THE core of Ateneo’s five-peat championship teams delivered big as the Blue Eagles scored a dominant 97-78 win over the La Salle Green Archers during the ‘Rivalry Day’ of the Pinoyliga Alumni Cup at the FilOil Playtime Arena in San Juan City.
Jai Reyes, who won a pair of titles with the school in 2008 and 2009, led the Blue Eagles with 17 points, doing most of the damage from the three-point arc where he went 4-of-8 while adding six rebounds and two assists as a starter in 27 minutes.
Forward Nico Salva, a part of all of Ateneo’s five championships under coach Norman Black, and guard Kirk Long - a three-time winner from 2008 to 2011 - contributed 15 and 16 points, respectively.
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Long also had seven boards, six assists, and five steals while Salva shot 6-of-7 from the field, including a perfect 3-of-3 from three.
More than the win against their long-time rivals, Long said it was the opportunity to relive those glory days and play again with his ‘brothers for life’ and even against guys from the opposing team that made the game truly memorable.
“To be able to relive some of these memories, spend time with the players before the game, on the bench, on the court is a lot of fun,” said Long.
“I’m just thankful to God that we can still use our bodies and try to glorify Him through this game,” he added.
Chris Tiu, a member of the Ateneo 2008 title unit, scored 12 points, the same scoring output for JC Intal, a member of the 2002 Ateneo champion squad under former coach Joel Banal.
Jerwin Gaco led De La Salle with 15 points, while Rico Maierhofer finished with a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Khasim Mirza, who had a brief stint with DLSU before moving to University of Santo Tomas, added 14 points off the bench.
Mac Cardona was held to seven points on 3-of-7 shooting, including 1-of-5 from the three-point area.
The win improved Ateneo’s record to 2-2, while the Green Archers fell to 1-3.
Meanwhile, the Letran Knights stretched their unbeaten slate to 5-0 as they downed Intramuros rivals Mapua Cardinals, 106-97.
Bryan Faundo led all former Letran players with 20 points, while Jaypee Belencion had 16, Felix Apreku added 15 and Kevin Buenaflor with 12.
Former Mapus gunner Macky Acosta exploded for 30 points but it was not enough to for the Cardinals, who dropped to a 1-3 slate.
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