University of the East stamped its dominance over a struggling Ateneo side, earning a wire-to-wire 83-61 victory to tally its 11th consecutive win in the UAAP Season 87 Junior High School Basketball Tournament on Saturday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The win guaranteed the Junior Warriors of at least a playoff for a twice-to-beat incentive in the Final Four.
UE’s pursuit for the first-ever junior high school elimination round sweep in league history will face stiff stands from Adamson University, University of the Philippines Integrated School, and Season 86 runner-up Far Eastern University-Diliman.
“To be honest, hindi pa namin iniisip [yung elimination sweep]. We’re still one game at a time. If mangyari ‘yon, good for us. But achieving it does not mean you’re champions,” Junior Warriors coach Andrew Estrella said. “At the end of the day, you have to work hard to win the championship.”
UE took a commanding 29-8 advantage in the opening round which they padded to 46-12 through the efforts Jolo Pascual, Neil Garcia, and Enrico Bungar .
Pascual enjoyed his best game of the season with 17 points, three rebounds, two assists, and two steals, while Jared Ferreros contributed 12 points, two rebounds, and two assists.
UE’s big men also contributed significantly with Okebata chipping in eight points, seven rebounds, one assist, and one steal, and with Gab Delos Reyes contributing eight points, eight rebounds, and three blocks.
The scores:
UE 83 – Pascual 17, Ferreros 12, Oraa 10, Garcia 9, Okebata 8, Delos Reyes 8, Bungar 7, Panganiban 6, Orca 4, Dalosa 2, Mesina 0.
Ateneo 61 – Kallos 16, Jazul 10, Molina 9, Lacsamana 6, Ngo 5, Juangco 4, Dela Rosa 3, Meresen 2, Bernarte 2, Fernandez 2, Valte 1, Divinagracia 1, Ylen 0, Hwang 0, Ramos 0, Pineda 0.
Quarters: 29-8, 55-24, 69-49, 83-61.
