The Blue Eagles proved their prowess as the team refused the tenacity of the Growling Tigers’ fightbacks with veteran Tyler Tio’s shooting chops and finished with a team-high 20 points in just 14 minutes on a 7-of-9 clip and 4-of-5 from three.

Ateneo had a big 50-30 lead late in the second period, but Joshua Fontanilla of UST rejected the Blue Eagle’s domination as he shortened the gap to seven, 50-43, at the 8:15 mark of the third.

Still, the Katipunan squad proved that they are indeed the three-time champions and undefeated since October 2018 as the team stretched the lead to 24, 82-58, with 7:59 left in the last frame.

Sherwin Concepcion recovered the Growling Tigers’ confidence with his 12-2 run made of triples but it was not enough to lift UST until rookie Gab Gomez sealed the deal, 91-72, with 2:56 remaining.

BJ Andrade also contributed 10 points, four dimes, three boards, and two steals, while Chris Koon and SJ Belangel got nine each, Ange Kouame delivered eight points, 10 rebounds, and two blocks, and rookie Josh Lazaro had 11 rebounds off five offensive boards to go with his four points.

Sherwin Concepcion fired 22 points to go with seven rebounds, while rookie captain Paul Manalang scored 10 in 26 minutes, and Nic Cabanero scored nine with nine rebounds as UST dropped to 2-5.

The Scores:

ATENEO 91 – Tio 20, Andrade 10, Koon 9, Belangel 9, Kouame 8, Mamuyac 8, Ildefonso 6, Daves 6, Lazaro 4, Gomez 3, Chiu 3, Padrigao 3, Verano 2, Mallillin 0, Mendoza 0.

UST 80 – Concepcion 22, Manalang 10, Fontanilla 9, Cabanero 9, Santos 9, M. Pangilinan 8, Mantua 5, Manaytay 3, Gomez de Liano 3, Ando 2, Samudio 0.

Quarters: 27-19, 50-34, 74-58, 91-80.