BLUE EAGLES OUTLAST MAROONS, SCORE FIRST BACK-TO-BACK WINS
By Maxine Louise Lagman
13 September 2017
The Ateneo Blue Eagles soared high after beating University of the Philippines in the Battle of Katipunan, 92-71 on Wednesday in the UAAP Season 80 men’s basketball tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Ateneo led by as much as 24 points in the final frame, 82-62 with 3:17 ticks left in the game, after Matt Nieto drilled back-to-back baskets to secure their second consecutive win in the tournament.
UP almost looked deficient in the game, after finishing with poor statistics. The Fighting Maroons was out-rebounded, 51-38 and finished the game on 25-of-67 shooting.
“One of the things that Coach Tab [Baldwin] said at half time was we needed to play better defense and we needed to take care of the ball more,” said Assistant Coach Sandy Arespacochaga.
The Blue Eagles was led once again by Thirdy Ravena, who finished with 16 points and six rebounds, while Tyler Tio made a remarkable debut game for the Blue Eagles after sitting out last season, because of citizenship issues and had 14 markers on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting.
Aaron Black also added nine points and 10 rebounds for the win.
On the other hand, rookie Juan Gomez de Liano led the Fighting Maroons with 16 points, seven rebounds and two steals, while Jun Manzo added 14 points.
Last game’s hero Paul Desiderio was limited, however, to a depressing 4-for-18 shooting and finished with nine points.
The Scores:
ADMU 92 – Ravena 16, Tio 14, Black 9, Ikeh 9, Asistio 7, Nieto Ma. 7, Verano 7, Go 6, Nieto Ma. 5, Porter 4, Mendoza 3, Mamuyac 2, Mallillin 2, Tolentino 1, Andrade 0, White 0.
