Ravena, Asistio lift Eagles past Maroons

Thirdy Ravena and Anton Asistio combined for 33 points to lead the Ateneo Blue Eagles past the UP Fighting Maroons on Wednesday, 87-79, in the UAAP Men’s Basketball competition.

Raven and Asistio had a lot of help from Angelo Kouame and Matt Nieto, as the two tallied 14 and 12 points respectively for a productive first unit.

The Eagles also had help from the reserves, with Mike Nieto hitting seven and Adrian Wong, Jolo Mendoza, and Isaac Go all chipping in five points apiece.

Five straight from Juan Gomez De Liano kept it a five-point game with 4:30 left, before the Eagles canned six straight to stretch the lead to 10, 83-73.

The Maroons came up empty in the next few possessions, allowing Ateneo to keep a double digit advantage in the final two minutes.

Thirdy Ravena and Angelo Kouame then cashed in on charities to put the game out of reach.

Juan Gomez de Liano carried UP with 29 points off a high 63 percent clip from the field, while Paul Desiderio added 17.

JUST IN: Ateneo Blue Eagles win ‘Battle of Katipunan’, defeats UP Fighting Maroons, 87-79. @gmanews pic.twitter.com/M3AZc5CvFN

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Despite going against them, Baldwin and Ravena praised the UP Fighting Maroons, particularly Juan Gomez de Liaño. "UP team's very good, aren't they? Juan Gomez de Liaño is a heck of a player. They got a great attacking spirit." Baldwin said. Ravena echoed, "UP is very, very strong. Juan played a heck of a game."

Now that their first win for their title retention bid has been listed, Ravena expects all the teams will give their best against them. "Coming into the game, mahirap kasi ine-expect mo na lahat ng team, ibibigay lahat matalo lang kami. That's why it's harder to defend a championship than to win one. I think our team responded well. All my teammates responded well. We gotta prepare for next game," he said.

Ateneo will next face the FEU Tamaraws on Saturday, while UP will go against UST on Sunday.

No other Maroon scored in double figures, as Jun Manzo and Bright Akhuetie combined for just 17 off a 7 of 20 clip. — BAP, GMA News