Just as they did after suffering their first loss of the season, the Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles once again used their game against the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons as a springboard back to the win column.
Sunday evening, the defending champions took over late against their Katipunan neighbors, picking up an 83-66 victory at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City. The win puts the Blue Eagles to the top of the standings with a 6-2 record. UP, on the other hand, dropped to sixth at 3-5.
Last September 9, Ateneo were coming off a 70-74 loss to the Adamson Soaring Falcons. Three days later, the Blue Eagles bounced back with an 87-79 victory over the Fighting Maroons.
This time around – four days after suffering a 60-63 loss to the FEU Tamaraws – the Blue Eagles did the same.
“It’s important for us to come out strong in the second round. We are coming off a loss to FEU. But more than that, we wanted to focus on UP,” said Ateneo assistant coach Sandy Arespacochaga.
Thirdy Ravena led the way as he tallied his season-high 21 points – 10.76 points higher than his average – to go along with 11 rebounds, two steals, and two blocks. But it was not just the UAAP Season 81 Men’s Basketball Most Valuable Player who delivered in the game.
Tyler Tio – who started the game in lieu of Matt Nieto, who had fever – scored 12 points and dished out five dimes, while Jolo Mendoza scored 10 points in just nine minutes.
Between the two, Ateneo went on a blistering 13-2 run during the tail-end of the third canto and the start of the final frame to blow the game wide open.
“This is more than the standings for us. We wanted to mainly focus on our intensity. I think we did a pretty good job doing that,” added Arespacochaga as Ateneo led by as much as 20 points in the game.
Things got chippy between the two squads early, as Ravena and Paul Desiderio were called for a collision early in the game, while Adrian Wong lost a tooth in the second frame. Javi Gomez de Liano was also slapped with two technical fouls with 5:42 left in the game.
“We knew that this game was going to be intense. Nakita niyo naman sa una lumaban sila. Kailangan namin i-match yung intensity nila,” Ravena said.
Besides Matt Nieto, Mike Nieto did not play in the game as he sprained his right ankle during practice.
Leading MVP candidate Bright Akhuetie led UP with 20 points and eight rebounds, while helping limit Angelo Kouame to just nine points. Kouame still managed to grab 16 rebounds.
Paul Desiderio played his best game so far this season, with 16 points and seven rebounds.
Ateneo will next face the Far Eastern University Tamaraws on Saturday, October 20, at the SMART Araneta Coliseum. UP, on the other hand, take on the University of the East Red Warriors on Sunday, October 21, at the Filoil Flying V Centre.
The Scores:
ADMU 83 – Ravena 21, Tio 12, Verano 10, Mendoza 10, Asistio 9, Kouame 9, Mamuyac 6, Belangel 4, Go 2, Navarro 0, Black 0, Wong 0
UP 66 – Akhuetie 20, Desiderio 16, Manzo 8, Gomez de Liano Ju 5, Gomez de Liano Ja 4, Dario 3, Jaboneta 2, Prado 2, Murrell 2, Vito 2, Gozum 2, Spencer 0, Lim 0
Quarterscores: 18-15, 35-29, 54-48, 83-66
