Ateneo nears sweep, sends UST to 13th straight loss

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Ateneo stayed on track for an elimination round sweep after fending off University of Santo Tomas, 102-83, in the UAAP Season 80 men’s basketball tournament Saturday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Blue Eagles remained undefeated after 12 games while also sending the Growling Tigers to a 0-13 record. 

After watching their 65-49 lead dissipate to just five, 75-70, at the end of the third, the Blue Eagles responded soundly in the fourth and put the Growling Tigers in their place.

Ateneo mounted a 17-7 run with Thirdy Ravena capping it off with the most vicious of finishes when he dunked home a tomahawk from just inside the circle to give the Blue Eagles a 92-77 lead with 2:22 left in the game.

“It’s a good thing we played well defensively in the fourth, and we really wanted to make sure that our defense was still there,” said Ateneo assistant coach Sandy Arespacochaga. 

“Our offense was good, we had a lot of ball movement, a lot of assists, and we found our cutters and shooters.”

Ateneo tallied 23 assists and only committed just 14 turnovers.

Ravena filled the stat sheets with a game-high 20 points to go along with eight rebounds, seven assists, and two steals while Matt Nieto added 19 points with all of his field goals coming from deep.

Oliver de Guzman had 19 points to lead UST while Jeepy Faundo finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds.