UAAP Jrs: Ateneo weathers late UPIS run; FEU sneaks past DLSZ in OT

MANILA, Philippines – The Season 80 UAAP Juniors basketball tournament returned with its usual league-wide quadruple-header, this time moving to the Ateneo Blue Eagle Gym, Sunday, February 4.

First Game: Adamson vs UST

The Adamson University (AdU) Baby Falcons opened Sunday morning with a 91-74 romper over the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Tiger Cubs.

Led as usual by frontrunner MVP candidate CJ Cansino, the Tiger Cubs hang tight to the Baby Falcons with the half ending 37-36 for Adamson.

However, the Cansino solo act wore out quickly as the Falcon trio of Jose Sabandal and Doria brothers Andrey and Adam flew circles around the UST defense at the second half. After scoring 37 points for the third period, Adamson suddenly led by 20, 74-54, which was all it needed to down the floundering Cubs.

Andrey Doria led the Falcons’ fly-by with 22 points and 8 rebounds while brother Adam had 15 markers. But it was Sabandal who had the Player of the Game performance with a near-triple-double of 20 points, 8 boards and 8 assists.

On the other end, Cansino dropped a game-high 32 points to go along with 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. The other four UST starters, meanwhile, combined for just 16 points.

Second Game: NU vs UE

In the following game, the second-seeded Nazareth School of National University (NU) Bullpups coasted over the cellar-dwelling University of the East (UE) Junior Warriors, 83-64.

There wasn’t much more to expect from the game after the Season 79 finalist Bullpups led the one-win Warriors, 51-36, at the half. Only Shane Dichoso carried the game for UE while NU just kept digging through their bench for talent. By the second half, both teams slowed down their pace as UE was never able to make a game-saving run.

Star Bullpup Rhayyan Amsali topscored for the team-oriented NU charge with a 13-point, 11-rebound double-double in just 18 minutes of action. RJ Minerva followed him with 10 points and 7 boards of his own. Michael Malonzo made the most of his 10 minutes on the floor with 8 points and a game-high 12 boards.

Meanwhile, Dichoso tried his best to lead the Warriors, tallying 27 points, 5 rebounds, two assists and 4 steals on 9/23 shooting (3/14 threes) in 39 out of 40 playing minutes.

Third Game: Ateneo vs UPIS

Next, the undefeated Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) Baby Eaglets survived a 4th quarter run by the University of the Philippines Integrated School (UPIS) Junior Fighting Maroons and won the Battle of Katipunan, 90-75.

Early in the first quarter, the Maroons jumped out to an early 7-point lead, 17-10, after quick threes by the Labao twins Raf and Ralph. However, that would turn out to be the biggest lead UPIS would enjoy as the fearsome foursome of SJ Belangel, Kai Sotto, Dave Ildefonso and Enrico Manuel all showcased their wares by the second quarter. In 17 minutes within the second and third quarters, the Eaglets launched a soul-crushing 49-8 run, punctuated by a Sotto offensive tip dunk.

However, in the fourth, UPIS blindsided Ateneo with a 27-6 run as all Eaglet stars have already been benched. But it was too little, too late for the Maroons as Ateneo just held their 15-point lead for the easy win.

Belangel led Ateneo’s balanced effort with 19 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists while Sotto chipped in 16 points, 13 boards and a block in just 14 minutes of play.

For UPIS, it was Matt Santiago who topscored for the team, recording 19 points and 5 rebounds. The Labao twins followed him up and combined for 32 points – 18 for Raf and 14 for Ralph.

Fourth Game: FEU vs DLSZ

Finally, the defending champion Far Eastern University-Diliman (FEU) Baby Tamaraws put up a main-event worthy 87-86 overtime win against the De La Salle-Zobel (DLSZ) Junior Archers.

The game had the makings of a blowout very early on as the Baby Tams welcomed the Archers with 12 unanswered points. But the Archers corrected their misfires and ended the first period with just a 3-point deficit, 18-21.

