Ateneo’s Kai Ballungay dunks the ball during a game against Adamson in the UAAP Season 85 men’s basketball tournament. UAAP PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Ateneo clipped the wings of Adamson early en route to an emphatic 76-55 win on Wednesday in the UAAP Season 85 men’s basketball tournament at Mall of Asia Arena.
The Blue Eagles made short work of the Falcons, hastily unleashing a scoring binge at the onset of the third quarter anchored on Kai Balungay before pulling away for good in notching their fourth win after six games.
Balungay tallied a career-high 21 points on eight of 10 field-goal shooting as the Blue Eagles recovered lost ground from a previous forgettable rematch with the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons that ended in despair.
“It’s not easy for the guys to bounce back in that emotional game. We had long talks and put everybody back on an even keel, ready to play the next game,” said Ateneo coach Tab Baldwin.
Dave Ildefonso pumped in 15 points, his three 3-pointers helping set the tone for the rout that eventually led to Adamson’s slide on the standings at 2-4.
Jerom Lastimosa led the Falcons with 18 points, but was completely shackled in the final period.
They simply couldn’t restrain the Blue Eagles, who bombed in 10 of their 26 attempts from the trifecta territory.
“The players did a very good job of talking to one another and making sure they enter this game with the right frame of mind,” said Baldwin.
Ahead by nine as they emerged from the dugout, the Blue Eagles quickly unloaded 12 points that were left unanswered by the Falcons to widen the gap and go into cruise control from there.
The Scores:
ATENEO 76 — Ballungay 21, Ildefonso 15, Gomez 8, Chiu 7, Padrigao 5, Lazaro 5, Kouame 4, Andrade 4, Garcia 3, Koon 3, Daves 2, Ong 2, Quitevis 0, Fetalvero 0, Fornilos 0, Lao 0.
ADAMSON 55 — Lastimosa 18, Douanga 8, Torres 6, Manzano 5, Flowers 4, Jaymalin 3, Fuentebella 3, Yerro 2, Barasi 2, Barcelona 2, W. Magbuhos 2, V. Magbuhos 0, Colonia 0.
Quarters: 22-16, 41-32, 61-47, 76-55.