Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Ateneo had the perfect ending to its immaculate preseason after downing defending champion San Beda, 76-62, to claim the Filoil Preseason Cup title Saturday at Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.
The Blue Eagles went undefeated in 12 games and won their first Filoil title since 2011.
Tournament MVP Angelo Kouame led Ateneo with 15 points, 16 rebounds, and three blocks, with one of his rejections preserving the Blue Eagles’ 73-59 lead with less than two minutes left in the game.
“We talked about our defense and we had to take something that worked for us,” said Ateneo assistant coach Sandy Arespacochaga, whose team played for three straight days the moment they arrived from their training camp in Greece.
“We have to give credit to the players because we didn’t have practice on how to defend the other team.”
Ateneo took a big 45-26 lead heading into the break and took advantage of the absence of Robert Bolick, who hurt his ankle in the second quarter after going for a layup.
Jolo Mendoza and Raffy Verano had nine points apiece to help Kouame handle the scoring load for Ateneo while Thirdy Ravena and SJ Belangel combined for 14 points.
Javee Mocon had 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Red Lions while Donald Tankoua added 13 points and five boards.