Eagles survive Archers on Matt Nieto's late-game heroics

Updated Oct. 8, 2017 | 7:10 pm

MANILA, Philippines —The Ateneo Blue Eagles exhaled and the Green Archers sighed, letting go of the only breaths left to them after an exhilarating and exhausting game to cap the UAAP’s first round.

Ateneo held off a furious La Salle rally in the final frame, 76-75, to remain spotless in the 80th UAAP men's basketball tournament.

Third-year guard Matt Nieto hit two clutch free throws to wrest the lead from the reigning champions and to negate what could have been a late-game disaster after leading by as many as 14 points.

Archers Ben Mbala and Kib Montalbo had a chance to pull the rug on their foes as the game wound down, but Ateneo's interior defense proved to be air-tight.

“I was just relaxed. We're always practicing that -- it's the same free throws. I shot it like just like (in my ) normal routine,” Nieto said of his looks from the charity stripe. "Buti naman nagpay-off ang mga practice."

“It was an Ateneo-La Salle game that a lot of people expected. Both teams played hard. There were times that La Salle looked like they wanted it more, especially in the second and third quarters,” said Blue Eagles deputy coach Sandy Arespacochaga.

Ateneo rode on the hot shooting of its guards, led by Anton Asistio, to build a cushion in the first half. La Salle would then render that useless behind the gritty stand of Ricci Rivero, Jollo Go and the MVP Mbala in the third, ending the canto trailing by just one, 62-63.

"It became a grind in the fourth quarter, good thing we shot the ball well in the first quarter,” he added.

Prior to the freebies, Nieto also flashed his defensive might, hounding La Salle’s inbound play that would’ve enabled the masters of "mayhem" to milk the clock and secure their slim lead with 3.9 left in the game.

“I thank Matt for that,” skipper Thirdy Ravena said of his teammate. "La Salle was really tough.”

Ateneo thus finishes the first phase of the tourney with an unblemished record and a display of their vast arsenal.

De La Salle, on the other hand, ends its first round bid with two losses — the other one dealt in stunning fashion by the Fighting Maroons.

THE SCORES

ATENEO 76 – Nieto Ma 16, Asistio 14, Mendoza 10, Ravena 9, Verano 6, Go 4, Tolentino 4, Nieto Mi 4, Black 4, Mamuyac 3, Ikeh 2

DLSU 75 – Rivero R 19, Mbala 18, Go 11, Rivero P 8, Caracut 5, Paraiso 5, Tratter 4, Montalbo 3, Santillian 2, Gonzales 0

QUARTER SCORES: 28-16, 43-36, 63-62, 76-75