MANILA – Angelo Kouame carried the scoring cudgels for Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles in the endgame for a 71-65 win over Far Eastern University Tamaraws in the UAAP Season 85 men’s basketball on Sunday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Down by as much as 19 points in the opening half and trailing 61-56 midway in the fourth quarter, the Blue Eagles got free throws from Bryan Andrade and Dave Ildefonso followed by an inside hit by Kouame to take a 62-61 lead.
Kouame then scored from inside and followed with a split free throw for a 65-63 Ateneo lead. FEU tied the game for the last time at 65-all on an LJay Gonzales hit but an inside hit by Kouame followed by consecutive free throw hits sealed the win for Ateneo.
Kouame finished with 20 points, 14 rebounds, three assists, and one block, Rence Padrigao followed with 13 points, six assists, and five rebounds as Ateneo extended its winning streak to three games and improved to an 8-3 record.
“That win was just heart and some decent execution in the fourth quarter,” said Blue Eagles mentor Tab Baldwin. “Up until then, we were pretty bad really in most aspects of the game.”
Xyrus Torres finished with 19 points, including five three-point conversions, Gonzales added 15 points, four rebounds, and two assists as Patrick Sleat contributed 10 markers as the Tamaraws fell to a 4-8 record behind three consecutive defeats.
National University Bulldogs clawed from an early deficit before staving off University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers in the endgame for a 67-57 victory. The Bulldogs improved to 9-3, while the Growling Tigers slumped to 1-10.
Trailing 29-36 at the half and were behind 52-54 late in the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs got a huge triple from Steve Nash Enriquez, consecutive inside hits by Omar John and Mike Malonzo and a triple by John Lloyd Clemente for a 64-54 lead.
Nicael Cabanero tried to carry the Growling Tigers back in the game with a three-pointer but three free throws by Clemente secured the come-from-behind triumph for the Bulldogs.
Clemente led the Bulldogs’ offense with 19 points, John chipped in 12 markers, while rookie Kean Baclaan torched his former school anew with 10 points, including two outside hits.
BOX SCORE:
ATENEO 71 – Kouame 20, Padrigao 13, Andrade 9, Ildefonso 8, Garcia 8, Ballungay 5, Koon 4, Lazaro 2, Daves 2, Chiu 0, Quitevis 0.
FEU (65) – Torres 19, Gonzales 15, Sleat 10, Tchuente 8, Anonuevo 8, Bagunu 3, Bautista 2, Alforque 0, Sajonia 0, Sandagon 0, Tempra 0.
Quarterscores: 14-21, 27-41, 49-54, 71-65./PN
