Ateneo de Manila University survived a furious fourth-quarter rally by longtime rival De La Salle University, holding on for an 81-74 victory to remain unbeaten in the UAAP Season 88 Men’s Basketball Tournament at the SM Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday.
The Blue Eagles led by as much as 33 late in the third quarter and entered the final period with a seemingly insurmountable 68-38 advantage.
But the Green Archers, led by Mason Amos, Mike Phillips, EJ Gollena, and Kean Baclaan, staged a spirited comeback, scoring the first 19 points of the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to just 11, 57-68, with 4:03 remaining.
Shawn Tuano helped keep Ateneo ahead at 75-62 with 2:24 left, but La Salle continued to attack. Conversions from Jacob Cortez, EJ Gollena, and Mike Phillips pulled the Green Archers within five with 30.4 seconds to go, capped by the captain’s putback off an Amos miss to make it 72-77.
However, free throws from Andrew Bongo and Tuano proved enough to withstand La Salle’s rally, which saw the Archers score 36 points in the fourth quarter alone after making just 38 points in the first three periods combined.
“Obviously, full credit to La Salle and the comeback they made in the fourth quarter,” said Blue Eagles head coach Tab Baldwin. “I think we have a choice to talk about three quarters of basketball or one quarter, and we’ll do both in the confines of our dugout and our next practice.
“We’ll talk about that the way we played in the three quarters is just about as good as an Ateneo team has played for me I think, and that’s a big statement. And then in the fourth quarter, we played about as badly as an Ateneo team has played for me. Fortunately, it was only one quarter,” the decorated American-Kiwi head coach added.
This is just the beginning of a tough three-game stretch for Ateneo, with the Katipunan derby against University of the Philippines set on Wednesday at the Bayside Pasay Arena, followed by a home game at the Blue Eagle Gym against University of Santo Tomas on Saturday.
The victory allows Ateneo, which finished last season with a disappointing 4-10 record, to match its win total from Season 87, in front of 17,185 fans at the Pasay venue.
Dominic Escobar led the way in the first half with all of his 15 points and nine rebounds, giving Ateneo a 36-19 halftime lead.
Tuano added nine of his 15 points in the fourth quarter to deny the Archers’ rally.
Kymani Ladi also contributed 15 points and nine rebounds, helping Ateneo maintain control after a dominant first-half defensive performance that limited La Salle to just four field goals and 19 points.
This marks Ateneo’s first win over La Salle since the first round of Season 86, a 77-72 victory in which Amos, then with Ateneo, made crucial baskets.
Phillips led La Salle with 17 points, 20 rebounds, six assists, one steal, and one block, with 14 of his rebounds coming offensively to help the Archers score 20 second-chance points.
Baclaan, returning from an ankle injury, added 13 points and seven rebounds, while Cortez contributed 10 points.
The Green Archers (2-2) will look to bounce back next Sunday when they face the National University Bulldogs at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.
The Scores:
Ateneo (81) – Ladi 15, Escobar 15, Tuano 15, Lazaro 9, Espinosa 8, Espina 7, Bongo 4, Bahay 3, Adili 2, Lazo 2, L. Fjellvang 1.
DLSU (74) – Phillips 17, Baclaan 13, Cortez 10, Gollena 7, Amos 6, Pablo 5, Dungo 5, Daep 4, Abadam 3, Gomez 2, Marasigan 2, Quines 0.
Quarterscores: 14-11, 36-19, 68-38, 81-74
