Go powers Ateneo to cruising win

Isaac Go comes up huge for Ateneo. —PBA IMAGES

It was a different team that Tab Baldwin saw on the floor, a far cry from how his squad looks like in the UAAP. But the champion coach was pleased, nevertheless.

Cignal-Ateneo, riding on its hot offense, cruised to a 103-75 victory over Go for Gold-CSB Thursday at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.

Isaac Go fueled the Blue Eagles’ key run in the second quarter, a 24-3 tear that turned a slim 20-16 lead to a comfortable 44-17 advantage, capped by an Ange Kouame layup.

Go topscored for the early favorites with 21 points on a sizzling 4-of-6 shooting from threes. He added four rebounds as Cignal-Ateneo gained an early headstart in the Aspirants Group.

Adrian Wong also had his way from downtown, drilling five long bombs to notch 17 points, five rebounds, and four assists, as Matt Nieto contributed 14 points, seven assists, and three rebounds in the win.

“This isn’t how we play in the UAAP. We’ll press a lot more, we’ll do a lot of other things that we really can’t do when our numbers are down. So offensively, I was surprised, we played pretty well,” he said. “We’re not doing a lot really, but the guys played very efficiently and that’s a good thing.”

Kouame finished with 13 points, 18 rebounds, four blocks, and two steals.