Ateneo played near-perfectly in a hostile environment as University of Santo Tomas (UST)’s rare home court advantage gave the Blue Eagles the result they were looking for in their second matchup of UAAP Men’s Basketball Season 87. It was confirmed that there was almost no effect. tournament.
The Eagles won their first game on Saturday at UST’s Quarcentennial Pavilion, as Ateneo avenged a first-round loss to the Growling Tigers by outscoring Santo Tomas 67-64 with just three surprising ball turnovers. Recorded consecutive wins. .
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“I don’t know the last time I had to play a road game in the UAAP. And of course, I’ve been used to things like that throughout my career…but I’ve never experienced that here.” said Ateneo coach Tab Baldwin. “Why it happened was a mystery to us, but it did.
“And what we were asked to do was eradicate it once and for all. And I think this was one of the bravest victories we’ve had in years,” Baldwin added. .
The Tigers, playing in front of a cheering crowd mostly dressed in yellow, got off to a sluggish start with the Eagles leading 17-4.
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The Eagles were helped by 17 offensive rebounds and 18 Santo Tomas turnovers, and Ateneo spent the rest of the game fending off the Tigers.
Meanwhile, La Salle defeated Adamson 70-45 in the second game to earn its first ticket to the Final Four.
The Green Archers won six straight games, the hottest in the league, and maintained their lead with 9 wins and 1 loss.
Current MVP Kevin Quiambao led La Salle to the rout with 17 points and 6 rebounds.
“Real Warriors”
“Sometimes, like this year, you’re your own worst enemy and when you can’t take advantage of the opportunities you create, you have to eradicate them,” Baldwin said.
“And the two guys sitting here today (Ian Espinosa and Sean Quitevis) are the best examples of that type of character on our team.
“These are real warriors. They’re guys who play with their hearts on every possession. Sometimes you wish they didn’t do that,” he said. “Sometimes I wish they would use their heads a little more. But we can never doubt their hearts.”
Andrew Bongo scored 14 points to lead the Eagles, 3-6, and Espinosa had 11 points and six rebounds.
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Sean Tuano matched captain Chris Coon with 10 points, and Quitevis made a crucial steal from UST mainstay Nick Cabanero with 11.7 seconds to play, giving the Tigers their sixth loss in 10 games.
“We’re giving ourselves opportunities, and if our shots start falling, we start taking easy shots, we start making free throws, we’re not going to be a team that can average 60 to 65 points.” We’re going to be a team that averages 75 points,” Baldwin said.
