SUMMARY
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MANILA, Philippines – The Ateneo Blue Eagles erased the painful memory of their last overtime loss against rival UP with a huge 76-55 bounce-back rout of the Adamson Soaring Falcons in the UAAP Season 85 men’s basketball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena on Wednesday, October 19.
Kai Ballungay reset his scoring high with 21 points on a stellar 8-of-10 shooting and 3-of-4 from three, plus 4 rebounds and 2 assists to lead the Eagles’ rise to a 4-2 record with one game left in the first round of eliminations.
Veteran guard Dave Ildefonso likewise continued his scoring tear with 15 points on a 6-of-13 clip while reigning MVP Ange Kouame made up for his 4-point outing on just 1-of-5 shooting with a line of 12 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks, and 2 steals.
Riding high from an Ildefonso buzzer-beating three that gave Ateneo a 41-32 halftime lead, the Eagles continued their offensive onslaught right at the start of the third quarter with a 12-0 breakaway, ending with an Ildefonso floater at the 6:52 mark for the 21-point separation, 53-32.
Adamson simply found no answers outside of Jerom Lastimosa’s backpacking efforts as Ateneo peaked with a 23-point gap multiple times in the final frame, the last time at 76-53 off a Kyle Ong mid-range jumper with just 44.5 ticks left.
“Very happy to get back on the right side of the win-loss column, after the tough UP loss. It’s not easy for the guys to bounce back from those emotional games,” said Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin.
“I think the players did a very good job of talking to one another and coming into this game in the right frame of mind.”
Lastimosa was the Falcons’ lone double-digit scorer with 18 points on 7-of-18 shooting, while big man Lenda Douanga just missed a double-double with 8 points and 10 rebounds.
Ateneo ends its first-round run with an interesting matchup against Cinderella team UE Red Warriors on Sunday, October 23, 1 pm at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City, while Adamson returns for another tough challenge against the La Salle Green Archers on Saturday, October 22, 4:30 pm, at the same venue.
The Scores
Ateneo 76 – Ballungay 21, Ildefonso 15, Gomez 8, Chiu 7, Padrigao 5, Lazaro 5, Kouame 4, Andrade 4, Garcia 3, Koon 3, Daves 2, Ong 2, Quitevis 0, Fetalvero 0, Fornilos 0, Lao 0.
Adamson 55 – Lastimosa 18, Douanga 8, Torres 6, Manzano 5, Flowers 4, Jaymalin 3, Fuentebella 3, Yerro 2, Barasi 2, Barcelona 2, W. Magbuhos 2, V. Magbuhos 0, Colonia 0.
Quarters: 22-16, 41-32, 61-47, 76-55.
– Rappler.com
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