Ateneo Blue Eagles 2 wins off sweep; Adamson Falcons down UE Red Warriors

MANILA—A big fourth-quarter push helped Ateneo shake off University of the Philippines, 73-58, Thursday to move within two wins of sweeping the UAAP men’s basketball tournament eliminations at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Banking on the strong games of their big men, the Blue Eagles relied on their half-court play in pulling away for good from the Maroons, who were still within striking distance at 54-47 going into the last eight minutes.

“We’re at the point of the season where statistically I’m not really that concerned anymore,” said Ateneo coach Norman
Black after his defending champions roared to their 12th straight win and inched closer to an outright Finals berth, the bonus for a 14-game elimination sweep.

“I’m more concerned about getting wins. We’re just trying to concentrate on getting one more win to try to get closer to our goal.”

Adamson also kept its sight on the remaining semifinal bonus after downing the eliminated University of the East, 76-57, in the first game.

Although the second-running Falcons picked up their ninth victory in 12 games, Adamson coach Leo Austria rued his team’s poor first-half showing before Eric Camson and Alex Nuyles took charge in the closing quarters.

“We committed lots of turnovers and had a low shooting percentage (27.5 clip) in the first half,” said Austria. “There’s a tendency to be overconfident. Good thing they listened in the second half and our zone defense worked.”

Rookie Greg Slaughter had another  double-double outing of 18 points and 18 rebounds and Nico Salva had all but two of his 16 markers in the second half to power the Eagles’ late surge.

Backup center Justin Chua delivered as well with 11 points—six in a run that put the Eagles up at 66-49—aside from grabbing 10 boards.

Camson matched his career-high 20 points, 15 coming in the second half where he helped the Falcons pull away from the game’s last deadlock at 38. The veteran power forward also posted 15 rebounds, two assists and two blocks.

Nuyles similarly delivered an all-around game of 17 markers, six boards, five assists and a couple of steals.

The victory boosted the Falcons’ bid for the twice-to-beat semifinal advantage, the bonus given to the top two teams at the end of the elimination round.

Adamson orchestrated a 13-2 spurt, eight coming from Nuyles, to take its first double-digit lead, 51-40, at the end of the third period.

The Falcons preserved the gap, pulling away by as any as 26 points, 76-50, going into the final minutes.
Before Ateneo’s explosive finish, the Maroons kept in step in the first three quarters behind Mike Silungan and Mark Juruena.

“We didn’t really get out and run too much,” said Black. “They (Maroons) did a very good job on their transition defense. But we also proved that we can play half-court offense, which is going to be very important down the stretch.”
The Maroons and Warriors, both out of semifinal contention, dropped to 2-10.

The scores:
First Game
ADAMSON 76—Camson 20, Nuyles 17, Alvarez 10, Cabrera 9, Brondial 8, Lozada 7, Rios 2, Colina 2, Petilos 0, Agustin 0, Olalia 0, Monteclaro 0, Etrone 0.
UE 57—Zamar 17, Santos 6, Enguio 6, Casajeros 5, Noble 5, Tagarda 4, Duran 4, Zosa 3, Sabangan 2, Sumido 2, Flores 2, Javier 1, Sumang 0, De Leon 0.
Quarters: 17-14, 27-28, 51-40, 76-57
Second Game
ATENEO 73—Slaughter 18, Salva 16, Chua 11, Ravena 7, Tiongson 5, Long 5, Austria 4, Gonzaga 3, Erram 2, Monfort 2, Pessumal 0, Capacio 0, Sumalinog 0.
UP 58—Silungan 16, Juruena 12, Maniego 7, Romero 6, Montecastro 4, Gamboa 4, Mbah 3, Wierzba 2, Gomez 2, Manuel 1, Gingerich 1, Pascual 0.
Quarters: 15-14, 32-28, 52-45, 73-58