Despite giving their inter-city rival a chance to pull the rug from under their feet, Ateneo de Manila University continues their unbeaten streak by a 73-58 romp of University of the Philippines in the 74th University Athletic Association of the Philippines men’s basketball tourney.

Greg Slaughter dominated the paint and continued to hit his outside jumpers, scoring 18 points and gathering 18 rebounds in the contest. Nico Salva chipped in 16 points, while Justin Chua rang up 11 points and 10 rebounds to his name.

Early on, a patient and composed Fighting Maroons squad kept the game very close in the beginning, even getting leads as big as five in different occasions in the first half.

“At this point of the season, we cannot guarantee on how each game will play out. Instead we’ll have to adjust every game,” said Ateneo head coach Norman Black of their lackadaisical first half.

Kiefer Ravena, who struggled throughout this game due to the defense implored on him by bigger guards like Miggy Maniego and Gelo Montecastro, only managed to finish with 7 points.

However, his presence was felt in the second half as Mike Gamboa marked him and played decoy to the volume-scoring Salva and Slaughter.

Mike Silungan, playing a much more steady contest and composed contest, scored 16 points and cleared 8 caroms. Reserve big man Mark Juruena backed up a lackluster performance from Alinko Mbah by putting up 12 points in the loss.

In the other game, Adamson University continues their pursuit for the other twice-to-beat edge by punishing an upstart University of the East, 76-57. Eric Camson busted out a season-best statline of 20 points and 15 boards. Alex Nuyles had 17 points and 5 assists, while Lester Alvarez had 10.

Adamson keep themselves ahead of Far Eastern University by 1 1/2 games with a 9-3 mark.

Both UP and UE stick to the cellar with equal 2-10 marks.

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BOX SCORES
First game
ADAMSON (76): Camson 20, Nuyles 17, Alvarez 10, Cabrera 9, Brondial 8, Lozada 7, Rios 2, Colina 2, Cañada 1, Petilos 0, Agustin 0, Olalia 0, Monteclaro 0, Etrone 0
EAST (57): Zamar 17, Santos 6, Enguio 6, Casajeros 5, Noble 5, Tagarda 4, Duran 4, Zosa 3, Sabangan 2, Sumido 2, Flores 2, Javier 1, Sumang 0, de Leon 0
Quarters: 17-14, 27-28, 51-40, 76-57

Second game
ATENEO (73): Slaughter 18, Salva 16, Chua 11, Ravena 7, Tiongson 5, Long 5, Austria 4, Gonzaga 3, Erram 2, Monfort 2, Pessumal 0, Capacio 0, Sumalinog 0
STATE U (58): Silungan 16, Juruena 12, Maniego 7, Romero 6, Montecastro 4, Gamboa 4, Mbah 3, Wierzba 2, Gomez 2, Manuel 1, Gingerich 1, Pascual 0
Quarters: 15-14, 32-28, 52-45, 73-58