Photo from UAAP
MANILA, Philippines—Defending champion Ateneo displayed its championship pedigree and stopped a streaking University of the Philippines side, 89-63, for its seventh straight win in the UAAP Season 82 men’s basketball tournament Sunday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Blue Eagles had the Fighting Maroons at their mercy dismantling last season’s runners-up both physically and emotionally.
Ateneo took control of the game in the second half, building a 52-35 lead off a 17-4 run midway through the third quarter.
It was also during that stretch when UP head coach Bo Perasol got ejected for berating game officials contesting that Angelo Kouame’s block on Jerson Prado should’ve been called a foul.
The Blue Eagles ended the first round with a perfect 7-0 record while the Maroons saw their four-game winning streak snapped to drop to 5-2.
Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin admired how his team maintained its composure, especially in the second half, despite the hype and emotion surrounding the finals rematch.
“When the tide turned around, our guys methodically stuck to the task and we didn’t get carried away with the crowd, after all this is a regular season game,” said Baldwin. “I give a lot of credit to the boys for their composure and it wasn’t an easy game to play in.”
Ateneo outscored UP 55-32 in the second half but Baldwin added that the referees’ decisions made the match “an unusual game.”
There were four technical fouls called, two for each team, and a total of 37 personal fouls that resulted to a combined 36 free throws.
“It’s not always the referees fault when it happens, they have to do their jobs,” said Baldwin. “Of course a lot of us would like the game better if the referees didn’t have that much of an impact.”
UP had the bulk of the free throw share, 22-14, and connected on 16 of those attempts while the Blue Eagles converted on 10 of their charity shots.
The Blue Eagles ended the first round with a perfect 7-0 record while the Maroons saw their four-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 5-2.
Kouame had his way underneath with 19 points, 15 rebounds, and seven blocks for Ateneo while Matt Nieto added 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting.
Will Navarro added 14 points and six boards while Thirdy Ravena and SJ Belangel had 13 and 11 points, respectively, for the Blue Eagles.
Kobe Paras led the Fighting Maroons with 15 points.