In their first round encounter, the Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles stifled the Adamson University, 85-65. But the Soaring Falcons had been without Papi Sarr in that game.
This time, even with Sarr back, the Blue Eagles locked down the Soaring Falcons, cruising to a 71-59 win, Saturday evening at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
Ateneo continue their impressive streak at eight games, while Adamson lost their third game of the season to fall to 5-3.
“We are really not looking at our standings. What coach Tab [Baldwin] wants us to look at is the next game,” said Ateneo’s lead assistant coach Sandy Arespacochaga, “We might sound like a broken record but again we will watch some tape and the key is that we need to improve every game.”
Thirdy Ravena finished with an Ateneo-high of 15 points on 5-for-9 shooting to go along with nine rebounds. And Ravena fueled the Blue Eagles’ third quarter run that blew the game wide open.
“It was a defensive game. Adamson is a very good defensive team also. The 23 points we had in the third quarter gave us the cushion,” Arespacochaga pointed out.
Behind Ravena’s eight points and 10 combined points in the third quarter by Isaac Go and Chiz Ikeh, the Blue Eagles gained a double-digit lead it would not relinquish. Ateneo’s lead ballooned to as high as 21 points, 71-50, after a BJ Andrade triple with 2:02 remaining.
“We wanted to make sure that our defense would lead to opportunities for us on the break. We also focused on our perimeter defense. I would like to commend our guards for defending their guards,” the Ateneo lifer reflected.
Dubbed as arguably the best backcourt in the league, the troika of Jerrick Ahanmisi, Jerie Pingoy, and Robbie Manalang combined to shoot a horrid 6-for-24 from the field. Moreover, Adamson shot a terrible 1-for-18 from the field.
Only Papi Sarr scored in double-figures for Adamson, with 15 points. However, Ateneo boxed him out well, limiting the league-leader in rebounds to just nine for the game. Moreover, Sarr committed a team-high six turnovers.
Ateneo will next face the struggling National University Bulldogs on Wednesday, October 18, at 4:00pm. Adamson, on the other hand, take on the surging University of the East Red Warriors on the same day at 2:00pm.
The Scores:
ADMU 71 – Ravena 15, Tolentino 8, Go 8, Ikeh 7, Black 7, Nieto Mi 6, Asistio 4, Verano 3, Tio 3, Mendoza 3, Andrade 3, Nieto Ma 2, Porter 2, Mamuyac 0, Malillin 0, White 0
ADU 59 – Sarr 15, Pingoy 9, Ahanmisi 6, Hill 6, Espeleta 5, Mustre 5, Manganti 4, Camacho 2, Lojera 2, Ochea 2, Zaldivar 2, Manalang 1, Bernardo 0, Chua 0, Paranada 0
Quarterscores: 16-10, 31-24, 54-41, 71-59
