UAAP: UST vs ADMU preview and live-scoring (round 2)

Game starts at 4pm. Page auto-refreshes every 30 seconds. First round meeting: The University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers made an inspired second-half comeback to snap a 12-game losing streak to the Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles with a 71-70 squeaker, last July 19 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Ateneo seemed in charge early on, turning a three-point lead into a 15-point advantage, as the Blue Eagle bench closed out the first quarter with a 12-0 run, 27-12. After entering halftime down 43-28, UST exploded for a 13-2 blast that had them within a point, 51-50, with 1:48 left in the third. Charities by Aljon Mariano then tied the game, but after Ryan Buenafe put Ateneo back up by two, UST scored six straight to close the period and take a four-point lead, 58-54. In the fourth quarter, Karim Abdul helped UST take a seven-point lead after hitting two charities with 2:36 left, 69-62. Juami Tiongson and Kiefer Ravena scored a five-point cluster to close in, but Abdul managed to add to the UST tally with 10 seconds left, 71-67. Juami Tiongson nailed a desperation trey with five seconds left to make it a one-point game, but Ateneo couldn't foul quickly enough off a Tigers timeout, allowing UST to hold on. Key stats: Prior to this match, Ateneo head coach Norman Black said that someone whom the team would need to focus on was Aljon Mariano, and the come-backing forward lived up to his billing, scoring 13 in his side's 30-11 third quarter run, while also plucking down seven boards in the ten-minute span. It ruined an amazing first half performance by the Eagles, which saw them put up 43 big points, 16 from the fast break, and 14 from the foul line. The Tigers managed to put the clamps on Ateneo's strengths in the second half however, allowing only seven more transition points and five freebies. While Mariano romped to a spectacular second-half, Karim Abdul was playing solid defense on Greg Slaughter. The 7'0" giant was held to just nine points on 2-of-6 shooting, and picked up two fouls in the third period, sending him to the bench. Another big factor in favor of UST was their ability to exploit Ateneo mistakes. They picked up 21 points off 18 Ateneo turnovers, with 14 points coming after halftime. Of late though, Ateneo has shown itself to be a more flexible team. In their win over NU, Ateneo won despite shooting just two free throws and getting 10 fast break points, their traditional strengths. Instead, they hit on NU's errors, getting a whopping 29 turnover points off 23 miscues by the Bulldogs. A win by Ateneo would clinch the top spot in the standings for them, ensuring they get a twice-to-beat advantage when they play the fourth seed in the Final Four. UST all season has been known as the comeback kids, and such was the case in their last game versus the UP Fighting Maroons, which held a seven-point lead going into the final quarter. The Tigers needed a 16-0 run in the fourth quarter, built with three straight and-one plays and another hot streak from Mariano, to eke out the win. If UST wins they'd improve to a half-game behind Ateneo, with a chance to tie their record and overtake them in the standings thanks to a superior quotient, if they can win their final game against UE on Thursday. UST needs to: Establish their inside-outside game early with Jeric Teng connecting from the outside and Karim Abdul going straight at Greg Slaughter, in the hopes of forcing him to sit with foul trouble early again. They'll also need to exploit the Mariano - Nico Salva mismatch, possibly by using him in a similar way as to how Adamson got Eric Camson to have a career outing versus ADMU. ADMU needs to: Attack the paint to draw Abdul into guarding the rim, instead of concentrating exclusively on Slaughter. Penetration from the guards can then lead to drop passes and easy scores for the big man. Failing that, they'll at least be able to get to the line, where they're shooting a league-best 74.4 percent. UST (9-3) projected starting-five: Aljon Mariano (16 points on 6/12 FG, 3/8 FT, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block), Karim Abdul, Jeric Fortuna, Jeric Teng, Kim Lo ADMU (11-2) projected starting-five: Greg Slaughter (22 points on 11-of-17 FG, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 blocks vs NU), Nico Salva, Kiefer Ravena, Juami Tiongson, Tonino Gonzaga - AMD, GMA News