MANILA—Ateneo treated National University like the whipping team of old Thursday as the Blue Eagles blasted the Bulldogs, 86-62, to claim the solo lead in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament at the Araneta Coliseum.
Photo by August dela Cruz
Nico Salva powered the Blue Eagles to an early double-digit cushion before prized rookies Kiefer Ravena and Greg Slaughter took over to expose the Bulldogs as an inexperienced crew.
Showing that it’s team effort that wins games, the Eagles dished out 30 assists to tie the record Far Eastern University set against the Bulldogs on July 28, 2005.
“Luckily for me, Greg and Kiefer have bought into the team concept and they know it’s not just about them,” said Ateneo coach Norman Black after the three-time champions cruised to a third straight victory.
“I think the veterans have done their job. I think the bench played a lot better in the first half than they did in the first two games.”
FEU also made it a one-sided double header as the Tamaraws crushed the University of the East Warriors,k 66-47, for their second triumph in three games.
The Tamaraws overcame a shaky 2-12 start before Chris Exciminiano and Cris Tolomia sparked a run that lifted them up, 30-21, at the break.
Salva pumped in eight of his 12 points in the first half as the Eagles opened the game with a 14-5 salvo and tretched the lead to 38-20 at halftime.
Slaughter and Ravena again came up with solid numbers even as Bulldogs star Ray Parks got away with 20 points off Kirk Long in the match billed as a showcase of standout freshmen.
But most of Parks’ game-high production came in the second half where the Eagles had already pulled away.
“He did a very good job defending,” Black said of Long, who also finished with a notable 11 points and seven assists.
“I don’t think you can really stop Parks. But the goal was just to slow him done and I think Kirk Long did a pretty good job on that.”
Slaughter, the 6-foot-11 Smart Gilas national team mainstay, topscored for the Eagles with 15 markers aside from seven rebounds and two blocks.
Ravena had 13 points, while seniors Oping Sumalinog and Emman Monfort had seven apiece.
“Basically, we just wanted to be able to stay in front of their (Bulldogs) dribble-drive offense,” said Black. “Offensively, we just wanted to run.”
Exciminiano paced the Tamaraws with 12 points, four steals and two blocks, while Tolomia had nine markers and 12 boards.
“We haven’t played a game where we had a good start,” said FEU coach Bert Flores. “Good thing our defense picked up. We also have to work on our rebounding.”
The rebuilding Warriors, still searching for a go-to guy, dropped their third straight game.
The scores:
First Game
ATENEO 86—Slaughter 15, Ravena 13, Salva 12, Long 11, Sumalinog 7, Monfort 7, Erram 6, Tiongson 6, Capacio 2, Gonzaga 2, Chua 2, Austria 2, Pessumal 1, Cipriano 0, Estrada 0, Golla 0.
NATIONAL U 62—Parks 20, Alolino 11, Mbe 10, Celda 7, Javillonar 6, Celiz 2, Khobuntin 2, Magat 2, Labing-isa 1, Terso 1, Villamor 0, Rono 0, Eman 0, Ignacio 0.
Quarters: 16-11, 38-20, 69-37, 86-62
Second Game
FEU 66—Exciminiano 12, Tolomia 9, Escoto 8, Cawaling 8, Romeo 7, Garcia 7, Ramos 6, Pogoy 5, Foronda 2, Cruz 2, Sentcheu 0, Fabian 0, Mendoza 0, Bringas 0, Knuttel 0.
UE 47—Noble 11, Santos 10, Sumang 6, Casajeros 6, Duran 5, Javier 3, De Leon 2, Zamar 2, Tagarda 2, Zosa 0, Sabangan 0, Enguio 0, Sumido 0, Flores 0.
Quarters: 6-12, 30-21, 45-28, 66-47