SUMMARY
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MANILA, Philippines – The Ateneo Blue Eagles cruised to a statement debut at the World University Basketball Series tournament in Japan and handed Indonesia’s Universitas Pelita Harapan an 86-point decimation, 125-39, on Tuesday, August 9.
Young holdovers like Geo Chiu, Chris Koon, and Forthsky Padrigao teamed up with newcomers like Kai Ballungay, Paul Garcia, Inand Fornillos, and Nigerian student-athlete Joseph Obasa to shoot a whopping 60% from the field, and 16-of-34 (47%) from three.
Garcia, a former teammate of fellow Fil-Am Jalen Green, led the way with 17 points in as many minutes on 3-of-5 shooting from downtown, while Ballungay scored 15 on a near-perfect 7-of-8 clip.
Padrigao scattered 14 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals in 19 minutes, while Koon also scored 14 with 5 boards.
Indonesia only enjoyed a brief 2-0 start before Ateneo locked them down with a 28-4 run the rest of the first quarter for a 28-6 start, and never looked back.
As is always the case with head coach Tab Baldwin’s teams, the Blue Eagles played aggressively until the final buzzer, and peaked with an 86-point lead off one last Garcia kill shot from deep in the final minute of regulation to set the final score.
The 6-foot-11 Obasa – filling in for the injured UAAP MVP Ange Kouame – churned out 12 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 assists in 20 minutes, while JC Fetalvero and Chiu scored 11 and 10, respectively.
Ateneo aims to keep its momentum going on Wednesday, August 10, with a 6:45 pm (Manila time) game against Taiwan’s National Chengchi University (NCCU). – Rappler.com
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