UAAP: 'Drive for five' gains footing as Blue Eagles pummel Falcons

With catchphrases such as "drive for five," and "one big five," the Ateneo fateful are eagerly anticipating a fifth straight title bid. Their boys responded well to the challenge. Greg Slaughter flipped in 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, with Season 74 Finals MVP Nico Salva adding 14 more markers, as the Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles breezed through a depleted Adamson University Soaring Falcons team, 73-57, Sunday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena, in both squads' UAAP Season 75 debuts. The Falcons bucked a 10-2 start by Ateneo to take the lead in the second quarter, 20-17, despite having lost Lester Alvarez and Jerick Canada, who used up their eligibility. Adamson owed much of their production to center Rodney Brondial, whose quick, short stabs found Ateneo's defense wanting, but the return to the floor of starters Slaughter and Salva produced a 6-0 run that swung things in favor of the Blue Eagles, as ADMU went into the break up 32-28. In the second half, buckets by Alex Nuyles kept Adamson in the mix, as they trailed by just a point on more than one occasion. A dunk by Slaughter energized his teammates however, and was the catalyst for a 10-2 run that had Ateneo up by ten with 3:57 left in the third, 49-39, forcing Adamson's mentor Leo Austria to whistle for time. Adamson then drew first blood in the final period, as a triple from Ryan Monteclaro tagged it at 55-48. The Eagles still had all the answers though, as they countered with nine straight from their second unit. That had it at 64-48, a little under half a quarter left, with Austria struggling to find answers as Nuyles and power forward Eric Camson found themselves panting late in the fourth. Seven more unanswered Ateneo points sealed the deal, as charities by last season's Rookie of the Year Kiefer Ravena made it 73-52, less than two minutes left. Much can be attributed to Ateneo's second half defense, which effectively shut down Adamson's open shooters and clamped down on easy plays for Brondial. The Blue Eagles cut down on the turnovers and took advantage of Adamson's, resulting in 15 turnover points and an overall 44.4% shooting percentage. Rodney Brondial led Adamson with 13 points, as the team worked actively to feed him the ball in scoring positions. Alex Nuyles added 12 markers, seven rebounds and five dimes, while Eric Camson managed 10, albeit on 4-of-22 shooting from the field. He did make up for it somewhat on the defensive end, with 12 rebounds and three blocks. The reigning champs next go up against their Final Four opponent, the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers, on Thursday. Said Ateneo head coach Norman Black, "We're going to rely on it [defense] all week," referring also to their game after UST, a Sunday encounter against the host team NU. "We watched all four games and the first problem we saw was Karim Abdul. UST is very very good. Jeric Fortuna, Jeric Teng...we also have to find out how to stop Aljon Mariano. He's been spectacular since summer and he's pretty consistent."   Adamson on the other hand, will try to rebound versus UE on Saturday. - AMD, GMA News The scores: ADMU 73 - Slaughter 17, Salva 14, Ravena 9, Sumalinog 6, Buenafe 6, Tiongson 5, Erram 5, Chua 4, Gonzaga 3, Golla 2, Elorde 2, Porter 0, Pessumal 0, Lim 0, Capacio 0 ADU 57 - Brondial 13, Nuyles 12, Camson 10, Cabrera 10, Cruz 4, Monteclaro 3, Trollano 2, Etrone 2, Cabigas 1, Julkipli 0, Agustin 0, Abrigo 0 Quarter scoring: 15-16, 32-28, 55-45, 73-57