“Tough game. It was a game where it was never comfortable until the very end. We just kept squeezing, and we rebounded the ball so much better in the fourth,” Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin said.

DLSU started strong in the first salvo but ADMU fired back to get a five points advantage thanks to Gian Mamuyac’s three-point shot.

Angelo Kouame led Ateneo with 16 points on the record and helped Mamuyac inside to give four points alone in the second quarter to deny the shots of Michael Phillips in carrying the Archers.

While the Archer Kurt Lojera tried to jump the deficit with his three and a floater to clutch a one-point gap from the corner at 5:10 minutes but that only spiced things for the Blue Eagles as they closed the third frame with a 58-45 lead.

Ateneo flew high in the last quarter as they buried La Salle in the ground after Dave Idelfonso bannered a total of 12 points with Mamuyac’s on-point assists.

Phillips and Lojera tried to stop the play of Ateneo but only to find themselves in dismay as Sj Belangel unleashed his Gilas skills to give a total of eight points for the Blue Eagles.

“In the fourth, we got much better, and both teams played themselves to a standstill. Tickled to death but we came out on top, and we look forward to NU on Tuesday. It doesn’t get any easier,” coach Baldwin shared.

The Scores: 

ATENEO 74 – Kouame 16, Ildefonso 12, Mamuyac 11, Belangel 8, Tio 6, Koon 6, Chiu 6, Andrade 3, Verano 2, Padrigao 2, Lazaro 2. 

LA SALLE 57 – M. Phillips 13, Nonoy 12, Nelle 10, Lojera 9, Winston 6, Baltazar 5, Nwankwo 2, Manuel 0, Austria 0, B. Phillips 0.

Quarters: 16-11, 35-32, 58-45, 74-57.