UAAP: Ateneo clobbers University of the Philippines

MANILA, Philippines – Ateneo De Manila University clobbered University of the Philippines, 77-57, to remain the only unbeaten team in the 74th UAAP men’s basketball tournament Saturday.

A telling 14-2 burst to close out the second quarter was all the defending champion needed as the Blue Eagles nailed their fifth win of the season.

Greg Slaughter threw his weight around the paint with a new career-best 13 rebounds that went along with 14 points.

Kiefer Ravena, who knocked in a late trey to set the biggest lead at 22 points with a minute to play, added 15 points, four rebounds and four dimes in the curtain raiser at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Two consecutive treys from the diminutive guard Emman Monfort, who logged in 13 points, sparked the second period run in which the Eagles went on to lead by as much as 20 points in the third.

The Fighting Maroons, who absorbed their fifth loss, did try to host a comeback by cutting the deficit to 54-62, with four minutes left in the payoff period.

But it was handily erased with 14 unanswered points from Ateneo, which included four freebies plus ball possession as UP coach Ricky Dandan was handed a technical foul and Carlo Gomez was disqualified.

UP had the upper hand in the first quarter, 21-19, highlighted by back-to-back treys from Mike Gamboa, but it was all the Maroons could muster as they missed all of their next 10 attempts from beyond the arc.