at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday.
With the Knights ahead by one point with less than two minutes remaining in the game, 84-83, Mason Amos and Jarred Brown forced the ball inside in successive possessions and picked up two consecutive fouls on Letran star Kurt Reyson.
Amos split his freebies but Brown managed to take care of both to put the Blue Eagles ahead by two, 86-84, with 1:30 left on the clock.
Andrew Bongo then split two defenders for a layup, pushing Ateneo’s lead to four points, 88-84 before Amos fouled Reyson, who only converted one free throw.
Lebron Nieto eventually iced the game with two free throws with 18.4 seconds left.
“We know Letran is a tough team, a proud program. Very physical atmosphere for our young players to get that experience,” said Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin.
“You know, this time of the year we’re always looking for a good game and we got a good one today. We just wanted to get a good game and Letran had always given us a good game,” he added.
Mason Amos led the way for the Blue Eagles with 16 points, four rebounds, and two assists while Jarred Brown tallied 14 markers and four assists in the victory.
Bongo chipped in 11 markers and seven assists while Kobe Demisana had 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting in the field in just 11 minutes of action.
On the other hand, Reyson paced the Knights with a game-high 25 points on a 9-of-22 shooting clip. He also registered five rebounds, three assists, and eight turnovers in the loss.
University of the Philippines will take on San Beda University at 8:00 p.m. later at the same venue while National University goes up against Mapua University at the SM Mall of Asia Arena at 8:30 p.m.
The Scores:
Ateneo 90 – Amos 16, Brown 14, Bongo 11, Demisana 10, Nieto 10, Obasa 9, Gambler 6, De Luna 6, Garcia 5, Asoro 2, Ong 0, Quitevis 0.
Letran 85 – Reyson 25, Monje 20, Santos 15, Ariar 7, Galvez 6, Juamo-as 5, Go 3, Tolentino 2, Nunag 2, Lantaya 0, Bojorcelo 0, Morales 0
Quarterscores: 15-19, 41-46, 66-68, 90-85.
