After trailing by as much as 10 points in the second quarter, the ADMU Blue Eagles banked on a big third quarter to give them a 73-62 victory over the struggling DLSU Green Archers, Sunday November 8 at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
In the third quarter, Ateneo scored 23 points and limited La Salle to just nine. The Blue Eagles led by as much as 11 in the third period and cruised to victory from then on as timely shots from Aaron Black and Adrian Wong kept La Salle at bay in the fourth quarter.
The Blue Eagles also capitalized on the Green Archers’ lack of height as they dominated the rebounds, collecting 48 compared to just 34 for La Salle. DLSU was also unable to keep up with Ateneo’s transition game as the Blue Eagles scored 14 fast break points as opposed to just two for La Salle.
After the win, Ateneo head coach Bo Perasio said, “What’s important right now is that we give ourselves a chance to catch up with the league leaders.”
The win was the fifth consecutive for Ateneo as they improved to 9-4 on the season with one game left to play. Ateneo hopes to catch the 10-3 UST Growling Tigers and force a playoff for the second seed. A win by Ateneo in their last outing against the UE Red Warriors and a UST loss against the AdU Soaring Falcons in their elimination round finale will cause a tie.
Meanwhile, the Green Archers suffered their fourth loss over their last five outings to fall to 5-7. The loss was especially crucial for La Salle who slipped to fifth place in the standings and are currently trailing the NU Bulldogs, who have a 6-7 card, by half a game. La Salle has two games remaining while NU has one.
Ateneo was led by senior forward Von Pessumal who scored 17 points and grabbed six rebounds. Fellow senior Kiefer Ravena added 15 points and five rebounds, but made just four out of 15 field goal attempts.
Ravena remarked, “Nakakatuwa kasi, yun nga, madaming pinagdaanan over the past week,” referencing the controversy surrounding center Chibueze Ikeh who was arrested earlier in the week. “This victory means a lot for us, especially for our morale,” added Pessumal.
Supporting the veteran duo of Pessumal and Ravena were Wong and Black who both came off the bench to score 10 and 13 points, respectively. Rookie guard Matt Nieto was also stellar as he contributed six points, seven rebounds, and two assists before leaving the game due to a knee injury in the fourth quarter.
La Salle was led by Prince Rivero who scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Jeron Teng tallied 11 points, four rebounds, and four assists, but fouled out midway through the fourth quarter. Jason Perkins and Josh Torralba added eight points apiece for La Salle.
