Ateneo tames Tigers, moves to 9-0

The Ateneo de Manila Blue Eagles remained undefeated after nine games as they handed the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers their fifth loss with a lopsided beating, 82-57. Coach Norman Black dug deep into his bench today giving his starters the much needed support that gave way to the huge 25-point rout of the Growling Tigers.

Emman Monfort began Ateneo’s offensive onslaught early on scoring the Blue Eagles first 4 points of the game. A Kirk Long three pointer upped the lead to 7-1 until UST’s Jeric Teng replied with a triple of his own. Midway into the first quarter, Nico Salva hit two straight baskets to put Ateneo up by 5. The first ten minutes ended with Ateneo in the lead 15-6.

After the break, Coach Norman employed most of his second unit with Justin Chua, Tonino Gonzaga, Frank Golla, and Bacon Austria launching the second period with starter Kiefer Ravena. Just a little over a minute into the quarter, Ravena stripped former Ateneo Team B player Robin Tan of the ball after an inbound for an easy layup. Minutes after, he did the exact same thing to Sheak Sheriff. UST’s lone bright light in the first half was pointguard Jeric Fortuna whose stellar defense and 3 steals in the first two quarters made Ateneo’s halfcourt game go to work. With 39.4 seconds left before halftime, UST’s Louie Vigil was called for faceguarding Nico Salva who made the basket along with the two technical freethrows. Possession remained with Ateneo which resulted in another perimeter jumper by Salva who scored 6 points in less than a minute. UST’s Kevin Ferrer fouled Ravena with just 6.7 left in the half that sent the latter to the stripe and upped the Blue Eagle lead to 40-22 before halftime.

The Blue Eagles continued their aggressiveness in the third quarter with Ravena making two consecutive fastbreaks at the 8 minute mark, the second coming off a steal. Midway into the quarter, back-to-back three-point plays from Nico Salva and another Kiefer Ravena fastbreak from an outlet pass by Kirk Long extended the margin to 30, 57-27. Oping Sumalinog forced a UST turnover at midcourt with 20 seconds left before dishing off to Gonzaga for a three that put Ateneo ahead 66-37. Two freethrows from Justin Chua right before the end of the quarter gave Ateneo a commanding 31 point advantage.

The fourth quarter saw more minutes for the Ateneo bench with Coach Norman sending in Poy Erram and rookies Von Pessumal and Gwynne Capacio just a bit past the 7 minute mark. A Jeric Fortuna three cut the lead to 23 with 6 minutes left. Big Man Justin Chua provided his veteran smarts to steady the unit on the floor. Chua hit a hook in the paint over Melo Afuang with 4:45 left for the 74-50 lead. An older, more experienced UST five tried to trim the lead, hitting a few shots until Chua again connected with an undergoal stab at the 2:25 mark to put Ateneo up by 18. Rookie guard Bonjovi Cipriano made his first output in the UAAP boxscores after splitting a pair of freethrows then moments later making another basket to finish with 3 points. With just seconds remaining, Erram had a huge block on Afuang, clipping the ball on the backboard that secured the 25-point victory for Ateneo.

Nico Salva finished the game with 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 assists in just 20 minutes of action. Justin Chua had 18 points and a block. Kiefer Ravena continued his unrookie-like performance with 14 points, a rebound, 2 assists, and 3 steals. UST’s Jeric Teng, Karim Abdul, and Melo Afuang each had 20, 12, and 10 respectively with Abdul hauling down a remarkable 19 boards. Ateneo was 90.3% from the freethrow line today on 28/31 shooting which was a big factor in securing the win.

The Eagles are now 5 wins away from sweeping the eliminations, an outright seat in the Finals, and a thrice-to-beat advantage. Asked about this possibility, Coach Norman quickly dismisses getting ahead of themselves. “The challenge is to be as consistent as possible”, says the grand-slam, multi-titled coach, “The only time we’ll be giving it a thought is when we’re 13-0″.

The Blue Eagles will try to extend their winning streak to 10 games when they face the University of the East Red Warriors on Thursday, August 25, 1 pm at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

STATS OF THE GAME
SCORES:
ATENEO (82): Salva 20, Chua 18, Ravena 14, Monfort 8, Long 7, Slaughter 6, Cipriano 3, Gonzaga 3, Sumalinog 2, Erram 1, Pessumal 0, Capacio 0, Estrada 0, Tiongson 0, Golla 0, Austria 0

UST (57): Teng 20. Abdul 12, Afuang 10, Fortuna 7, Ferrer 4, Vigil 2, Lo 2, Tan 0, Sheriff 0, Pe 0, Ungria 0, Camus 0

Written by Mikko Abello