Ateneo vents ire on FEU, clinches fifth straight UAAP finals berth for 4-peat bid

MANILA, Philippines – The mighty Ateneo Blue Eagles wasted no time dispatching familiar foe FEU Tamaraws, 85-72, to clinch their fifth straight UAAP finals berth at the Mall of Asia Arena on Wednesday, May 4.

Still seething from their 39-game winning streak-snapping loss last Sunday, May 1, to Katipunan neighbor UP, the Eagles started off strong, and never let go of the game’s hold as they now await their next title challenger on Sunday, May 8.

BJ Andrade continued his rise as a crucial member of the 16-deep rotation with a a game-high 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting in just 20 minutes, while MVP candidate Ange Kouame flirted with a triple-double off a 9-point, 18-rebound, 8-assist line plus 5 blocks.

Ateneo guard SJ Belangel also helped keep the Tamaraws at bay by scoring all of his 14 points in the second half.

Before its historic win streak started dominating the headlines, Ateneo’s four-peat title bid was the talk of the town, and that campaign is still very much alive as the Eagles await the winner of the do-or-die match on Friday, May 6, between UP and La Salle.

“We honestly put [the UP loss] behind us. We put it behind us ‘cause FEU’s the only game that matters,” said Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin after the game.

Super rookie RJ Abarrientos, the league’s second-leading scorer, paced the season-ending loss with 16 points on 7-of-15 shooting, while graduating forward Brandrey Bienes went down swinging in his final UAAP game with 13 points on a 3-of-4 clip from three.

Coming off a 22-21 lead early in the second quarter, the back-and-forth affair quickly degraded to a no-contest even before intermission as Ateneo rode a 22-8 run capped by a Matthew Daves hook shot at the 1:58 mark for the 44-29 gap.

The Eagles then made sure there would be no comebacks on their watch as they peaked with a 23-point separation, 63-41, through an open Joshua Lazaro layup off a well-timed Ange Kouame pass with 2:26 left in the third period.

FEU only got as near as 13 points, 56-69, early in the final frame, but never found enough firepower to make Ateneo feel the heat of a real comeback attempt.