Blue Eagle overcome Warriors for fourth straight win

Greg Slaughter came up with a double-double performance for the Blue Eagles Saturday afternoon as Ateneo handed the UE Red Warriors their fourth loss of Season 74 in as many games, 73-61.

The first half was a relatively close battle between this year’s host and the still winless Warriors. Ateneo sped to a quick 4-0 lead after a basket from Kirk Long followed by a Slaughter dunk. A tough Ateneo defense held UE scoreless for the first 3 minutes of play. Rookies Slaughter & Kiefer Ravena paced the Blue Eagles with identical offensive outputs finishing the first 2 quarters with 7 points apiece to put the Blue and White on top by 3 at halftime, 28-25.

The third quarter saw a more spirited Ateneo squad emerge from the dugout. Slaughter led the offensive charge for the Blue Eagles while UE forward Christopher Javier tried to come up with a response, making all but 2 of his 9 point total in the third juncture of the ballgame. UE head coach Jerry Codinera tried to find an answer to Slaughter by alternating Javier & Erwin Duran at playing defense on the 7-foot center but neither Red Warrior could do much against him in the paint. Point guard Juami Tiongson also provided help on offense with timely drives to the basket that led to a 51-39 tearaway at the close of the third.

It took a combined effort from starters Slaughter, Ravena, Long, Nico Salva, and Emman Monfort to maintain that 12 point margin and close out the game. With 4:08 left on the clock, Monfort forced a turnover and finished on the other end to put Ateneo up,63-47. 71-53 A breakaway dunk by Ravena with just a little over a minute left extended the lead to as much as 18.

Ateneo’s inside game was on today with most of their shots coming from inside the paint, converting 21 of 36. On the other hand, they shot a miserable 5.9% from beyond the arc with only Monfort making his team’s lone three out of 17 attempts in the fourth quarter. Ateneo also turned to their running game once again trumping UE’s, 19-4.

Slaughter finished the game with 18 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 blocks in 31 minutes of action. Ravena had 13 points and 4 assists. Paul Zamar and John Noble combined for 24 for UE.

“It wasn’t the prettiest game, that’s for sure”, Coach Norman said after the game. The former PBA Grand Slam coach credited Slaughter for his contribution to their campaign this season adding that the big man sticks close to the team concept.

“The Ateneo team has a balanced attack. We like it that way because it makes it more difficult for other teams to defend us. Greg is important to that system”, the veteran mentor said.

The Blue Eagles will try to extend their winning streak to 5 next Saturday as they face neighbors UP Fighting Maroons.

SCORES:

ATENEO – Slaughter 18, Ravena 13, Salva 10, Monfort 9, Long 9, Tiongson 8, Erram 2, Chua 2, Austria 2, Pessumal 0, Sumalinog 0, Gonzaga 0, Golla 0

UE- Zamar 13, Noble 11, Javier 9, Santos 7, De Leon 6, Sumang 5, Enguio 5, Chavez 2, Tagarda 2, Flores 1, Montelibano 0, Sumido 0, Duran 0

Written by: Mikko Abello