Focused Eagles foil Tigers’ first crack at Final 4 berth

ALFONZO Gotladera of Ateneo blocks a driving Ed Daquioag of UST in their UAAP match yesterday. August dela Cruz

MORE than exacting revenge, Ateneo sees its big UAAP win as a timely relief from the controversies hitting the Blue Eagles lately.

“What happened with John (Apacible) won’t be out of their heads,” said coach Bo Perasol after his Eagles pulled off an 80-74 victory over University of Santo Tomas for a 6-4 record yesterday at the heels of a controversy involving the sophomore forward.

“Much has been said about the incident. As his teammates, we want him to be better.”

Apacible, suspended by the team for the rest of the men’s basketball eliminations due to public misconduct, had issued an apology in a letter released by Ateneo Tuesday night.

The rest of the Eagles, though, showed no signs of distraction as they zoomed to leads as high as 17 points, 49-32, on the way to avenging their painful first-round-loss while also spoiling the Tigers’ first try at nailing the first Final Four berth.

Arvin Tolentino led Ateneo’s solid bench performance as he dropped 13 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter to help arrest UST’s late run.

“It was kind of traumatic for us,” Perasol said of the Eagles’ first-round loss to the Tigers where they blew a 16-point advantage. “There were moments in the game where I thought, ‘Is this a second run for them again?’ But we know we can match up well with UST.”

It also eased National U coach Eric Altamirano earlier when the Bulldogs snapped a three-game slide versus Adamson, 85-79, in overtime, in what has been a rough title defense.

“Everything is a process for us this season,” said Altamirano after the Bulldogs stayed in the Final Four hunt with a 4-6 record. “Obviously, we’re not the same as last year. But this type of game tests the character of the team.”

Jay Alejandro shone in crucial stretches for a team-high 22 points, including eight of the Bulldogs’ 13 points in overtime. His four clutch free throws also turned a 66-70 NU deficit into a 71-70 lead, 22.7 seconds left in regulation.

The scores:
First Game
NU 85—Alejandro 22, Alolino 17, Aroga 17, Javelona 11, Javillonar 7, Celda 5, Neypes 3, Yu 3, Abatayo 0, Diputado 0, Rangel 0, Salim 0, Tansingco 0.
ADAMSON 79—Sarr 32, Villanueva 10, Polican 9, Escalambre 8, Bernardo 4, Fernandez 3, Ng 3, Tungcab 3, Camacho 2, Garcia J. 2, Margallo 2, Miranda 1, Garcia C. 0.
Quarters: 12-16, 31-36, 50-53, 72-72 (reg.), 85-79 (OT)
Second Game
ATENEO 80—Tolentino 20, Pessumal 16, Ravena 11, Black 9, Wong 6, Babilonia 5, Capacio 5, Gotladera 3, Ikeh 2, Nieto 2, Go 1, Cani 0.
UST 74—Daquioag 19, Lee 15, Ferrer 13, Abdul 12, Lao 7, Sheriff 4, Vigil 4, Bonleon 0, Faundo 0, Garrido 0, Subido 0.
Quarters: 21-12, 41-28, 60-52, 80-74