Ateneo's Kirk Long drives towards Adamson's Alex Nuyles. (Photo by: Vyn Radovan)
In the first Sunday of the 74th University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball tournament, the two teams that squared it off in last year’s finals walked out of the Araneta Coliseum with respective victories.
Far Eastern University overpowered De La Salle University with a convincing 74-65 win in the day’s opening match.
This defeat by FEU breaks the 4-game winning streak of La Salle, who has not lost an opening match since returning from their suspension in Season 70.
The game was relatively close with several lead changes going on throughout the first half. The third quarter started with a 6-0 run in favor of the Archers, but the Tamaraws dominated and broke away, solidifying their lead with their timely 3-point shots in the fourth quarter.
Leading the scoring for the Tamaraws was UAAP Season 73 MVP RR Garcia, who produced 17 of his 21 points in the second half. Aldrech Ramos and JR Cawaling put up 16 and 10 respectively.
LA Revilla, who was sidelined for two years due to health reasons, made a successful comeback to the Archers, contributing 18 points, while Luigi Dela Paz and Oda Tampus combined for 17 points.
Meanwhile, Greg Slaughter made an impressive debut in Ateneo de Manila University’s 55-51 comeback win over Adamson University. The 7-footer transferee from University of Visayas amassed a game-high 23 points and 8 rebounds in his UAAP debut.
The Blue Eagles jumped on the Falcons in the early stages and had major contributions from Slaughter, Kirk Long and Nico Salva, who totalled for 14 points in their 16-5 start.
However, this year’s host school and three-time defending men’s champions could not get extend their advantage to double-digits and their body language showed their complacency to keep Leo Austria’s wards in the ballgame.
Finally the tides opened when Alex Nuyles buried a triple with 5:31 remaining in the third period and the game knotted at 36-all to give them their first taste of the lead through the end of the period.
Once again, the Falcons went back to their old ways of collapsing in the final frame, missing a major bulk of their 19 misses in the period during he last seven minutes and would commit costly errors that would give the game away.
In comparison, the Blue Eagles also had a hard time putting the ball through the hoop, but managed to get a lucky break on a goaltending call on Kirk Long’s drive to the basket within the two minute warning and would never look back.
Alex Nuyles came off the bench to lead the way with 11 points in a losing cause for Adamson, who drops their first game after promising summer campaigns in the PBA D-League and the Filoil Flying V Pre-Season Premier Cup. This also extends their losing streak to Ateneo in the UAAP wars to 29, which dates back to 1997.
Slaughter’s backcourt tandem and fellow newcomer Kiefer Ravena also made his UAAP debut with 14 scoreless minutes on the court. (Ericka Alcantara/Diego de la Paz)
BOX SCORES
First game
FAR EASTERN (74): Garcia 21, Ramos 16, Cawaling 10, Cruz 9, Romeo 6, Bringas 5, Tolomia 3, Escoto 2, Exciminiano 2, Sentcheu 0, Pogoy 0, Knuttel 0
DE LA SALLE (65): Revilla 18, Dela Paz 9, Tampus 8, Van Opstal 5, Webb 5, Torres 4, Marata 4, Andrada 4, Gotladera 2, Vosotros 2, Atkins 2, Villanueva 1, Mendoza 1, Sara 0, Paredes 0
Quarters: 18-18, 35-33, 52-45, 74-65
Second game
ATENEO (55): Slaughter 23, Long 10, Salva 8, Monfort 6, Erram 3, Gonzaga 3, Austria 2, Ravena 0, Tiongson 0, Sumalinog 0, Golla 0, Chua 0
ADAMSON (51): Nuyles 11, Alvarez 8, Cañada 6, Camson 6, Cabrera 6, Manyara 5, Lozada 3, Etrone 2, Brondial 2, Colina 2
Quarters: 16-12, 33-27, 43-44, 55-51
