Eagles keep solo lead; Archers nip Tigers

NICO Salva (right) of Ateneo gets fouled by FEU big man Arvie Bringas. AUGUST DELA CRUZ

Juami Tiongson provided Ateneo a much needed lift in the second half as the Blue Eagles trounced the Far Eastern Tamaraws, 77-64, to keep the solo lead in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament yesterday at Mall of Asia Arena.

Tiongson not only called the plays but made the shots as well, knocking in 12 of his 16 points from beyond the arc to help the Blue Eagles pull away, 60-48, midway in the fourth quarter of a heated encounter that saw three players getting ejected.

“FEU is a physical team, they’re very aggressive,” said Ateneo coach Norman Black. “But we’ve proven over the years that we’re not going to back down from anybody.”

The four-time champions picked up their eighth win in nine games in the rematch between the finalists of the last two seasons.

Earlier, La Salle put an end to University of Santo Tomas’ endgame luck as Jeron Teng buried a buzzer-beater to lift the Green Archers to a 53-51 decision.

Teng nailed the game-winning jumper after UST’s Karim Abdul scored from underneath to tie the game, 51-51, with 3.3 seconds left.

Ateneo’s Ryan Buenafe and FEU’s Mark Belo were ejected in the first period for  unsportsmanlike plays, while Tamaraws forward Arvie Bringas was also thrown out in the final quarter for spitting on the court.

Both the Tigers and the Tamaraws slipped to 7-3 for a share of second.

Meanwhile, American Chris Ball was declared eligible to play by the UAAP board and upheld the Maroons’ 63-48 win over University of the East in the first round.

The scores:

First Game

LA SALLE 53—Vosotros 12, T. Torres 10, Teng 9, N. Torres 8, Van Opstal 7, Mendoza 2, Paredes 0, Gotladera 0, Tallo 0, Webb 0, Tampus 0.

UST 51—Abdul 14, Mariano 9, Afuang 9, Fortuna 7, Teng 6, Vigil 2, Ferrer 2, Bautista 2, Pe 0, Lo 0, Daquioag 0.

Quarters: 10-15, 22-27, 39-37, 53-51

Second Game

ATENEO 77—Tiongson 16, Salva 15, Ravena 12, Slaughter 10, Erram 8, Chua 8, Pessumal 4, Elorde 4, Sumaling 0, Gonzaga 0, Golla 0, Capacio 0, Buenafe 0.

FEU 64—Garcia 14, Romeo 13, Hargrove 10, A. Bringas 7, Mendoza 6, Escoto 5,Cruz 3, Inigo 2, Pogoy 2, M. Bringas 0, Sentcheu 0, Belo 0, Jose 0, Guerrero 0.

Quarters: 15-13, 32-34, 49-43, 77-64