By MARK REY MONTEJO
Defending champion De La Salle continued its hot streak and hammered down Adamson, 70-45, to clinch the first Final Four spot in the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball at the UST Quadrennial Pavilion in Manila on Saturday, Oct. 19.
The Green Archers stepped on the gas in the second quarter and went on an offensive spree, building a 62-37 cushion on their way to their sixth straight win.
The victory improved La Salle to 9-1 while Adamson plummeted to its fourth straight loss for a 3-6 record and a three-way tie with Far Eastern University and Ateneo at the bottom half of the standings.
Reigning Most Valuable Player Kevin Quiambao paced the Archers with 17 points, while Joshua David added 11. Henry Agunnane and Raven Gonzalez added eight points apiece.
Cedrick Manzano and AJ Fransman tallied 14 and eight points, respectively, in a losing effort for Adamson.
Ateneo banked on its strong start before fending off a late run from University of Santo Tomas to squeeze out a 67-64 victory for its first back-to-back wins in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament right at the Tigers’ den at the UST Quadrennial Pavilion in Manila on Saturday, Oct. 19.
The Blue Eagles built a sizable margin behind a first quarter assault but had to lean on their defense down the stretch – none bigger than a Sean Quitevis steal that led into a fastbreak layup and gave Ateneo enough breathing room in the waning seconds.
With the win, Ateneo improved to a 3-6 record while UST suffered its third consecutive defeat for a 4-6 card.
Andrew Bongo was impressive with 14 points, built on three triples, on top of seven rebounds while Ian Espinosa, Chris Koon, and Shawn Tuano provided 11, 10, and 10, respectively.
“I think this was one of the gutsiest wins we had in a few years,” said Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin.
“This is a team that is stingy in the ball, we give ourselves a chance, although we had eight turnovers today is kind of in line with our play throughout the season,” he added.
Ateneo exploited UST’s Tounkara’s absence and grabbed 17 offensive rebounds. It also enabled the Eagles to
take an early 17-4 lead behind the efforts of Bongo and Balogun.
While the Blue Eagles led for the most of the contest, the Tigers roared back and came the closest at two, 64-62, before Quitevis slammed the door on the UST fightback with the gutsy steal.
The scores:
First Game
Ateneo 67 – Bongo 14, Espinosa 11, Koon 10, Tuano 10 Balogun 9, Bahay 8, Porter 3, Quitevis 2, Edu 0, Lazaro 0, Espina 0.
UST 64 – Cabañero 18, Manaytay 11, Padrigao 8, Estacio 8, Paranada 6, Laure 6, Crisostomo 5, Robinson 2, Pangilinan 0, Danting 0, Llemit 0, Acido 0, Mahmood 0.
Quarters: 17-8, 33-25, 48-41, 67-64.
Second Game
DLSU (70) – Quiambao 17, David 11, Agunanne 8, Gonzales 8, Austria 6, Gollena 5, Konov 3, Dungo 3, I. Phillips 3, M. Phillips 2, Alian 2, Macalalag 2, Ramiro 0, Marasigan 0, Rubico 0, Konov 0.
AdU (45) – Manzano 14, Fransman 8, Erolon 5, Ramos 4, Anabo 3, Ojarikre 3, Montebon 2, Yerro 2, Mantua 2, Ignacio 2, Barasi 0, Ronzone 0, Calisay 0, Barcelona 0, Alexander 0, Dignadice 0.
Quarters: 17-11, 42-22, 59-36, 70-45
