Eagles trounce Tams to stay unbeaten

MANILA, Philippines — Ateneo stayed unscathed in the 82nd UAAP men's basketball tournament, fending off Far Eastern University, 63-46, Saturday at Mall of Asia Arena.

Ange Kouame led the Blue Eagles in their fourth straight win with his 14 points, 12 rebounds, and three blocks, while Adrian Wong scored 13 points on 3-of-5 shooting from deep, on top of five assists.

Thirdy Ravena also did his part with 12 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks for Ateneo, which started off hot of the gates with an 11-0 spurt before holding an 18-3 lead near the end of the opening frame.

That, however, was the last of it as both squads struggled in their offense, with the Blue Eagles going on a 32% field goal as the Tamaraws shot 29%.

Kouame was able to help Ateneo slowly pull away, with his trey at the 4:48 mark of the third quarter erecting a 42-23 lead.

FEU fought back and got to within 10, 51-41, bit that was quickly answered back with a 9-0 spurt for the blue side to hold a 60-41 advantage late.

"From the looks of it, we have to be a good defensive team since we can't knock the ball down even in an ocean. That's what we're trying to do, to keep the offense of the opponents struggling," said coach Tab Baldwin.

What worked for Ateneo was the turnovers, turning FEU's 17 to 18 easy points.

Baldwin also took time to laud the efforts of Will Navarro, who was a plus-30 for Ateneo despite only notching four points and seven rebounds.

"He understands the little things that have to be done and they're the things that make the team play better. So, if we get everybody out there doing all the things that Will is doing, that plus-30 starts to be reflected in a lot of other players numbers and that's what we want to see," said the former national team coach.

Barkley Ebona paced FEU (1-2) with eight points and eight rebounds, as rookie Xyrus Torres scored eight on a 2-of-7 night from deep.

The scores:

ATENEO 63 — Kouame 14, Wong 13, Ravena 12, Mi. Nieto 4,Navarro 4, Mamuyac 3, Ma. Nieto 3, Tio 3, Belangel 2, Daves 2, Go 2, Maagdenberg 1, Andrade 0, Chiu 0, Credo 0, Mallillin 0.

FEU 46 — Ebona 8, Torres 8, Comboy 6, Gonzales 6, Nunag 5, Bienes 4, Tuffin 3, Alforque 2, Tempra 2, Cani 1, Tchuente 1, Celzo 0, Dulatre 0, Mantua 0, Stockton 0.

Quarterscores: 18-6, 23-15, 47-32, 63-46.