Eagles soar past Maroons

MANILA, Philippines - Ateneo stepped on the gas early and didn’t let up until the final buzzer, scoring a monstrous 87-67 win over University of the Philippines yesterday in the 2010 Filoil Flying V Tanduay First Five Pre-Season Invitational Cup at the Filoil Flying V Arena.

Billed as the “battle of Katipunan teams” the match turned into a mismatch as early as the first quarter when the Blue Eagles built a 28-19 bubble and continued to pour it on in the next three quarters.

The victory gave the Eagles the solo lead in Group A at 4-1, half a game ahead of archrival La Salle (3-1), while the Maroons dropped to 2-2 in this tournament presented by Mighty Bond Extreme, with major sponsors Total Phils. Corp., San Marino Corned Tuna, Accel, Filoil Gas Company, Flying V and Hanesbrands, the official outfitter, and also backed by BDO, Pagcor Sports, Jimms Coffee Mix, Bacchus Energy Drink, Adidas, Bayo, Kaspersky Isecure Networks, Zest Air, Monster Radio RX 93.1 and Pilipinas Sife.

“I think we executed well. We have the energy. We were also surprised with our big lead, so I gave the other guys the chance to play,” said Ateneo coach Norman Black.

Earlier, Jose Rizal University slipped past College of St. Benilde, 71-69, for its second win in three games.

Nchotu Njei led the Heavy Bombers with 16 points and got plenty of help from Joe Etame of Cameroon, who debuted for JRU with a double-double stint of 14 points and a game-best 18 rebounds. – With report from Koji Echeminada