Unbeaten Eagles clamp down on Falcons; Warriors stun Bulldogs

MANILA, Philippines — Displaying their depth anew, Ateneo de Manila University reasserted its mastery over Adamson University, 71-59, in the nightcap of Saturday’s UAAP action at the Big Dome.

Thirdy Ravena paced the Blue Eagles with 15 points. Vince Tolentino and Isaac Go chimed in eight points each to help their team outscore the Soaring Falcons for four quarters and cruise to their eighth straight victory in the tourney.

"We wanted to make sure our defense did not let us down  We have to commend our guards for playing good defense against Adamson’s guards,” said deputy coach Sandy Arespacochaga.

The Blue Eagles’ defense hounded the Soaring Falcons shooting so bad that they only let Adamson sink one of their 18 attempts from beyond the line.

In the first game, University of the East marched to its first back-to-back win after upsetting National University, 90-77. 

With Alvin Pasaol going cold in the second half, Mark Olayon and Wilson Bartolome made their presence felt. The two cagers led the Red Warriors with 17 and 14 points, respectively, to keep the Bulldogs at bay until the final buzzer sounded.

"We thought about it the whole week: That if we wanna make a run, we have to start the second round on a winning note,” Warriors head coach Derrick Pumaren said.

“(We figured), it will be tighter and tighter,” he continued. “There’s no third round, so  we had to play consistent ball. We showed it tonight."

The victory gives the Recto-based squad their second win in eight outings. 

NU, on the other hand, dropped to 3-5 in the league ladder.

The Scores:

First Game:

UE 90 – Olayon 17, Bartolome 14, Maloles 13, Abanto 13, Pasaol 11, Manalang 7, Cullar 6, Derige 3, Varilla 2, Acuno 2, Conner 2

NU 77 – Gaye 20, Alejandro 16, Bartlett 8, Salem 7, Mosqueda 7, Yu 5, Joson 4, Lastimosa 4, Morido 3, Aquino 3, Diputado 0, Rangel 0, Tibayan 0, Abatayo 0, Cauilan 0

QUARTER SCORES: 21-15, 45-36, 62-59, 90-77

Second Game:

ATENEO 71 – Ravena 15, Tolentino 8, Go 8, Ikeh 7, Black 7, Nieto Mi 6, Asistio 4, Verano 3, Tio 3, Mendoza 3, Andrade 3, Nieto Ma 2, Porter 2, Mamuyac 0, Malillin 0, White 0

ADAMSON 59 – Sarr 15, Pingoy 9, Ahanmisi 6, Hill 6, Espeleta 5, Mustre 5, Manganti 4, Camacho 2, Lojera 2, Ochea 2, Zaldivar 2, Manalang 1, Bernardo 0, Chua 0, Paranada 0

QUARTER SCORES: 16-10, 31-24, 54-41, 71-59