The Ateneo Blue Eagles kept their immaculate record in the UAAP Season 80 men’s basketball tournament after upsetting the University of Santo Tomas, 94-84 on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Ateneo stays atop the team standings with a 5-0 record, while UST are handed a 0-5 card, their worst start in more than a decade.
However, it was not an easy win for the Blue Eagles as the Growling Tigers provided them their biggest challenge yet.
“We’re happy that we won the game, but at the same time, we’re not happy with our performance,” said Ateneo
Assistant Coach Sandy Arespacochaga. “I’m not taking anything away from UST, because they played a good game. Looking at UST’s games, they’ve been staying close, the end game is what they need to improve on.”
UST stayed close and surprised the Blue Eagles as they cut a 22 point deficit, 69-47, with Marvin Lee and Jordan Sta. Ana sparking a 17-2 run. Lee capped it off with a booming triple to cut the lead to one, 81-80.
“If you take away the turnovers, UST is a very high volume team as they have good playmakers,” furthered Arespacochaga.
But it seemed the Tigers ran out of gas after missing free throws and field goals in the final minutes of the game as Matt Nieto took the chance and led Ateneo with a 13-3 run and capped their win with a jumper, 32.2 seconds left.
Matt Nieto topped the Blue Eagles with 22 points, while ThirdyRavena finished with a double double 12 points and 11 rebounds, along with five assists. Isaac Go also added 13 points off the bench.
Meanwhile, Lee and Sta. Ana had 22 and 21 points, respectively.
The Scores:
ADMU 94 – Nieto Ma 22, Go 13, Ravena 12, Mamuyac 8, Ikeh 7, Asistio 7, Nieto Mi 6, Tolentino 5, Verano 4, Tio 3, Mallillin 3, Black 2, Mendoza 2, Porter 0
