Tigers down Eagles at home turf to wrap up first-round bid

MANILA, Philippines — University of Santo Tomas defended home court, clawing the Ateneo Blue Eagles, 80-68, in their UAAP Season 89 men’s basketball clash Saturday evening at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion in Manila. 

In front of a crowd made up of mostly Thomasians, UST dropped a 29-10 third quarter to take the game by its horns and keep the visitors at bay. 

Collins Akowe flexed his muscles with 18 points, 15 rebounds, four blocks and two assists. Mark Llemit and Amiel Acido added 15 markers each. 

The game was close through the half, with UST leading by just two, 34-32, after the first two quarters.

The Tigers then opened the third quarter with a 15-0 run, with Llemit, Acido and Kirk Canete leading the charge to break the game open, 49-32. 

Ateneo finally broke the scoring drought with free throws by Kieffer Alas and Mike Asoro, but UST was just too good to stop.

The lead grew to as much as 21 points, 63-42, after a late triple by Landyn Jumawan. 

The Blue Eagles, though, tried to storm back, slicing the deficit to 13, 53-66, in the fourth after a pair of freebies by Shawn Tuano. 

But the deficit was too big to rally back from as timely shots by Llemit and Akowe slammed the door shut on Ateneo. 

Alas top-scored for the Blue Eagles with 18 points on a 5-of-20 shooting. He also had four assists, three rebounds and two steals. Andrew Bongo added 13 markers and six boards in the loss.

UST thus finished the first round of eliminations with two straight wins as they rose to a 4-3 win-loss record. Ateneo dropped its third straight game as it slid to a 3-4 slate.