In their final test for the first round, the Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles were unperturbed facing the Mayhem defense of defending champions De La Salle University Green Archers, taking a 76-75 win, Sunday evening at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
“It was an Ateneo-La Salle game that a lot of people expected. Both teams played hard,” said a relieved Ateneo assistant coach Sandy Arespacochaga.
The Blue Eagles end their first round campaign with a perfect 7-0 slate, while dropping La Salle to a tie with the Adamson Soaring Falcons at 5-2.
But the game itself all boiled down to the final possession.
“Sobrang tough game, until the end hindi mo talaga malalaman kung sino mananalo,” added third-year Blue Eagle Thirdy Ravena, who finished with nine points and seven rebounds.
With La Salle rallying back from a lead that went to as high 15 points, to take a 75-74 lead with 1:03 left, the Blue Eagles looked desperate, as Anton Asistio and Thirdy Ravena went for wild drives. But La Salle skipper Kib Montalbo was overwhelmed by the moment, getting his inbound tipped that led to a Matt Nieto steal.
Unlike the aforementioned three more veteran players, Ateneo’s third-year floor general was able to grab a foul from Montalbo, and calmly sank both free throws with 3.9 seconds left. Vince Tolentino was then able to get a stop on Ben Mbala to escape with their streak intact.
“Iba talaga pag Ateneo-La Salle. Makikita mo na wala gusto magpatalo,” said Matt Nieto, who finished the game with 15 points, four rebounds, two steals, and two assists. “Sinuwerte na lang kami sa last play, we followed Coach Tab [Baldwin’s] defensive scheme and luckily naging successful. Walang gusto matalo pag Ateneo-La Salle.”
Nieto together with backcourt-mates Anton Asistio and Jolo Mendoza provided the huge first half spark for the Blue Eagles. The trio combined to shoot 7-for-13 from downtown to give the Blue Eagles a lead that went to as high as 14 points.
With Ben Mbala struggling with foul trouble in the third frame, it was up to the rest of the Green Archers to battle back. An Andrei Caracut triple sparked a 14-4 rally to close out the third frame and cut the lead to just one. The Rivero brothers and Jollo Go contributed to the run as well.
“There were times that La Salle looked like they wanted it more, especially in the second and third quarters. It became a grind in the fourth quarter, good thing we shot the ball well in the first quarter,” Arespacochaga recalled.
Ricci Rivero paced La Salle with 19 points on an excellent 9-for-11 shooting clip. Ben Mbala was limited to just 18 points on 8-for-18 shooting to go along with 13 rebounds.
The Scores:
ADMU 76 – Nieto Ma 16, Asistio 14, Mendoza 10, Ravena 9, Verano 6, Go 4, Tolentino 4, Nieto Mi 4, Black 4, Mamuyac 3, Ikeh 2
DLSU 75 – Rivero R 19, Mbala 18, Go 11, Rivero P 8, Caracut 5, Paraiso 5, Tratter 4, Montalbo 3, Santillian 2, Gonzales 0
Quarterscores: 28-16, 43-36, 63-62, 76-75.
