FilOil: Ateneo soars over SWU Cobras

(Updated 9:22pm) After their fifth-straight UAAP championship was marked by the departure of five key rotation players, the revampled Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles began life under new head coach Bo Perasol with a 77-72 win over the Southwestern University Cobras, Saturday at the FilOil Flying V Arena, on opening day of the FilOil Flying V Hanes preseason tournament. The opening quarters were not easy for Ateneo, as the team committed even the easiest-to-avoid of defensive lapses, leaving Bon Guillena and Monbert Arong for easy triples. The Blue Eagles struggled mightily on offense too, as they leaned on short jumpers from Frank Golla and Von Pessumal. Meanwhile the Cobras went with an inside-outside game, with Fabrice Siewe manning the middle and the usual throng of SWU shooters in Guillena, Arong, and Darryl Goloran surrounding him. It was not too late though when the Eagles realized their folly, fielding in Ravena, Elorde, and Newsome for a high-speed, three-pronged guard attack that left the Southwestern defense dazed and confused in the second quarter. Though the Cobras still managed to chip in some points, the Katipuneros upped the ante, playing physically on their shooters and doubling up on Siewe. An alley-oop slam by Newsome from Ravena gave the Eagles a three-point edge towards halftime, which Guillena watered down with a pair of free throws to cut it to 32-31. The Blue Eagles then took their one-point halftime lead and expanded it to 14 by the third quarter, as Coach Perasol’s guards vigorously attacked SWU’s interior defense, which resulted in free throws and easy fast break baskets. On the other end, Monbert Arong and Guillena started missing their long shots, which rendered the Southwestern offense dead. SWU’s centers kept being double-teamed, and Coach Yayoy Alcoseba used all his foreign players, Fabrice Siewe, Landry Sanjo, and Justin Aboude, in a desperate attempt to gain some composure. After a basket by Aboude cut down Ateneo’s lead to seven, the Blue Eagles went on a 7-0 run, using their quickness while the Cobras just looked on. Nico Elorde came up big for the Eagles in the third, scoring 10 of his 19 points, six of which came from long-distance. Ateneo maintained their lead in the fourth quarter, but seemed slightly hobbled towards the end, evidently tired. Landry Sanjo made six points in seven minutes, keeping the lead within 10 points, until Guillena regained his competitive fire, bringing SWU within five, 77-72. Time ran out before SWU could complete their run though, as the final buzzer rang with the score at 77-72. Ateneo shot poorly both from the field and the free throw line, making 36 percent of their field goal attempts, 29 percent from downtown, and 62 percent from the stripe. Absent a go-to-guy in the post, the Blue Eagles relied on their fast break and passing game, scoring 13 points off 24 SWU turnovers. Their offense connected on 17 assists, with 10 coming from Ravena and Elorde. The Cobras grabbed six rebounds more than Ateneo (48-42) but failed to capitalize on second-chance points. Kiefer Ravena led the charge for Ateneo, playing 30 minutes and producing 22 points (5-of-15 FG, 11-of-15 FT), seven rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block, versus two turnovers. Backcourt partner Nico Elorde dropped 19 markers, 12 coming from a 4-of-8 clip from downtown, four rebounds, five assists and a steal, while new addition Chris Newsome made his debut with a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds. The Eagles though had to contend with injuries to some of their rotation players, as Juami Tiongson, Ryan Buenafe, Gwyne Capacio and Kris Porter were all unavailable. Bon Guillena led all scorers with 23 points. Fabrice Siewe amassed 12 points and five boards in a 12-minute stint, while starters Landry Sanjo, Monbert Arong and Jaques Bautista combined for 23 points. The game marked Southwestern’s first FilOil appearance, after turning heads with their PCCL Final Four stint, headlined by Cameroonian Benoit Mbala. Since then however, Mbala has opted to transfer to DLSU, though the squad has gone out and recruited Fabrice Siewe and Landry Sanjo to fill the void. For Ateneo, gone are 7'0" Greg Slaughter, and his back-up Justin Chua. Also graduated are scoring machine Nico Salva, and stoppers Tonino Gonzaga and Oping Sumalinog. Their five-peat head coach, Norman Black, is also no longer with the team. Controversial recruit Jerie Pingoy was with the team but did not play, owing to the as-of-yet unresolved residency ruling. - AMD, GMA News The scores: AdMU – Ravena 22, Elorde 19, Newsome 14, Pessumal 7, Golla 5, Erram 5, Murphy 4, Babilonia 1, Lim 0, Tolentino 0, Asistio 0 SWU – Guillena 23, Siewe 12, Sanjo 9, Arong 8, Bautista 6, Aboude 4, Panerio 2, Goloran 2, Otida 2, Bregondo 2, Pajantoy 2, Ortega 0, Holper 0, Escobio 0 Quarter-scoring: 12-16, 32-31, 60-46, 77-72