INQUIRER Sports

HOWING no signs of slowing down, Rabeh Al-Hussaini powered Ateneo past Adamson in a blowout 78-59 victory that assured the Blue Eagles of a semifinal berth in the 71st UAAP men's basketball competition Sunday at the PhilSports Arena.

Al-Hussaini took control early by effectively working the ball inside to score 14 of Ateneo's 22 points in the opening quarter of the game the Eagles led all the way.

Yet coach Norman Black stressed that there's no letting up for his wards even after the Eagles--who remained solo on top with a 9-1 record--secured their 10th straight Final Four appearance.

"I'm happy being in the Final Four but our goal is to make it in the top two," said Black. "So it doesn't really stop here, we have to keep on winning, playing hard and keep respecting our opponents because we have not time to relax."

The 6-foot-6 Al-Hussaini buried a game-high 29 points just three days after scoring 24 in the Eagles' 85-76 triumph over the Santo Tomas Tigers.

"He's at the point now where he's the go-to player for us," said Black of Al-Hussaini, who connected on 10 of 14 attempts from the field to lead the Eagles in setting a season-high 51.9 percent shooting clip.

The Eagles also scored a season-high 25 points on fastbreak, several courtesy of Eric Salamat, who chipped in 17 points and the most number of steals in one game for the last three years with six.

"Every opportunity we can run, we want to get out and run the basketball up to the court as fast as we can," said Black. "I know we're a big team, people don't expect that from us. Luckily for us guys like Al-Hussaini, even if they're big they can actually run."

Al-Hussaini's performance also made up for the season-low two-point output of top gunner Chris Tiu, who missed all three attempts from the field.

The Falcons--who dropped out of the Final Four race with a 2-8 slate along with University of the Philippines and National University--came as close as six points at 45-39 in the third period.

But Al-Hussaini responded by accounting for half of a 10-0 burst that gave the Eagles a 55-39 advantage.

Two more Al-Hussaini baskets underneath gave the Eagles an 18-point spread at 59-41.

Salamat then took charge in the fourth period by scoring 10 straight points capped by back-to-back triples for a 71-53 gap in the last five minutes.

The Eagles have won 23 straight games over the Falcons since 1997.

The scores:
ATENEO 78--Al-Hussaini 29, Salamat 17, Baclao 6, Reyes 6, Buenafe 5, Salva 4, Long 3, Gonzaga 2, Chua 2, Escueta 2, Tiu 2, Burke 0, Baldos 0.

ADAMSON 59--Cañada 12, Colina 11, Nuyles 10, Gorospe 7, Alvarez 6, Agustin 4, Gonzalgo 4, Santos 3, Yambot 2, Ruiz 0, Penalosa 0, Lapitan 0, Galinato 0, Olalia 0, Margallo 0.

Quarters: 22-11, 41-31, 59-48, 78-59