by Jerome Lagunzad
Game Today (Xinzhuang Gymnasium, New Taipei City)
3 p.m. – Canada vs Philippines
Ateneo made a gallant stand but still could not stop South Korea’s fluid attack on the way to a 90-73 loss last night in the William Jones Cup at the Xinzhuang Gymnasium in New Taipei City.
The Blue Eagles, coming off an 87-64 win over host Chinese Taipei-White, proved a tough nut to crack in the early goings and gave the Koreans all they could handle before they simply ran out of gas down the stretch, leading to an even 1-1 mark in the nine-day tournament.
Ateneo, the reigning UAAP men’s basketball titleholder, has less than 24 hours to pick up the piece before the Blue Eagles plunge back to action against title favorite 3D Global Sports of Canada today at 3 p.m.
Top Ateneo wingman Thirdy Ravena had another solid all-around performance of 14 points, five steals, four rebounds and as many assists while Ivory Coast center Angelo Kouame came up with his second straight double-double with 10 points and 16 rebounds, 10 of them coming on the offensive end.
South Korea’s naturalized player Ricardo Ratliffe, a former import of Magnolia in the pro ranks, finished with 15 points on top of seven rebounds, two blocks and a pair of assists despite watching from the bench in the entire second half.
The Koreans won their second straight match.
