UAAP: Eagles crush Tams in highly physical game

 

The Blue Eagles nailed seven triples en route to a 77-64 win over the Far Eastern University Tamaraws at the SM Mall of Asia Arena, Wednesday, in the second round of the UAAP men's seniors basketball tournament. Ateneo used another second-half blitz to soar above FEU in a testy affair marked by ejections, technical fouls, and even a spitting-incident.

 

"Teams might have been looking at the stat sheets and see we're last in outside shooting so they try to test our outside shooting," said Ateneo head coach Norman Black. "But my players have the license to shoot, especially when teams try to take away Greg in the post." Entering the game, Ateneo had made just 16 triples total in their previous eight outings.

While the Eagles were bombing away from downtown, there was plenty of shoving and contact down in the trenches, as three players, one Atenean and two FEU players, were ejected. The physicality however, did not surprise Black.

 

"Lately, that's how teams have been trying to play us to throw us off," said the multi-titled tactician. "But we've proven in the past 5-6 years we don't back down, and we weren't about to start tonight."

 

 

Like their record against the Blue Eagles, the Tamaraws were stuck in a rut, early in the first quarter, unable to convert against Ateneo's bigs in the paint. Meanwhile, the Eagles got their perimeter game going with a 15-footer from Salva and a left corner trey from Tiongson. After a hook shot by Slaughter, FEU was charged with consecutive unsportsmanlike fouls on Arvie Bringas and Mac Belo. Salva made four from the line to make it an 11-0 lead halfway through the first.

 

Bringas scored on a putback to notch the Tams's first points, but a scuffle shortly erupted after Anthony Hargrove was fouled by Ryan Buenafe on a drive, resulting in technical fouls and ejections for Belo and Buenafe. Hargrove made the resulting free throws for an 11-4 tally.

 

The Eagles would only make one more field goal, a hook shot by Slaughter, in the back half of the first. Meanwhile, the Tamaraws rallied behind consecutive baskets by Terrence Romeo and a rare three-ball from Hargrove. Romeo converted in transition with under a minute to play to draw FEU within one, but Salva then split at the line to fend off the Tams, 15-13, heading to the second.

 

The Tamaraws' bench came charging to plant FEU on top. Quick baskets by Roger Pogoy and Gyrann Mendoza knotted the game, while Russel Escoto dropped a trey to take the lead. Four more from Carl Cruz and Mendoza completed an 11-2 run for FEU, 24-17, at the 5:31 mark.

 

Kiefer Ravena checked back in the game and dropped four quick points for Ateneo, and six of their next eight. But FEU stayed a few steps ahead, thanks to contributions from Bringas and Hargrove at the rim, 32-25.

 

The Eagles' bench players responded, coming alive to close the quarter. Von Pessumal managed a split at the line, then Poy Erram scored their last six, including an and-one with six-tenths of a second remaining. Ateneo closed the half with a 7-2 run, leaving FEU with a 34-32 lead.  

Ateneo had the hot hand when play resumed, as three straight triples from Ravena and Tiongson aided an 11-3 swing. RR Garcia buried a triple, his first field goal of the game and the Tams' first as well in the period, halfway through the quarter, to cut their deficit to three. Romeo and Tiongson exchanged short jumpers for a 45-43 tally at the 4:11 mark.

 

The Tams continued to let Ateneo shoot as the Eagles' outside game eventually cooled, but FEU couldn't score against the tough interior defense, either. Adding to the Tams' woes was Romeo, who was a liability in the final three minutes, going 1-for-4 from the line. Meanwhile, Justin Chua scored Ateneo's last four to pull them ahead, 49-43, after three quarters.

 

Ateneo's bigs led the charge into the final quarter. Erram converted on a drive while Slaughter dropped six straight, culminating in a lob play from Salva. Tiongson buried his third make from deep to put the lid on an 11-5 barrage, 60-48, forcing Tams head coach Bert Flores to call timeout.

 

As the players headed to the bench during the break, an unsportsmanlike foul was called on Bringas, much to the ire of Tams fans, ejecting him from the court. The one-time DLSU Green Archer had been bumped by Greg Slaughter during the deadball, and expressed his displeasure by spitting towards the Ateneo bench. Salva made the subsequent charities, and then Tiongson nailed yet another trey on the bonus possession to make it 65-48. The run broke the Tams' backs for good. Garcia scored 9 of FEU's last 16, but Ateneo kept them at bay – thanks to Salva and Tiongson combining for 10 of Ateneo's next 13. FEU could not get the deficit below 12, as Chua and Elorde put the finishing touches on the victory for Ateneo.

 

Ateneo made the most of their time at the free throw line, converting 20 of 26 against a 12 of 17 mark from FEU. The Eagles also tallied more assists, 18-8, and – as a result – shot better overall from the field. The Katipunan-based squad shot 25 of 59 for 42 percent against the Tamaraws 24 of 69 for 35 percent.

 

Ateneo improved to 8-1 in the standings, solidifying their hold on the top spot, while FEU remained t ied for second-place with UST at 7-3

Former league MVP RR Garcia paced FEU with 14 points, four rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Romeo added 13 points and six rebounds, while Hargrove tallied 10 points, nine boards and two blocks. — RAF/CLM/VS/AMD, GMA News

 

The scores: 

 

ADMU 77: Tiongson 16, Salva 15, Ravena 12, Slaughter 10, Erram 8, Chua 8, Pessumal 4, Elorde 4, Gonzaga 0, Capacio 0, Golla 0, Capacio 0, Buenafe 0

 

FEU 64: Garcia 14, Romeo 13, Hargrove 10, A Bringas 7, Mendoza 6, Escoto 5, Cruz 3, M Bringas 2, Inigo 2, Pogoy 2, Sentchu 0, Jose 0, Belo 0, Guerrero 0 

 

Quarter scoring: 15-13, 32-34, 49-43, 77-64