FilOil: Ateneo gets costly victory over Lyceum, as Pessumal joins ranks of injured

The Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles put down the Lyceum of the Philippines University, 84-66, for their third straight win in the FilOil Flying V Hanes Preseason Cup, Friday, at the San Juan Arena.

However the victory came at a cost as Ateneo shooting guard Von Pessumal suffered a fractured finger early in the second quarter and did not return to the court. Pessumal was chasing the ball out of bounds when his finger allegedly got caught in Shane Ko's jersey, and the ensuing contact led to the injury.

"He'll still be with us [for our training camp in the US] but we don't know the extent of his injury," said team manager Paolo Trillo. "For us right now the whole idea is to get healthy first and hopefully we can build on our training in the US."

Kiefer Ravena led all scorers with 21 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Nico Elorde added 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting. Juami Tiongson notched 11 points.

Assistant coach Gabby Severino praised the Eagles for gutting it out against a tough team this afternoon. "It's always nice to see the boys put in the effort on the defensive end even against non-glamorous teams. If we play hard against those teams we've accomplished half the battle," he said.

Ravena played 30 minutes in the blowout as their roster was shortened to nine players. "Summer palang tapos babad na kami sa minutes, but we'll be ready. The coaches have prepared us for these kinds of situations."

Severino said his team has had to contend with rough play throughout the preseason, but said that the Eagles had dealt with it thus far. "If that's their strategy then we just have to be ready. If that's what their character is we just have to face it," he said.

Kiefer Ravena also commented on the roughness from a strategical point of view. "Nakikita nila yung Ateneo na kulang sa tao, maybe that's one thing coaches on the other side see and try to get us into foul trouble," he said.

The Eagles won their third in a row to improve to 6-1. Between today and their final elimination game against the De La Salle Green Archers on June 1, Ateneo will fly to Las Vegas, Kyoto and Tokyo for their annual training camp and tune-up tournaments. The Pirates fell to 0-2.

Ravena added that the time abroad will be helpful for the Eagles' upcoming campaign. "Our camaraderie is the most important thing apart from our system," he said.

Lyceum had the edge in a tit-for-tat first quarter, as triples by Jeric Fabian and Dexter Zamora gave them a 10-9 lead. While the Eagles moved the ball in the half court set, a Juami Tiongson triple restored an 18-12 lead in their favor. The Pirates on the other hand, scrapped for second-chance looks, with Jomari Lacastesantos canning a three-ball of his own with three minutes to play.

Ateneo's bench proved deeper in the last three minutes though, as a Pessumal and-one sparked them to end the quarter with seven unanswered points, 26-15.

Von Pessumal checked out early in the second quarter due to an injured finger. Smelling blood, Lyceum pressed on as Shane Ko buried a trey to start a 10-4 run, capped by a John Azores fast break, 30-25.

However, the Pirates would lag behind as they missed easy shots and fumbled fast breaks, making only one more basket in the last five minutes. The Eagles then set up players around the basket as Earl Murphy keyed an 11-2 run to close the quarter, 41-27.

Andrei Mendoza was handed an unsportsmanlike foul at the 1:32 mark for punching Murphy below the belt while angling for a rebound.


Ateneo shot 15-of-32 through two quarters (47 percent), including 4-of-9 from downtown (44 percent). In contrast, the Pirates were 5-of-11 from deep (45 percent) but just 10-of-35 overall (29 percent).

Lyceum made some headway into the lead after the break, Ko and Mendoza played aggressively in the paint, scoring eight of the Pirates' first 13 points. Kiefer Ravena responded by holding down the fort for the Eagles, scoring their 11 of their own 13 points. Anton Asistio and Vince Tolentino then relieved him, breaking loose on transition plays, as Tolentino's and-one marked six unanswered for the Eagles, 58-42.

In the last three minutes the Pirates tried to rally around drives to the rim, succeeding in denting the deficit after a buzzer-beating drive by Ko, 64-49.

However the Eagles were not in the clear, as full-court defense by the Pirates in the fourth allowed them to cut the deficit to 13 points, 70-57, with under six minutes to play. Tiongson brought the rally to halt though with a triple, leading to 10 unanswered points punctuated by a one-handed Ravena jam, 79-60, with two minutes on the clock.

Ateneo finished with a 29-of-59 clip from the field (49 percent), including 6-of-16 from three-point range (38 percent). In contrast, Lyceum shot 22-of-66 (33 percent), including 7-of-21 from deep (33 percent).

The Eagles held a 14-2 advantage in fast break points, and 16-12 on turnover points.

Dexter Zamora was the sole Pirate who scored in double figures with 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting. - AMD, GMA News


The scores:

ADMU 84: Ravena 21, Elorde 17, Tiongson 11, Murphy 9, Newsome 7, Tolentino 6, Golla 5, Asistio 5, Pessumal 3, Lim 0

LPU 64: Zamora 10, Ko 9, Mendoza 8, Fabian 8, Lacastesantos 7, Francisco 6, Taladua 5, Lesmoras 3, Azores 3, Evangelista 3, Ambohot 2, Soliman 0, Garcia 0, Edora 0, Baltazar 0

Quarter scoring: 26-15, 41-27, 64-49, 84-64