Long bombs detonate as Eagles blast Archers
Ateneo dealt La Salle a nightmarish beating as the defending champions crushed the Green Archers, 74-57, to grab solo second in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament yesterday at the jampacked Araneta Coliseum.
The Blue Eagles quickly locked up their sixth straight victory as American guard Kirk Long triggered an early scoring barrage that gave Ateneo a 19-9 lead in the first quarter.
The Eagles later widened the gap by as many as 26 points, 55-29, in the third quarter on their way to an 8-2 record that virtually assured them of a Final Four slot.
“It was like a nightmare,” said La Salle coach Dindo Pumaren, whose wards dropped to 6-4.
Naturally, to Ateneo, it was a dream.
“The game always becomes a lot easier when we hit our outside shots and Kirk did a great job knocking down those shots,” said coach Norman Black.
Long pumped in a career-high 22 points, 12 coming from three-point range, to help the Eagles avenge their heartbreaking 66-63 setback versus the Archers in the first round.
Rookie Arthur dela Cruz, the son of ex-pro Art, also posted a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds against an anemic La Salle squad that got clobbered right at the opening bell.
“It was a bad start,” said Pumaren. “We didn’t play La Salle basketball. We forgot our defensive rules, maybe because of excitement. We didn’t get our rhythm. I told the boys to dictate the tempo, but the opposite happened. We made a lot of mistakes.”
The blockbuster match that had a star-studded 15,632-strong crowd led by former President Joseph Estrada, an Ateneo alumnus, his son. Sen. Jinggoy Estrada and US Ambassador Harry K. Thomas Jr.
Long sizzled from beyond the arc in the first quarter, nailing three triples in Ateneo’s 15-0 tear that gave the Eagles their first double-digit lead, 19-9.
The Eagles zoomed to an 18-point advantage, 29-11, after opening the second quarter with a 10-0 blitz capped by an Emman Monfort triple.
The scores:
Second Game
ATENEO 74—Long 22, Dela Cruz 10, Buenafe 9, Salva 7, Monfort 7, Salamat 6. Golla 6, Austria 3, Escueta 2, Chua 2, Erram 0, Tiongson 0.
LA SALLE 57—Mendoza 20, Villanueva 7, Andrada 6, Tampus 5, Tolentino 5, Atkins 5, Marata 4, Dela Paz 3, Webb 2, Vosotros 0, Paredes 0, Elorde 0, Ferdinand 0, Banal 0.
Quarters: 19-11, 39-21, 61-40, 74-57
Second Game
ATENEO 74—Long 22, Dela Cruz 10, Buenafe 9, Salva 7, Monfort 7, Salamat 6. Golla 6, Austria 3, Escueta 2, Chua 2, Erram 0, Tiongson 0.
LA SALLE 57—Mendoza 20, Villanueva 7, Andrada 6, Tampus 5, Tolentino 5, Atkins 5, Marata 4, Dela Paz 3, Webb 2, Vosotros 0, Paredes 0, Elorde 0, Ferdinand 0, Banal 0.
Quarters: 19-11, 39-21, 61-40, 74-57
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