Ravena lifts Eagles over scrappy Warriors

Kiefer the finisher

MANILA, Philippines -  Atoning from his endgame meltdown last time, Kiefer Ravena rifled in nine of his 16 points in the payoff period to lift Ateneo to 78-73 victory over University of the East and back into the solo lead in the UAAP Season 77 men’s basketball tournament at the MOA Arena yesterday.

Ravena, who initially let Chris Newsome and Von Pessumal run the show, took charge in the crunch and knocked down a pair of charities followed by a booming trey that gave the Eagles a 76-72 cushion going to the last 14.2 seconds.

The win put Ateneo back on track after an 86-88 setback to rival La Salle last Sunday and installed the Eagles at the pace with 7-2. The Warriors dropped to 4-5.

“What can I say, parang ginawa lang ng teammates ni Kiefer nag-bake sila tapos si Kiefer ang naglagay ng icing, ng frosting (It’s like the rest of the team baked the cake and Kiefer was there to put the icing),” said Ateneo coach Bo Perasol.

The 6-foot Ravena got the leather from Newsome, dribbled to the left, shrugged off defender Renz Palma, and launched it from top of the rainbow territory.

“As any player would do after a loss, I just wanted to bounce back. Crucial misses for me in that loss to La Salle and I wanted to bounce back,” said Ravena, who also had eight rebounds and seven assists. “I was also motivated to play even more by the chants of ‘one big flop’ by UE and the cheers of the Ateneans.”

Newsome fired a season-high 23 points plus six rebounds, two steals and two assists to lead Ateneo while Pessumal added 13, including two free throws in the last 8.1 seconds that sealed it.

“I was telling Kiefer at the five, six-minute mark to up the ante because he seems to be coasting. In the end he delivered. It also helped that we had our best start in five games and didn’t have play catchup anymore. Plus Von, Chris and Nico (Elorde) were there for defense, shooting and leadership,” Perasol said.

Charles Mammie had 18 rebounds and 15 points while Sumang had 10 after a scoreless first half to pace UE.

Earlier, National U ran roughshod over a hapless Adamson side, 71-50, to break a two-game slump and improve to 6-3 while formally eliminating the Falcons (0-9) from Final Four contention.

Although the Falcons doubled their previous tally from a record-low 25 points in a 37-point blowout the first time, the Falcons limped with two markers in the second quarter, allowing the Bulldogs to pull away. Those two points were the lowest output in a quarter since Ateneo scored that little in a 72-76 loss to NU way back August 2003.

“Very pivotal talaga yung second quarter. Our second unit stepped up, medyo low energy yung first unit. Yung second unit sila ang nag-provide ng spark (The second quarter was the pivotal point. Our first unit lacked the energy but our second unit stepped up and provided the spark),”said Altamirano.

Boosted by their good game in a 61-59 loss to Santo Tomas last Saturday, the Falcons fought the Bulldogs toe to toe in the early goings and even led by 14-10.

It was then that Altamirano sent in the likes of Rev Diputado, Pao Javelona and Reden Celda, who joined forces in a 22-0 blast bridging the first and the second to seize a 32-14 tear. The Falcons broke their long silence via  a jumper by Jansen Rios but that was all they could manage as the Bulldogs countered with a 10-0 salvo to widen the gap further, 42-16 at the turn.

“We’re just happy to get this win. We know how important this game was for us (in the race for the Final Four),” said Altamirano, whose wards closed in on the lead pack.

Gelo Alolino (14 points and five assists) and Glenn Khobuntin (12 markers, six boards) topped scoring for NU, which led by as many as 31.

Don Trollano and Rios paced the Falcons with 15 and 10, respectively.

The scores:

First Game

NU 71 – Alolino 14, Khobuntin 12, Aroga 7, Betayene 6, Celda 6, Javelona 6, Rosario 6, Diputado 5, Alejandro 3, Neypes 3, Perez 2, Salim 1, Atangan 0, Cauilan 0, Tansingco 0.

AdU 50 – Trollano 15, Rios 10, Inigo 7, Nalos 7, Garcia 6, Aquino 3, Ochea 2, Baytan 0, Butron 0, Donahue 0, Gumtang 0, Monteclaro 0, Pedrosa 0, Polican 0, Villanueva 0.

Quarterscores: 18-14, 42-16, 59-28, 71-50

Second Game

AdMU 78 – Newsome 23, K. Ravena 16, Pessumal 13, Elorde 11, Gotladera 11, Babilonia 2, Capacio 2, T. Ravena 1, A. Tolentino 0, V. Tolentino 0.

UE 73 – Mammie 15, Sumang 10, De Leon 8, Varilla 8, Alberto 7, Jumao-as 7, Olayon 7, Arafat 4, Palma 3, Galanza 2, Javier 2, Guiang 0.

Quarterscores: 15-11, 35-32, 54-51, 78-73