MANILA – Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles secured its place in the UAAP Season 84 men’s basketball Final Four via a 101-51 humiliation of the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers on Thursday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Raffy Verano led the balanced Blue Eagles attack with 18 points and seven rebounds, while Bacolodnon Samjosef Belangel dropped 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting from three-point area.
Geo Chiu contributed career-high 14 points and eight rebounds, while Joshua Lazaro, Dave Ildefonso and Angelo Kouame also hit double-figures in points with 12, 11 and 10, respectively.
The defending champions Blue Eagles remained unblemished at 10-0 record and continued also their UAAP winning streak which now stands at 36 games.
This is also Ateneo’s seventh-straight Final Four appearance with Season 76 the last time it missed the postseason, where they were beaten by the Growling Tigers in the knockout game.
The Blue Eagles went on a scorching first half behind inside conversions by Verano and Kouame and outside hits by Belangel, going ahead by 25 at the half, 46-21.
But Ateneo even took it up a notch in the third quarter with a storm so strong, outscoring the UST, 34-15, for a 44-point lead heading into the final frame, 80-36.
“I think the difference in the scoreline is a reflection that our coaching staff asked for 40 minutes of performance from our players, and that’s something that’s plagued us this year,” said Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin.
Rookie Nicael Cabañero was the lone players in double digits for the 3-7 Growling Tigers with 18 points, while Aklanon Christian Manaytay chipped in nine markers.
The defeat was a slap in the faces of the Growling Tigers as it was the biggest losing margin by an UAAP team since the computerization of stats in 2003.
It also broke the Growling Tigers’ worst loss in the league, a 43-point crushing from De La Salle University Green Archers, 99-56, on October 23, 2016 when the school was handled by Boy Sablan.
BOX SCORE:
ATENEO 101 — Verano 18, Belangel 16, Chiu 14, Lazaro 12, Ildefonso 11, Kouame 10, Koon 9, Andrade 6, Padrigao 5, Mamuyac 0, Tio 0, Gomez 0, Daves 0.
UST 51 — Cabanero 18, Manaytay 9, Fontanilla 8, Manalang 7, Concepcion 5, Yongco 2, Santos 2, Ando 0, Herrera 0, Gomez de Liano 0, Garing 0, Mantua 0, Pangilinan 0.
Quarterscores: 22-8, 46-21, 80-36, 101-51./PN
