MANILA, Philippines – The UAAP Season 80 Juniors Basketball tournament resumed on Saturday, January 27, at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan. 

The matchups were reminiscent of the UAAP Season 80 seniors basketball counterparts, where Ateneo faced De La Salle Zobel, Far Eastern University-FERN Baby Tamaraws fought tooth-and-nail with the Adamson University Baby Falcons, the National University Bullpups squared off against the UPIS Junior Maroons. and University Santo Tomas Tiger Cubs went against the University of the East Junior warriors. 

Ateneo remains undefeated

The Ateneo Blue Eaglets and the De La Salle Zobel Junior Archers opened the game day with a rivalry match that saw the Blue Eaglets remain undefeated in the league with an 11-0 standing.

The Blue Eaglets got off to a slow start as they trailed the Junior Archers by 3 points, 22-19, at the end of the first. Kai Sotto and Enrico Manuel led the scoring in the following quarter to take the lead by a slim margin. The Blue Eaglets outscored the Archers, 23-16, in the second period alone. 

SJ Belangel finally broke free after the Junior Archers limited him to only 5 points in the first half. The undefeated team managed to stretch the lead to 18 points at the end of the third (70-52).

A scuffle erupted between Matthew Escalona and Neon Chavez with 32.7 seconds left in the third, where Chavez was charged an unsportsmanlike foul while Escalona received a warning for taunting.

The Blue Eaglets closed out the game up by 20 points, 93-73, as Belangel finished with 21 points, 3 assists, and 3 steals.

Raven Cortez and Chris Calimag led the Junior Archers with 14 points apiece, while Nat Consenjo managed to tally 13 points behind them. 

Baby Tams slip past Baby Falcons

The FEU Baby Tamaraws and the Adamson Baby Falcons tipped the second game off to an even match as each team wanted to break away from the 3-way tie at 5-5.

Down 33-30 at the half, the FEU Tamaraws nabbed the lead once again in the third quarter. A buzzer beating putback from the Baby Falcons side trimmed the lead to 4 points.

The Baby Tamaraws planned to finish the game with a strong start to the fourth quarter as Xyrus Torres and LJ Gonzales drained back-to-back threes, making it a 10-point lead (59-49).

However, the Adamson Baby Falcons continued to rely on outside shooting to make it a two-point game at the two-minute mark of the game (70-68). Jose Sabandal pulled off a runner to cut the deficit to one-point with 54.6 seconds left in the game. (72-71).

Hearts raced during the dying seconds of the match as the Baby Tams missed two shots and failed to convert a turnover they enforced on Adamson. After Adamson called a timeout with 4 seconds to go, the Baby Tams made crucial stops to make up for their blunder and took the game.

Daniel Celso flirted with a double-double as he scored 17 points and grabbed 9 rebounds for the Baby Tams. RJ Abarrientos followed with 16 points while LJ Gonzales chipped in 15 points.

Sabandal Jose led the Adamson’s 3-point shooting as he tallied a total of 22 points on a 50% shooting from beyond the arc. 

Bullpups dominate UPIS

The UPIS Junior Maroons failed to garner their 4th win as the National University Bullpups dominated the game, 91-60.

Four Bullpups put up double digits with Winderich Coyoca leading the team with 16 points, 4 rebounds, and two assists. Terrence Fortea and King Vinoya followed with 12 points apiece, while Rhayyan Amsali followed with a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Matt Santiago led the Junior Maroons with 19 points and 7 rebounds, followed by Joelo Tupaz who recorded a double-double of 10 points and 14 rebounds and played for 37.5 minutes. 

UE Junior Warriors melt down vs UST Tiger Cubs

Having ended the first quarter up by 3, the University of the East Junior Warriors were looking to stun the University of Santo Tomas Tiger Cubs. John Cansino led the Tiger Cubs to regain the lead in the second period and get ahead of the Warriors by 4 points at the half, 43-39.

The Junior Warriors managed to stay close to the Tiger Cubs in the third quarter, as Shane Dichoso scored 12 points alone in the period. The Tiger Cubs found their rhythm in the last minutes of the third and pulled away the lead to seal the game, 88-76.

John Cansino led the heroics of UST as he recorded a double-double of 19 points and 14 rebounds. Cyril Narvasa chipped in 17 points, while John Lina also put up his own double-double of 14 points and 16 rebounds. 

Shane Dichoso dominated the scoring of UE, dropping 26 points and 5 triples throughout the game. Agem Miranda followed behind with 18 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists. 

The next UAAP Season 80 Juniors tournament will be held at the Blue Eagle Gym in Ateneo de Manila University on Sunday, February 4. 

The Scores

Ateneo (93) – Belangel 21, Sotto 16, Manuel 14, Angeles 8, Ildefonso 7, Escalona 7, Jaymalin 6, Chiu 5, Credo 4, Lopa 3, Diaz 2, David 0, Gusi 0, Santos 0, Tanedo 0.

DLSZ (73) – Calimag 14, Cortez 14, Consejo 13, Pascual 9, Escandor 7, Santos 4, Terrado 4, Carlos 3, Udal 2, Barcuma 2, Chavez 1, Bonalos 0, Vesagas 0, Buncayo 0, Favis 0.

Quarterscores: 19-22, 42-38, 70-52, 93-73. 

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FEU-FERN (72) – Celzo 17, Abarrientos 16, Gonzales 15, Torres 8, Tolentino 6, Sajonia 5, Alforque 3, Boc 2, Ona 0, Mariano 0.

Adamson (71) – Sabandal 22, Doria An 14, Hanapi 12, Doria Ad 8, Canoy 8, Engbino 3, Manlapaz 2, Baculio 2, Prodigo 0, Santos 0, Sevilla 0.

Quarter Scores: 16-16, 30-33, 53-49, 72-71. 

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NU (91) – Coyoca 16, Fortea 12, Vinoya 12, Amsali 11, Javilonar 7, Manalang 6, Minerva 6, Oczon 5, Felicida 4, Dayrit 4, Malonzo 3, Pangilinan 3, Gonzales 2, Pradella 0.

UPIS (60) – Santiago 19, Tupaz 10, Gregorio 9, Labao Ral 7, Vergeire 7, Labao Raf 6, Estrera 2, Villa-real 0, Lopez 0, Gomez de Liano 0, Dimaculangan 0.

Quarter Scores: 20-14, 47-26, 69-43, 91-60. 

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UST (88) – Cansino 19, Narvasa 17, Lina 14, Villapando 11, Benzonan 8, Anunciacion 8, Baquial 7, Esplana 4, Manabat 0, Relicio 0, Co 0, Estrella 0, Dela Cruz 0.

UE (76) – Dichoso 26, Miranda 18, Tajonera 9, Angeles 8, Dulalia 6, Lopez 4, Almacen 3, Vinte 2, Villarta 0, Policarpio 0, Santos 0.

Quarter Scores: 19-21, 43-39, 70-57, 88-76.

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Season 80 Standings (as of Jan. 27, 2018)

School Win-Loss Record

ADMU 11-0

NU 9-2

UST 6-5

FEU-D 6-5

AdU 5-6

UPIS 3-8

DLSZ 3-8

UE 1-10

– Rappler.com