ATENEO ended a three-game skid — its longest in the last decade — with a 67-59 win over a woeful University of Santo Tomas side on Wednesday in the UAAP Season 86 men’s basketball tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Kai Ballungay kept the Blue Eagles' Final Four bid alive at 5-6 (win-loss) with 15 points and 14 rebounds.
UST’s 10th loss in 11 games eliminated the Tigers from Final Four contention.
READ: Arespacochaga defiant as Ateneo's Final Four hopes dim
“I’m really pleased with our defense. We had some breakdowns in giving Nic (Cabañero) opportunities he shouldn’t get. Generally speaking, I think the essence of our defense was pretty good,” said Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin in his first game back from a viral infection.
“But the other end of the floor, we just didn’t shoot the ball well. We generated a lot of good shots. The more we missed, the more UST was determined to stick to the zone [defense],” he added.
Hailing from Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu, prized rookie Raffy Celis made the most of his 16 minutes of play with eight points and 11 rebounds — nine of which were off the offensive boards.
Even with a dismal seven-point output in the third quarter on 3-of-22 shooting, breakout scoring games from Chris Koon (12 points) and Jared Brown (10 points) saved Ateneo from UST's late 10-2 fourth quarter run for its fifth victory.
Valiant as Cabañero's near triple-double of 16 points, 10 boards, and seven dimes might was, the now-eliminated Tigers officially missed out on the Final Four for the third season running.
The scores:
Ateneo (67) – Ballungay 15, Koon 12, Brown 10, Amos 8, Celis 8, Obasa 7, Nieto 3, Quitevis 2, Chiu 2, Credo 0, Lazaro 0, Espinosa 0, Gomez 0.
UST (59) – Cabañero 16, Pangilinan 13, Duremdes 9, Manalang 6, Magdangal 5, Laure 4, Llemit 3, Manaytay 2, Calum 1, Crisostomo 0, Moore 0, Gesalem 0, Lazarte 0.
Quarterscores: 22-12, 43-29, 50-43, 67-59
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
