Blue Eagles whip Red Lions for the FilOil title

HISTORIC WIN. Filoil Flying V League champion Ateneo Blue Eagles pose with their cash and trophy prizes on Sunday. It was Ateneo’s first time to capture the coveted pre-season premiere cup championship.  Photo by August Dela Cruz, Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines—Ateneo added yet another to its already-embellished cap.

The Blue Eagles crushed another varsity powerhouse San Beda, 75-56, and captured their maiden Filoil Flying V Pre-season Premiere cup championship Sunday at The Arena in San Juan.

Moreover, another gem shone amid Ateneo’s loaded lineup as its prized rookie Kiefer Ravena bagged the tournament MVP Award, and lead his squad with 12 points and four rebounds in the finals.

National team member Greg Slaughter topscored for the defending UAAP champion on another double-digit domination with 17 points and 11 boards.

Ravena and Slaughter starred in the first-half onslaught that saw the Blue Eagles build cushion early and lead by as many as 17 within the first 10 minutes.

Ateneo, which actually finished behind San Beda in the Group A eliminations, continuously pounced on the out-of-sync Red Lions, posting a 19-point lead many times in the payoff period.

Juan Miguel Tiongson, who piled in 13 points, also caught on fire in the second half along with hot-shooting Kirk Long, who had six of his 11 from the outside.

Long dropped a bomb from way out with 6:47 in the third and snapped the momentum after the Red Lions came roaring back.

San Beda, which also folded in its first meeting with Ateneo, showed signs of its usual dominance by slashing down the deficit to 40-35 early in the second half.

But the Red Lions failed to follow up their aggressiveness as the Blue Eagles charged to a 9-2 run and built another double-digit buffer.

Explosive guard Garvo Lanete led San Beda with 17 points, even as Nigerian center Ola Adeogun had 10 and 11 boards.

The San Beda Red Cubs, meanwhile, were crowned the juniors champions after a 79-70 triumph over Energen Philippine Under-16 team.

Arvin Tolentino broke loose with 25 points and 22 rebounds for the Red Cubs.

Earlier, Far Eastern University salvaged third place by besting Adamson University, 65-57, propelled by a 19-point performance by Aldrech Ramos.

Top guards RR Garcia and Terrence Romeo combined for 23 points for the Tamaraws, who finished with an unscathed record in the eliminations—only to falter against eventual champion Ateneo in the semifinals.

Garcia, Ravena, Lanete barged into the Mythical Five along with FEU’s Pipo Noundou and  and Mapua’s Yousef Taha, who was also awarded the Best Defensive player.

The scores:

First Game (Juniors)

SAN BEDA 79—Tolentino 25, Abarcar 20, Nazareno 18, Bonsubre 5, Babilonia 4, Abatayo 4, Tongco 3, Miranda 0, Munsayac 0, Patenio 0, Macapayag 0, Araw-araw 0, Lunas 0, Oleodo 0, Dela Costa 0, Abude 0.

PH YOUTH U-16 70 —Alejandro 24, Asilum 12, Rivero 7, Lao 7, Cani 7, Vito 6, Dipultado 3, Subido 2, Javelosa 1, Pascual 1, Lim 0.

Quarters: 23-12, 34-27, 56-47, 79-70

Second Game (Seniors)

ATENEO 75—Slaughter 14, Tiongson 13, Ravena 12, Long 11, Salva 9, Gonzaga 6, Monfort 4, Austria 3, Erram 2, Siarot 1, Golla 0, Pessumal 0, Chua 0, Capacio 0.

SAN BEDA 56—Lanete 17, Marcelo 12, Adeogun 10, Pascual J. 6, Dela Rosa 3, Pontejos 3, Villahermosa 2, Lim 2, Caram 1, Pascual K. 0.

Quarters: 25-10, 36-27, 54-41, 75-56