Defending champion Ateneo had little trouble in disposing National University on Sunday, ripping the Bulldogs, 71-50, to remain undefeated in the UAAP Season 82 men’s basketball tournament at Ynares Center in Antipolo.
The Blue Eagles raced to an early double-digit lead and kept their foot on the gas all afternoon to rise to 5-0, with Angelo Kouame shining on both ends with 15 points, 13 rebounds and seven blocks.
“Our field goal percentage doesn’t flatter our play really at 40 percent,” Ateneo coach Tab Baldwin said. “It’s something we need to continue to work on but also at the other end of the floor our defense is doing a good job.”
“[Our defense] was generating turnovers and [we are] converting those into easy points on the fastbreak,” Baldwin added. “That’s always a good thing for your offense. Generally, I thought our effort was where it needed to be.”
The Bulldogs took their first convincing defeat for the first time this season. Their first four games ended in heartbreaking fashion, including three one-point losses.
Sherwin Concepcion had the hot hand in the second game as he shot University of Santo Tomas past Far Eastern University, 82-74.
The rookie big man unleashed an avalanche of triples as part of a blistering run by the Growling Tigers bridging the third and fourth quarters that buried the Tamaraws.
During that pivotal stretch, Concepcion hit three consecutive 3-pointers inside the final two minutes of the third period where UST took a nine-point lead after trailing by as many as 12 in the second quarter as the Tigers rose to 4-2.
The Tamaraws dropped to 2-3.
“They responded to my challenge that they have to show up,” said UST head coach Aldin Ayo.
“Good way to bounce back from our last loss. All the mistakes that we did in our last game, we tried to correct those mistakes. I’m just grateful we were able to adjust,” added Ayo, whose charges were coming off a 78-71 defeat at the hands of Adamson four days ago.
Soulemane Chabi Yo powered UST with 21 points and 15 rebounds while Concepcion had 12 on 4-of-8 shooting from long range.