Tyler Tio torrid triples spark Ateneo win over FEU

MANILA, Philippines – Tyler Tio was a man on a mission in the second day of the UAAP Season 84 men’s basketball tournament as the Ateneo Blue Eagles denied a late comeback from rival FEU Tamaraws, 79-70, at the Mall of Asia Arena on Tuesday, March 29.

The veteran Eagle soared high, and carpet-bombed the hapless Tamaraws with a four-triple, 17-point eruption in the third quarter alone, and almost matched FEU point for point in the entire period, 17-19.

Thanks to Tio’s berserk scoring streak, Ateneo turned a 42-32 halftime lead to a 21-point third period gap, 63-42, after his third triple of the quarter at the 2:32 mark, and never looked back.

The victory gave the defending champion Blue Eagles the top spot early at 2-0 as the Tamaraws slipped to a 1-1 record.

Although FEU hustled hard in the final frame to get back within single digits, 66-72, off a late 15-5 run ending with an Emman Ojuola layup, a timely Dave Ildefonso triple with 3:55 left in regulation gave Ateneo the nine-point cushion it needed for the endgame, 75-66.

Ojuola essentially sealed the loss for the Tamaraws with 58 ticks left off a hip check offensive foul, before SJ Belangel followed up with a game-sealing score in the next possession, 77-68.

Ildefonso, who helped defuse FEU’s early surge, and Tio paced all scorers with 17 points each. RJ Abarrientos and Ojuola, on the other end, led the Tamaraws with 16 and 15 markers, respectively.

“Really tough game, but you always get that from Olsen (Racela) and his team. They’re just a tough organization, and they don’t give anything away easily. That’s the case again today,” said Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin after the game.

“We had a good third quarter, and looked like we’re going to get away. But they didn’t give up, and changed things up.”

Ateneo now shoots for win number three on Thursday, March 31, 10 am against the Adamson Soaring Falcons, while FEU guns for a bounce-back at the very next game at 1 pm against the DLSU Green Archers.