University of the East capitalized on an undermanned Ateneo de Manila University to secure its second consecutive victory in the PG Flex Linoleum-UCBL Invitational Tournament on Wednesday at the SGS Stadium in Quezon City.
Trailing 32-48, the Blue Eagles attempted to rally against UE with a 12-0 run in the third quarter, reducing the Red Warriors’ lead to four, 44-48.
However, in the final quarter, Fil-Canadian Jack Cruz-Dumont and Josh Alcantara answered right back while the rest of the team put the clamps on the Blue Eagles, who fell to 1-1.
“A win is a win. Alam ko na hindi yan ang team ng Ateneo, but of course for us, since we have a lot of new players right now, so it’s very important to have this kind of tune-up and panalo, kasi we’re just starting to have the chemistry we need,” said UE head coach Jack Santiago.
UE dominated Ateneo in the second quarter with an 11-1 burst, to gain a 27-41 halftime lead.
In addition to their offensive prowess, the Red Warriors capitalized on the Blue Eagles’ 30 turnovers, scoring 33 points from their errors.
“Hindi naman nagte-turnover ng ganyan Ateneo kasi same thing with them, marami pa rin bago. We need to maximize all the turnovers eh… Every ball possession against a better team is very important,” said Santiago.
Ateneo was without the services of Kobe Demisana, Paul Garcia, Raffy Celis, and five other Blue Eagles who led them to their first UCBL victory against San Sebastian due to the team’s pre-season preparations in Australia.
Cruz-Durmont led the Red Warriors’ victory over Ateneo with 21 points and eight rebounds, while Fil-Am recruit Keian Spandonis contributed 15 points on a 60-percent shooting clip.
Godslove Nwadube and Matt De Luna paced Ateneo with 13 and 11 points, respectively.
Both UE and Ateneo will face St. Clare Caloocan next, with the Red Warriors playing on Friday, July 7, and the Blue Eagles on Monday, July 11, at the same venue.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Women’s University and Lyceum of the Philippines did not participate in their scheduled game at 3:45 p.m. League officials are working on rescheduling the match for a later date. (Ernest Tuazon)
The Scores:
UE (84) – Cruz-Dumont 21, Spandonis 15, Alcantara 12, Cabero 12, Remogat 10, Langit 4, Maga 4, Galang 2, Gilbuena 2, Manalang 2, Lingolingo 0.
Ateneo (61) – Nwabude 13, De Luna 11, Tanjangco 9, Opena 9, Luna 7, Gomez de Liano 6, Tan 6, Corral 0.
Quarterscores: 19-13, 41-27, 54-46, 84-61.
