MANILA, Philippines – With their backs against the wall, the Ateneo Blue Eagles survived the UP Fighting Maroons in a 65-55 win in the UAAP Season 85 finals Game 2 to force a do-or-die Game 3 on Wednesday, December 14, at the Araneta Coliseum.

With the win, the Eagles successfully extended the best-of-three series to Christmas week on Monday, December 19, still at the Araneta Coliseum.

Last season’s MVP Ange Kouame still flashed superstar form with 19 points, 11 rebounds, 3 steals, and 3 blocks, while Kai Ballungay bounced back from a scoreless Game 1 outing with 15 points and 5 boards in just 19 minutes.

Coming off a manageable 33-41 deficit at the half, UP failed to get any meaningful breaks in the crucial third quarter as Ateneo rose to a 55-42 lead with 1:39 left after Ballungay put back Chris Koon’s missed free throw in a split trip.

The Maroons found a short lease on life in the fourth quarter with an 8-2 run, capped by a Terrence Fortea corner three at the 4:46 mark, but a blown Henry Galinato dunk sucked the life out of their comeback run as the Eagles held on for the win.

Carl Tamayo paced the loss with 15 points in 23 minutes on 6-of-14 shooting, while newly crowned MVP Malick Diouf disappeared with just 2 points, albeit with 11 boards in 16 foul-plagued minutes.

The Scores

Ateneo 65 – Kouame 19, Ballungay 15, Padrigao 11, Daves 6, Chiu 6, Ildefonso 3, Gomez 2, Lazaro 2, Koon 1, Quitevis 0, Andrade 0.

UP 55 – Tamayo 15, Cagulangan 11, Fortea 9, Lucero 6, Alarcon 5, Abadiano 4, Diouf 2, Galinato 2, Spencer 1, Gonzales 0, Calimag 0, Lina 0.

Quarters: 20-19, 41-33, 57-44, 65-55.

– Rappler.com

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