UE hands Ateneo third loss

It all came down to the wire. With 42 seconds left in the game, Ateneo was down 59-61. UE’s Ezer Rosopa fouled out of the game sending Emman Monfort to the line. Monfort split his charities and missed out on the chance to tie the game.

Ateneo had final possession. Kirk Long, Frank Golla, and Justin Chua were scampering, dying to make a basket before the time expired. Instead, they sent Paul Lee to the line. Lee’s final freethrow cut Ateneo’s second round winning streak as the game ended 60-62.

Coming out of halftime, tied with UE at 27, the Boys in Blue huddled sans the coaches. Long told goATENEO.com, “We just wanted to come out with more energy, execute more on defense and offense a little bit better and match their physical play on both sides of the court.”

A rather somber Nico Salva told goATENEO.com after the game, “Sabi ni coach we lost the game yesterday.” He shared that the team had struggled during practice the night before. Salva was scoreless throughout the game and turned the ball over twice in the opening quarter.

Coming off a big win against archrivals La Salle last Sunday, the Eagles shot only 27% against UE. Long said, “We broke down on defense, we needed to move the ball around a little bit better.”

The Eagles have an 8-3 win-loss record and share the number 2 spot with the Adamson Falcons. Both teams meet on Sunday, Aug 29, 4PM at the Araneta Coliseum.