ATENEO CLAWS HOST UST, MOVES UP TO SOLO 2ND PLACE BEHIND LA SALLE
By Maxine Louise Lagman
12 November 2016
THE Ateneo Blue Eagles needed the win to keep their strong hold on to the number two seed in the tournament, while the UST Growling Tigers wanted the win so that they could leave the tournament with a good finish.
However, it was Ateneo who won the tough match and defeated UST, 74-64 on Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
It was a close game, with Ateneo only making little difference in the scoreboard. By the last minutes of the fourth period, Mike Nieto and Anton Asistio gave away big three-pointers that helped the Blue Eagles get away from the Growling Tigers, 65-59.
Nieto capped of their victory by hitting two perfect free throw shots.
Ateneo had their fifth win in a row and improved to 9-4 record in the league standings. However, despite making it to the number two seed in the Final Four and a twice-to-beat advantage in the semifinals, Coach Tab Baldwin was not too happy with the win.
“I’m a little disappointed. I’m happy to win the game, but it’s not an efficient game. For us, we want our game to be more characterized by better defense,” said Baldwin.
Ateneo hopes to hold off the Far Eastern University and aims to win their last remaining game in the elimination round against Adamson University.
Isaac Go led the Blue Eagles with 15 points and four rebounds. Nieto added 13 points and six rebounds while Vince Tolentino had 11 points and nine rebounds.
On the other hand, host UST finished the season with their worst record since the Final Four format was introduced in 1994. They had 11 losses in 14 games, with Louie Vigil, Kent Lao and Jan Sheriff departing for the next season.
Vigil topped UST with 14 points before being fouled out late in the fourth quarter. Marvin Lee and Sheriff had nine points each.
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