THE Ateneo De Manila University (ADMU) fought hard to claim their third win in the UAAP season against the winless University of the East (UE), 84-69 on Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
ADMU had a big lead in the first period, with 20-8 advantage. But the bleeding UE did not back down without a good fight, getting past through Ateneo’s 11-point lead and had an advantage in the second, 32-30, leaving the Eagles behind.
Ateneo Coach Sandy Arespacochaga admitted that the Blue Eagles had a terrible second quarter, but soon bounced back in the third and fourth.
The Blue Eagles slowly slipped away from the Red Warriors in the third, leaving UE again with a 12-point advantage. ADMU did not look back anymore and drove points into the basket, and won the game.
“It was a hard earned win. We know that UE was going all out. The score doesn’t tell the whole story of how this game was fought,” added Arespacochaga.
Anton Asistio finished off with a career-high 21 points with Adrian Wong adding 17 points before being fouled out from the game.
ADMU recorded 52 attempts from the foul line, which was the most number of attempt in a single game over a decade in UAAP.
Meanwhile, UE’s Alvin Pasaol broke out and scored 22 points for his team.
Ateneo now climbs up to the third spot in the eight-team league with a 3-2 win-loss record. While UE still below the list, with a winless record 0-5.
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