UAAP: Ateneo notches second win after pulling away to beat UE

Ateneo’s Kai Ballungay against UE defenders in the UAAP Season 86 men’s basketball tournament. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—Ateneo trumped University of the East, 76-69, in a bounce-back victory in the UAAP Season 86 men’s basketball tournament at Mall of Asia Arena on Wednesday.

After surviving three periods of several back and forth, the Blue Eagles pulled away late to improve their record to 2-2 after a frustrating loss to Adamson last Saturday.

“Wins are what we need in this round and we have to get as many as we can to continue and improve as a team. I thought in the first half, we didn’t play good defense and it was an individual letdown. The intensity wasn’t there,” said coach Tab Baldwin.

“The third quarter wasn’t much better but in the fourth quarter, we really dug down deep, defended much better, much more intelligently and in the end, got a very good win for us.”

Ateneo big man Joseph Obasa. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

Ateneo ended the penultimate quarter with a 59-58 lead and began the final frame with a 12-6 run to take a 71-64 advantage.

While it looked like the defending champions were about to blow the game wide open, the Red Warriors scored five unanswered points to trim the deficit to two, 71-69.

Jared Brown, though,  shut the door completely on UE with a three-point bomb for a 74-69 lead with 1:56 left in the game. He finished with 11 points for the Blue Eagles.

Kai Ballungay notched a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds in the win. Joseph Obasa, meanwhile, scored 16 to go along with eight boards and six blocks.

Precious Momowei also got a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds in the defeat. Ethan Galang and Wello Lingolingo also had 12 in a losing effort for the Red Warriors, who slid down to 2-2.