ATENEO said no more overtime this time after escaping with a 62-60 decision over University of the East in the UAAP Season 88 men's basketball tournament on Wednesday at UST Quadricentennial Pavilion in Manila.
Kymani Ladi came through in the clutch, draining the go-ahead three with 22.7 seconds left, as the Blue Eagles' defense held fort late.
Dominic Escobar swiped the ball away from Nico Mulingtapang and split his freebies, while Ladi foiled Precious Momowei's late attempt at the buzzer to help the Katipunan side go up to 2-0.
Just three days ago, Ateneo also had to hold on to score an overtime triumph over Far Eastern University.
"It wasn't the best performance, but it was gutsy. We made the shots we have to make and the stops we have to make," said coach Tab Baldwin, as his side salvaged what would have been a 12-point second half meltdown.
"Give credit to Chris [Gavina] and UE. They really battled today and made it difficult in offense for us. We had a pretty stable first half, but our shooting abandoned us in the second half. We just didn't hit our shots, but at the end of the day, it's defense and rebounding that won us the game."
A win is a win for Ateneo
Indeed, it was a gutsy victory for the Blue Eagles, who shot a paltry 8-of-33 from the field in the second half, but made up for it by winning the rebounding battle, 51 to 41.
Ladi continued to make good account of himself with 18 points and 10 rebounds, matching the preseason hype given to him as the lead of the blue-and-white's one-and-done troika.
Waki Espina also came out of nowhere and dropped a career-best 17 points on 4-of-6 shooting from deep to provide support, as Jared Bahay got eight points, six rebounds, and four assists and Escobar chimed in seven points, six boards, and three steals.
On the flipside, UE went down 0-2, keeping Gavina winless in this new chapter in Recto.
Lingolingo almost delivered the W for the Red Warriors, scoring 12 of his 19 points in the third quarter comeback, on top of his seven rebounds, while John Abate added 11 points, three boards, three assists, and three steals before fouling out with 1:38 left.
The Scores:
ATENEO 62 - Ladi 18, Espina 17, Bahay 8, Escobar 7, Lazaro 3, Gamber 3, Bongo 2, Adili 2, Espinosa 1, Lazo 1, Tuano 0, Ong 0.
UE 60 - Lingolingo 19, Abate 11, Mulingtapang 9, Momowei 9, Jimenez 6, Caoile 4, Malaga 2, Robles 0, Tanedo 0.
Quarters: 21-14, 35-24, 47-47, 62-60.
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