MANILA – Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles renewed its mastery of the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons with an 89-63 beat-down in the UAAP Season 82 men’s basketball at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Ivorian import Angelo Kouame tallied 19 points, 15 rebounds and seven blocks as the two-time defending champions Blue Eagles completed a seven-game sweep in Sunday night’s first round of eliminations.
Matt Nieto added 18 markers, five rebounds and three assists while William Navarro, Ilonggo Ferdinand “Thirdy” Ravena III and Negrense Samjosef Belangel had 14, 13 and 11 markers, respectively.
Trailing 15-21 after the first 10 minutes, the Blue Eagles were unflappable in the face of pressure, taking charge in the third quarter to turn the game from a close 35-31 halftime lead to a 45-32 edge with 7:29 left.
It gained more advantage in the second half with the Maroons playing sans ejected head coach Dolreich Perasol; it widened the lead to 27 points at 89-62 on a triple by Tyler Tio.
“I thought our guys played fairly and methodically,” said Blue Eagles head coach Tab Baldwin. “We didn’t get carried away with the crowd and the emotions. After at all, it was just a regular season game.”
For the Maroons that dropped to 5-2 record, Kobe Paras scored 15 points on a horrid 4-of-15 clip, while Javi Gomez de Liano uncorked 14 points and two boards and Jun Manzo got 12 points, five rebounds and three assists./PN
