REIGNING UAAP kings Ateneo Blue Eagles took flight and rallied against fierce adversity to escape the NCAA champions Letran Knights, 90-85, in the SBP Invitational Games matchup on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Ateneo vs Letran SBP Invitational Games recap
A crucial string of clutch shots in the last two minutes, capped by a pair of Lebron Nieto free throws, sealed an impressive comeback for the Katipunan side.
Gilas standout Mason Amos' towering performance fueled Ateneo's impressive comeback with a team-high 16-point production.
Albeit closely contested, Ateneo struggled to erase multiple five-point deficits at the end of the first two frames.
They did, however, cut the gap to a single possession at 66-68 ahead of the final ten minutes of play.
California-based standout Matthew de Luna pounced with the go-ahead triple to give Ateneo a 71-70 edge to begin the fourth frame on full throttle.
Letran's Kurt Reyson (23 points) and Kobe Monje (20 points) tried to spoil what was once a brewing Blue Eagle fightback but eventually lost out to the hot hands of Amos & Co.
"We know that [Letran] has a proud program with very physical players and young guns," Ateneo mentor Tab Baldwin said.
"Reyson [in particular] is a hell of a player," he added. "So we had to make just a couple of late schemes to make sure that we can make the most out of our opportunities and the boys executed them really well."
The scores:
Ateneo (90) - Amos 16, Brown 15, Demisana 10, Nieto 10, Obasa 9, De Luna 6, Gamber 6, Garcia 5, Asoro 2, Ong 0.
Letran (85) - Reyson 23, Monje 20, Santos 15, Galvez 8, Ariar 7, Jumao-as 5, Go 3, Nunag 2, Tolentino 2, Lantaya 0, Morales 0.
Quarters: 15-19, 41-46, 66-68, 90-85.
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