INQUIRER Sports

MANILA, Philippines – (UPDATE) THIS TIME, it's the Ateneo Blue Eagles who are making winning a routine.

Rabeh Al-Hussaini led a dominant performance by Ateneo's big men as the Blue Eagles subdued the University of the East Warriors, 64-58, to remain as the only unbeaten team in the 71st UAAP men's basketball tournament Sunday at the PhilSports Arena.

"We utilized our size; and it's not just our size at the front, but also the size of our guards," said coach Norman Black after the Eagles wrapped up an impressive first week that included wins over rival La Salle and Adamson.

"It's a good start. We're on track with our goal, which is to make it to the Final Four. I know that normally during the UAAP season, it's a bumpy road. So it's good to get off to a good start and have a few wins behind us."

Al-Hussaini, the 6-foot-6 half brother of Red Bull's Carlo Sharma, buried a game-high 18 points aside from hauling down 17 rebounds and dishing out three assists.

"The big men stepped up for us, they really got in the boards," said Black. "Al-Hussaini had a big game for us and we facilitated our offense to (rookie) Ryan Buenafe in the end, it really helped a great deal."

It's the first loss in three games for the Warriors, who swept all 14 elimination games last season before bowing to La Salle in the Finals.

The Warriors played without top backup guard Paul Lee, who recently contracted dengue.

From a 51-51 standoff, the Eagles pulled away by drilling eight unanswered points to claim the upper hand at 59-51 with four minutes left.

As the Warriors' scoring drought continued, the Eagles coasted to their first double-digit lead at 63-52 at the 2:46 mark.

The Eagles managed to stay on top in the final two minutes even with the Warriors orchestrating a late 6-0 spurt to trim the margin at 63-58.

Chris Tiu added 11 points and four assists, while Buenafe and Nonoy Baclao contributed 10 apiece.

The Eagles charged ahead at 21-13, before the Warriors responded with a 14-5 rally in the last four minutes of the second quarter to wrest the lead, 27-26, at halftime.

Even with a smaller lineup, the Warriors outrebounded the Eagles, 25-15, in the first half, but shot a measly 28.6 percent in the opening two quarters.

But by the third period, the Eagles took control early with a 9-2 spurt to move ahead at 35-29. Al-Hussaini then made his presence felt at the paint, burying six straight points to extend the Eagles' lead by seven at 41-34.

Paul Zamar responded with a triple to trigger another Warriors' rally and Rudy Lingganay scored six of their next 10 points in the third quarter to even the count at 47.

The scores:

ATENEO 64--Al-Hussaini 18, Tiu 11, Buenafe 10, Baclao 10, Salamat 6, Salva 4, Escueta 3, Nkemakolam 2, Austria 0, Baldos 0, Long 0, Reyes 0. UE 58--Espiritu 11, Llagas 10, Zamar 9, Lingganay 9, Martinez 7, Bandaying 6, Thiele 4, Arellano 2, Noble 0, Etrone 0, Acuña 0, Reyes 0.

Quarters:
12-10, 26-27, 47-47, 64-58