ATENEO proved too much to handle for University of Santo Tomas on Friday, hammering out an 89-72 victory in the Filoil Flying V Preseason Premier Cup on Friday.
Mike Nieto led Ateneo with 15 points while Isaac Go scored 10 for the Blue Eagles, who finally barged into the win column after two losses while spoiling the debut of new UST reinforcement Steve Akomo.
Ateneo raced off to scintillating 29-14 start and seized control from there. Its lead even ballooned to 25, 63-38, on Chibueze Ikeh's putback with 3:19 left in the third quarter.
The Tigers gained some steam to close within 81-68 late in the fourth period before Ateneo broke away for good.
"We're a work in progress like everybody else right now," said Ateneo coach Tab Baldwin. "We're just looking at the details of our play right now."
Jordan Sta. Ana and Jeepy Faundo paced UST with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Akomo, a transferee from the University of the Visayas, had nine points, eight rebounds, and two steals for the Tigers.
The Scores:
ATENEO 89 - Mi. Nieto 15, Go 10, Ikeh 9, Asistio 9, White 9, Ma. Nieto 7, Verano 6, Wong 6, Ravena 5, Tio 5, Porter 3, Tolentino 3, Black 2, Mendoza 0, Mamuyac 0, Ildefonso 0.
UST 72 - Sta. Ana 11, Faundo 10, Akomo 9, Lee 7, Escalambre 7, Afoakwah 7, De Guzman 6, Garcia 5, Garrido 4, Macasaet 3, Huang 1, Basibas 1, Caunan 1, Romero 0, Soriano 0.
Quarterscores: 29-14, 45-28, 66-48, 89-72.
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