By CARLO ANOLIN
Before a sea of pink, the Blue Eagles of Ateneo emerged triumphant – again.
With SJ Belangel and BJ Andrade waxing hot in the third period, the reigning champions cruised past the Green Archers of La Salle, 75-68, for their eighth straight win in the UAAP Season 84 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City Tuesday night, April 12.
Andrade and Belangel were sharp from afar, coming through with booming triples in front of 11,124 spectators, mostly clad in pink, to stretch the Blue Eagles’ lead by as many as 17 points midway through the third quarter.
The Archers fought back in the payoff period behind the efforts of Evan Nelle and Kurt Lojera but Ateneo veterans Gian Mamuyac and Ange Kouame showed poise and responded with timely baskets to finally took the fight out of the Taft-based squad.
Nelle and Lojera did not stop their offensive run but De La Salle was left hanging with a huge deficit to overcome as time expired.
“We really had to make adjustments,” said Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin. “I thought La Salle’s discipline on defense was outstanding. We figured a few things out in the second half.”
Belangel posted 15 points built on three triples to go with six rebounds and three assists while Mamuyac scored 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting for the Blue Eagles, who remained unbeaten in 34 straight matches since October 2018 and completed its elimination sweep against rival Archers.
Dave Ildefonso, who was a key cog for Ateneo in the first half, finished with nine points, nine assists, and seven rebounds, and Andrade chalked up nine points highlighted by three triples, missing only once from beyond the arc.
Majority of the supporters of both schools wore pink in support for the presidential bid of Vice President Leni Robredo in the May 2022 elections.
Meantime, University of Santo Tomas ended its three-game slump, outlasting winless University of the East, 72-61,
The scores:
ATENEO 75 ‒ Belangel 15, Mamuyac 15, Ildefonso 9, Andrade 9, Kouame 7, Tio 6, Verano 4, Koon 4, Daves 4, Chiu 2, Lazaro 0, Mendoza 0.
LA SALLE 68 ‒ Lojera 21, Nelle 20, Winston 10, Baltazar 10, M. Phillips 3, Nonoy 3, Manuel 1, B. Phillips 0, Cuajao 0, Nwankwo 0.
Quarters: 21-18, 35-32, 60-47, 75-68.
