29 September 2019
By Maxine Louise Lagman
MANILA, Philippines – Ateneo de Manila University kept their composure and nabbed an impressive 89-63 win over University of the Philippines, to keep a perfect slate in the UAAP Season 82 men’s basketball tournament on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
With the win, the two-time defending champs just showed their might for a 7-0 sweep of the first round, while UP saw its four-game winning streak broken as they dropped to a 5-2 slate, solo second in the standings, during the highly anticipated rematch of last season’s finals in front of almost 20,000 fans at the coliseum.
“UP came out like gangbusters, and we figured they would,” said Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin. “They threw a lot at us. Their hustle, their fight, their determination was admirable.”
The Fighting Maroons were in full control of the first quarter, 21-15, but the Blue Eagles seized a 35-31 lead at the half after outscoring UP, 20-10.
Ateneo kept the lead in the third quarter thanks to Thirdy Ravena and Matt Nieto’s back-to-back buckets that stretched their lead to eight, 39-31. The Blue Eagles would only pull away from there as UP began to feel the heat and pressure of the match.
Reigning MVP Bright Akhuetie was called for a foul and technical foul that forced him to sit out, eight minutes left in the third quarter, which gave Ravena three charities that gave them a 10-point advantage, 42-32.
Jerson Prado then attempted for a layup, but was rejected by Ange Kouame. UP coach Bo Perasol charged into the court and confronted a referee, who gave him two technical fouls. UP players held him back when he continued to argue with the referee. The Fighting Maroons then had to play the rest of the game without their coach, who was thrown out of the game, 6:23 left in the third quarter.
“It was kind of an unusual game,” said Baldwin, noting how the referees in fact had “quite an impact on the game.”
Ravena nailed another two freebies off Perasol’s technical fouls, and Adrian Wong followed this with a three-pointer for a 52-35 advantage. Ateneo kept a comfortable cushion from there as they led by as much as 27 points, 89-62, off a Tyler Tio three-pointer.
“I think our guys fairly methodically stuck to the task,” Baldwin said. “We didn’t get carried away with the crowd, the emotion… I give a lot of credit to the boys for their composure today.”
Kouame topped Ateneo with 19 points, 15 rebounds, and seven blocks, while Matt Nieto had 18 markers. Will Navarro, Ravena, and SJ Belangel chipped in another double-digits, 14, 13, and 11 points, respectively in the win.
For UP, Kobe Paras had 15 points, while Javi Gomez De Liano had 14 markers. Jun Manzo added 13 poins, five rebounds, and three assists in the losing effort.
The Scores:
ATENEO 89 — Kouame 19, Ma. Nieto 18, Navarro 14, Ravena 13, Belangel 11, Tio 5, Wong 4, Go 3, Mamuyac 2, Andrade 0, Chiu 0, Credo 0, Daves 0, Maagdenberg 0, Mi. Nieto 0.
UP 63 — Paras 15, Ja. Gomez de Liano 14, Manzo 12, Ju. Gomez de Liano 8, Akhuetie 6, Rivero 6, Webb 2, Gob 0, Jaboneta 0, Mantilla 0, Murrell 0, Prado 0, Spencer 0, Tungcab 0.
Quarters: 15-21, 35-31, 61-46, 89-63.
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