Eagles tame Bulldogs, 82-65

The Sultan of Steal is back. After a series of games that featured injuries and frustrations at the offensive end, Ateneo team captain Eric Salamat has silenced all doubts about his game by leading the Blue Eagles to an 82-65 win over an energetic National University squad. Salamat led all scorers with 20 points and contributed five assists, three steals, and a block. The Eagles’ win over NU, on the feast of St Ignatius at the Araneta Coliseum, advances their record to 3-2.

Salamat heated things up drawing first blood with a lay up as soon as Ateneo gained possesion from the opening tip off. Salamat started alongside Kirk Long, Frank Golla, Ryan Buenafe, and Justin Chua.

NU started the first quarter strongly on the defensive end holding the blue shirts to five points mid-way into the quarter. Bulldog defense made it impossible for the Eagles’ low post unit to operate. The Eagles were forced to earn points from the freethrow line. Back to back baskets by Nico Salva and Long at the four-minute mark broke the offensive drought for the Blue Eagles. The dreadfully outrebounded (7-13) defending champions had their worst first quarter finish of the season, 11-17.

The Eagles played to the NU’s steady beat early in the second quarter. Trailing by as much as 14 points (14-28) in the second period, Ateneo stayed afloat thanks to Salamat’s 100% freethrow shooting. Baskets from Golla and rookie Arthur dela Cruz kept the Bulldogs within reach. But it was a Juami Tiongson three with 1:41 remaining in the half that injected life into the Hail Mary Squad and cut NU’s lead down to a manageable 29-34.

Salva fed off the shift in momentum, shot a 17-footer to put the Eagles 31-34. He picked up fouls in the dying seconds of the first half and shot both charities. Half time score read 33-34.

Poised to stage a win from behind, the Eagles started the second half determined to win. NU opened the quarter with a three from their top scorer Joseph Hermosisima, but Long answered back with his own trey to keep the game close 36-37.

Two and a half minutes into the quarter, Buenafe pulled in the defense as he drove to the basket only to throw the ball out to a wide open Salamat who shot a three to give the lead back to Ateneo, 40-37. The stellar play gave Buenafe his seventh assist, and Salamat 15 points.

A Long three gave the Eagles a 10-point advantage, 56-46, with a little under three minutes remaining in the third quarter. Long had an almost perfect second half, scoring 16 of his 19 points in the latter 20 minutes of the game. He shot four of his four attempts from beyond the arc.

Ateneo had 28 points in the third canto alone and limited NU to only 14. The Eagles ended the quarter with a commanding 13-point lead, 61-48.

With their offense operating mostly from the three-point area, the Bulldogs scrambled to regain the lead from the defending champions. The NU squad made only six of their 19 three-point attempts in the second half. The fourth quarter wasn’t particularly good to them either. Ateneo led all throughout the last 10 minutes of the game by as much as 17 points.

Tonino Gonzaga picked up big rebounds and was a force to be reckoned with on the defensive end. Adding poetry to the big win, Salamat shot the final basket with 12 seconds left in the game that led the Eagles to an 82-65 victory.

The Eagles look to sweep their remaining first round games against a winless University of the Philippines FIghting Maroons on August 5, Thursday at the Araneta Coliseum at 4PM, and last season’s runners up the UE Red Warriors on Sunday, August 8 at the Philsports Arena at 4.

Know the numbers of the Ateneo vs NU game here

By Franch Baja with reports from Chris Reyes