By CARLO ANOLIN
Dave Ildefonso and SJ Belangel took charge once again and defending champion Ateneo secured its 11th straight win with an 89-75 rout of National University in the UAAP Season 84 Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Ildefonso set the pace in the first half before Belangel extended a helping hand in the third quarter as the Blue Eagles rolled to their 37th consecutive win since October 2018.
With the victory, Ateneo has sealed a twice-to-beat advantage with three games remaining left in the elimination round. Without a sweep, the No. 2 will also be granted another twice-to-beat advantage.
“It’s a really good win,” said Eagles head coach Tab Baldwin. “We played an exceptionally tough team as I’m sure everybody saw in the second half but I think our quality of play in the first half was as high standard as maybe I’ve ever seen from an Ateneo team.
“At both ends of the floor, I thought the boys did an exceptional job. They gave themselves a huge cushion,” added the three-time UAAP champion coach.
The Bulldogs attempted a late comeback attempt in the fourth period after dropping an 18-3 run and cut their early 33-point deficit to 14, 81-67.
But Ateneo clamped down on defense and converted as many baskets as it can to maintain the 14-point advantage down the stretch highlighted by Belangel’s three-pointer.
Adamson rolled to its fourth straight win with an 80-69 drubbing of University of Santo Tomas in the first game.
The Falcons used a strong third quarter run for a comfortable 66-52 lead heading into the payoff period behind the efforts of Jerom Lastimosa and Vince Magbuhos.
Adamson led by as many as 23 with less than six minutes to go in the fourth quarter and never looked back at that point after unloading an 11-2 spurt capped by Ricky Peromingan’s three-pointer.
With the win, the Falcons improved to 5-6, securing solo fourth.
Lastimosa produced another gem of a game, exploding for 24 points on an impressive 8-of-9 shooting to go with six rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
The scores:
First Game
ADAMSON 80 ˗ Lastimosa 24, Magbuhos 11, Douanga 9, Sabandal 8, Manzano 8, Zaldivar 8, Peromingan 8, Yerro 2, Colonia 2, Hanapi 0, Jaymalin 0, Calisay 0, Fuentebella 0, Erolon 0, Barasi 0, Maata 0.
UST 69 ˗ Fontanilla 23, Cabanero 13, Manalang 11, Santos 5, Concepcion 4, Gesalem 3, Manaytay 3, Garing 3, Ando 2, Herrera 2, Pangilinan 0, Yongco 0, Canoy 0.
Quarters: 22-21, 41-40, 66-52, 80-69.
Second Game
ATENEO 89 ˗ Ildefonso 17, Kouame 16, Belangel 9, Chiu 9, Verano 8, Mamuyac 8, Andrade 6, Tio 6, Koon 5, Lazaro 5, Padrigao 0, Gomez 0, Daves 0.
NU 75 ˗ Felicilda 12, Figueroa 12, Clemente 10, Gaye 9, Ildefonso 7, Torres 7, Minerva 5, Malonzo 4, Mahinay 4, Galinato 3, Joson 2, Enriquez 0, Manansala 0, Yu 0.
Quarters: 29-12, 61-36, 78-49, 89-75.