Eagles trump Maroons, 78-53

It was definitely more than a friendly pick-up game between neighbors as the Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles went up against their neighbors from the north of Katipunan Avenue. Coach Norman Black sent in Frank Golla, Ryan Buenafe, Eric Salamat, Kirk Long, and Justin Chua against the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons.

A twinner from Golla off a Salamat steal started things off for the Blue Eagles. Ateneo looked like they were going to capitalize on their big men’s height advantage, as Chua also chipped in a couple of points. But State U quickly reminded Ateneo that they got away with one last season, and a slow start off the bench by Nico Salva had the Eagles hitting a dry spell on offense. The score line read 12-13 as the quarter ended.

As the second quarter began, Salva’s offense also started up. It was still pretty even scoring from both sides and it was just 18-19 with 6:40 still in the quarter. Free throws from Salva, followed by a lightning quick block-steal-jumper from rookie Arthur dela Cruz put the Eagles in front by a few markers. Salamat, still looking a little sluggish, missed 2 of 3 free throws awarded him off an ill-advised UP foul. But a booming triple from former Eaglet Juami Tiongson followed quickly by a shot from Salamat had things looking up for the  boys from Loyola Heights. Coupled with no nonsense defense from dela Cruz and Golla, the Eagles slowly began to build their lead. A couple more threes — another from Tiongson and one from Salva — hoisted Ateneo to a 38-25 advantage at the end of the 2nd quarter.

A Ryan Buenafe 2 opened up 3rd quarter scoring for the Eagles as they continued to put a little more space between them and the Maroons. A definitive block from Chua further punctuated the Ateneo defense, and as UP sued for time with little more than 4 minutes to go, the Eagles held a commanding 20-point lead. The game became increasingly physical, but no calls were made on skirmishes between Salva and UP’s Co and Escueta and UP’s Mikey Reyes. As the whistle blew to signal the end of the 3rd quarter, the smoke cleared with the Blue Eagles holding a 54-30 lead.

Threes from both teams opened the final quarter, as UP tried to hold its own against the Eagles. Escueta and Co were assessed a foul apiece as they manhandled each other while jockeying for position. State U matched Ateneo shot-for-shot, but was not able to do any more than that. It was a great scoring day for Tiongson, who shot yet another triple, making it 3 for 3 from beyond the arc. The Eagles refused to slack off, still going after each rebound in every play. A 2 from Jeric Estrada, his first points as an Eagle, was simply icing on the cake for Ateneo, who romped away with a 78-53 finish.

Coach Black said that they were able to do what they wanted defensively in the last three quarters, especially holding UP down to 5 points in the 3rd. He also commended Tiongson’s game, saying that he had been shooting very well during practice.

“He is really a scoring point guard and we call plays for him when he enters the game, to utilize his scoring ability,” Coach Black said.

Tiongson ended the game with 3 of 3 from 3 point land and 13 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists in just 13 minutes. Salva and Salamat bucked slow starts and produced 18 and 12 points each. Salva also had 2 blocks, while Salamat had 9 assists and 4 cat-quick steals.

Know the numbers of the Ateneo vs UP game here

Ateneo now stands at 4-2, tied with La Salle and Adamson for the second spot. They will close out the first round of eliminations on August 8 against last year’s runners-up, UE Red Warriors.

Coach Black does not take the slumping UE lightly. “We still need to take care of business. UE is struggling at the moment, but we still have to respect them, because they deserve that respect. We don’t want to take them for granted,” he said.

By Ceres Lina and Diego Santiago