Eagles outclass Warriors, near sweep
Credit to Author: JEREMIAH M. SEVILLA| Date: Sun, 20 Oct 2019 16:16:04 +0000
Ateneo de Manila University ran roughshod over the hapless University of the East (UE), 84-50, to inch nearer to a sweep in Season 82 University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball tournament on Sunday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.
Simply a cut above the rest, the Blue Eagles flaunted its balanced offense early en route to soaring to their 12th straight win — just two victories away from an eliminations sweep that automatically grants a finals seat.
“I’m very proud of the team. It was a very solid performance from them,” said Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin, whose squad just needs to hurdle National University and finals rival University of the Philippines for a perfect campaign in the 14-game eliminations.
Graduating big man Isaac Go fired a season-high 13 points anchored on three triples in just 15 minutes of play to pace the Katipunan-based team’s spread-out attack.
“It’s just the embodiment of our ‘next man up’ (mantra). Everybody is ready to perform,” said the veteran 6-foot-7 center.
Ivorian slotman Ange Kouame racked up 11 points, eight rebounds and three blocks while skipper Thirdy Ravena also tallied 11 markers to go with seven boards and two assists.
All but two of the other 13 Eagles contributed on the offensive end as the Ateneo bench outgunned its UE counterpart, 47-25.
“It’s great to have players who work extremely hard and have them on the floor for some meaningful minutes,” said Baldwin.
Ateneo broke away early on as it posted a massive 40-23 lead on Adrian Wong’s triple with 15 seconds to go in the second quarter.
The Eagles uncorked a 13-0 blast fueled by Matt Nieto to start the second half for a comfortable 53-25 cushion.
It was practically game over from there as Ateneo’s buffer ballooned to as high as 36 points, 82-46, on Go’s and-one play late in the game.
Senegalese center Alex Diakhite had 15 points and 15 rebounds while fellow one-and-done player Rey Suerte had 10 markers for UE, which bowed out of contention for the 10th straight season with its fourth consecutive defeat and an overall 3-9 slate.
The Red Warriors last entered the Final Four a decade ago when they made it to the championship series behind Paul Lee but fell short to Ateneo, which scored the second title in its five-peat run.