By NIKOLE JAVIER
Ateneo fended off University of the Philippines’ determined comeback and came away with a 65-55 win to force a rubber match in their UAAP Season 85 Finals Wedneday, Dec. 14, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Ange Kouame delivered a double-double outing of 19 points and 11 boards as the Blue Eagles evened their best-of-three title series at 1-1.
Kai Ballungay rebounded from a disappointing show the last time with a 15-point performance while Forthsky Padrigao had 11.
The Blue Eagles had to shrug off a slow start after falling into a maze of turnovers before gaining momentum to launch a massive attack to snatch the the lead in the second quarter which they protected until the final buzzer before the 20,616 crowd.
Up by 15 early in the fourth period after a Ballungay jumper, 59-44, the Blue Eagles had to display their endgame poise as Carl Tamayo led UP’s 10-4 run that pulled them to within 9.
Ateneo, however, produced key defensive stops that led to another Kouame layup at the 3:21 mark that put their lead back in double figures, 65-54.
The Fighting Maroons would go on scoreless in the final minute and a half which worked on the Blue Eagles’ favor.
“Not a lot [of thoughts]. We live to fight another day. Both schools and teams, our monikers something about fighting. Everybody saw what sports fighting is about tonight. That’s the kind of game, I guess, we all sort of expect in the finals,” said Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin.
Malick Diouf, who bagged the season Most Valuable Player honors, was a huge disappointment after being held to just two points.
Tamayo led UP with 15 points while JD Cagulangan chipped in 11 markers.
The winner-takes-all Game 3 will be staged on Monday, Dec. 19, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The scores:
ATENEO 65 ˗ Kouame 19, Ballungay 15, Padrigao 11, Daves 6, Chiu 6, Ildefonso 3, Gomez 2, Lazaro 2, Koon 1, Quitevis 0, Andrade 0.
UP 55 ˗ Tamayo 15, Cagulangan 11, Fortea 9, Lucero 6, Alarcon 5, Abadiano 4, Diouf 2, Galinato 2, Spencer 1, Gonzales 0, Calimag 0, Lina 0.
Quarters: 20-19, 41-33, 57-44, 65-55.
