Ateneo completes first round sweep, turns back rival La Salle
By Maxine Louise Lagman
8 October 2017
Ateneo sweeps the first round after grabbing their seventh straight win over defending champion La Salle, 76-75, Sunday in the UAAP Season 80 men’s basketball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The Blue Eagles ended the first round with a 7-0 card, while La Salle dropped to 5-2 and tied with Adamson University.
“It was an Ateneo-La Salle game that a lot of people expected, because both teams played hard,” said Ateneo assistant coach Sandy Arespacochaga.
It was not an easy battle as the rivals were hungry to take the win.
Ateneo took an early 28-16 lead in the first quarter to keep a comfortable cushion, but La Salle took their time and caught up behind the Blue Eagles and managed to cut the deficit to one, 63-62, after a 14-4 run into the fourth quarter sparked by Andrei Caracut’s triple.
La Salle eventually took the 75-74 lead with 1:04 left as the Eagles struggled to turn the ball over back on their side.
With a strong and aggressive defense, Ateneo knocked down Kib Montalbo’s attempt for another La Salle point as Matt Nieto drove for a steal and grabbed a foul from Montalbo as well. 3.9 ticks left in the game, Nieto got both freebies as Vince Tolentino stopped Ben Mbala from making another basket to seal the win.
“There were times that La Salle looked like they wanted more, especially in the second and third quarters. It became a grind in the fourth quarter,” added Arespacochaga.
Nieto led Ateneo with 16 points and two steals, while Anton Asistio added 14 points, 12 of which came from downtown that sparked Ateneo’s confidence.
Meanwhile, Ricci Rivero topped the Green Archers with 19 points, while Mbala struggled and was limited to an 8-for-18 shooting to finish 18 points and 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.
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