ATENEO may be out of the running in the UAAP Season 87 men's basketball tournament, but it did not let University of the East book a Final Four ticket at its expense.
The Blue Eagles emerged victorious anew at UST Quadricentennial Pavilion on Wednesday, taking down the semifinal-dreaming Red Warriors with a 71-67 escape.
Capitalizing on UE playing without Precious Momowei, Jared Bahay took over for Ateneo, first draining the go-ahead three with 1:07 left before his drive was counted on a Devin Fikes goaltend in the final 19.6.
The Red Warriors still had an opportunity to tie the game at 69-all, but Rain Maga missed his driving layup leading to Sean Quitevis icing the game at the free throw line with 8.5 ticks to go.
Bahay unloaded 11 points, two rebounds, and two assists to provide support for Andrew Bongo’s 15 points, six boards, and two assists, and Shawn Tuano’s 13 points, four rebounds, and three dimes.
Chris Koon also got a double-double with 12 points, 10 boards, and two assists, as Josh Lazaro also recorded his own with 11 and 12 to snap a three-game losing skid and rise to 4-9.
It was also the second victory for Ateneo inside the Espana venue after its 67-64 escape from University of Santo Tomasback in Oct. 19.
“There’s more than just pride for them. We have the uniform they’re wearing, trying to live up to the standards of the community, our team and ourselves expect. We played with so much effort and resolve today,” said coach Tab Baldwin, with this fourth win allowing the Katipunan side to match their previous four-win seasons - their worst in the Final Four era.
Still in the Red (Warriors)
On the other hand, UE now finds itself all even for third and fourth with the Growling Tigers at 6-7, as Adamson (5-7) and Far Eastern University (5-8) are right on their tails.
Maga led the Red Warriors with 15 points and three rebounds, John Abate added 11 points and four boards, and Fikes got nine points and 10 rebounds in the losing cause, their fourth consecutive after starting the season at 5-2.
The Scores:
ATENEO 71 – Bongo 15, Tuano 13, Koon 12, Bahay 11, Lazaro 11, Espinosa 5, Quitevis 2, Porter 2, Ong 0, Gamber 0, Espina 0.
UE 67 – Maga 15, Abate 11, Fikes 9, Lingolingo 8, Galang 8, J. Cruz-Dumont 6, Wilson 4, Spandonis 3, H. Cruz-Dumont 2, Malaga 1, Mulingtapang 0.
Quarters: 21-16, 40-31, 55-51, 71-67.
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