The writing was on the wall for a shootout in the second quarter as Bryant Terrado drained the go-ahead triple for La Salle, 25-24, with 5 minutes to go before the half. But FEU was able to fight back under the leadership of Xyrus Torres, who waxed hot for 15 points off 5/6 triples entering halftime.

Torres’ torrid treys started to rub off on his other teammates entering the third quarter. Thanks to RJ Abarrientos’ two threes, the champs climbed back up to an 11-point advantage at the halfway mark of the period. However, since that point, the Archers outhustled the Baby Tams and managed to chip the deficit all the way to a 64-all deadlock midway through the final frame.

In the last 3 minutes, Abarrientos and reigning Finals MVP LJ Gonzales orchestrated an 11-3 run with more triples and fastbreak layups which seemingly put the game away in favor of FEU, 75-67. However, Prince Carlos and Shan Vesagas willed DLSZ into an 8-0 run in the final 90 seconds, punctuated by a Carlos stepback three.

The Carlos-Vesagas showdown with Abarrientos and Gonzales carried onto the extra period, until Carlos fouled out in the last 2 minutes on an offensive foul during a scramble for the ball. After a few more scrambles, Abarrientos launched a cross-court pass to Royce Alforque to put FEU up by one. Unfortunately for DLSZ, Nat Consejo fumbled the ball over and the Archers were unable to catch up for the intentional foul as time expired.

Abarrientos came up clutch for the champs with 27 points and numerous key baskets in the fourth quarter and overtime. His crunch-time partner Gonzales came up with 24 points of his own in the win.

On the other end, Vesagas tallied a team-high 23 points followed by Carlos who was red-hot with 17 points before he fouled out in the eventual loss. FEU went 10/26 from downtown while DLSZ nailed 13/36. 

The Scores

Game 1

Adamson (91) – Doria, An. 22, Sabandal 20, Hanapi 18, Doria Ad. 15, Manlapaz 6, Santos 5, Prodigo 3, Canoy 2, Engbino 0

UST (74) ­– Cansino 32, Lina 11, Baquial 10, Palencia 7, Benzonan 4, Dolendo 3, Manabat 3, Narvasa 2, Anunciacion 2, Relucio 0, Villapando 0, Estrella 0

Game 2

NU (83) – Amsali 13, Minerva 10, Malonzo 8, Javillonar 7, Fortea 7, Gonzales 6, Vinoya 6, Oczon 5, Coyoca 5, Manalang 4, Felisilda 4, Dayrit 4, Pradella 2, Pangilinan 2

UE (64) – Dichoso 27, Dulalia 13, Miranda 6, Policarpio 6, Vinte 4, Lopez 3, Villarta 2, Santos 2, Tajonera 1, Angeles 0, Almacen 0, Varon 0

Game 3

Ateneo (90) ­– Belangel 19, Sotto 16, Ildefonso 13, Manuel 10, Chiu 8, Credo 6, Angeles 5, Santos 5, David 3, Tanedo 3, Escalona 2, Jaymalin 0, Diaz 0, Lopa 0, Gusi 0, Ong 0

UPIS (75) – Santiago 19, Labao Raf. 18, Labao Ral. 14, Gregorio 7, Vergeire 6, Tupaz 5, Estrera 4, Villa-Real 2, Gomez de Liano 0

Game 4 (OT)

FEU (87) ­– Abarrientos 27, Gonzales 24, Torres 15, Alforque 9, Celso 6, Tolentino 2, Ona 2, Boc 2, Sajonia 0, Mariano 0

DLSZ (86) ­– Vesagas 23, Carlos 17, Calimag 15, Cortez 15, Consejo 11, Udal 5, Terrado 3, Santos 0, Chavez 0, Pascual 0, Escandor 0, Damiles 0, Bonalos 0

Season 80 Standings (as of Feb. 4, 2018)

ADMU 12-0

NU 10-2

FEU-D 7-5

AdU 6-6

UST 6-6

UPIS 3-9

DLSZ 3-9

UE 1-11

 

– Rappler.com