MANILA – Cignal-Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles hardly broke a sweat as it scored a 90-46 evisceration of Batangas-EAC Generals in the 2019 PBA D-League at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
Joseph Matthew Nieto uncorked 10 of his 16 points total in the opening half on Thursday as the reigning UAAP men’s basketball champions turned a slim 16-9 edge to as high as 88-40 on free throws by Tyler Tio.
Tyler Tio also made his presence felt with 19 points while William Navarro recorded double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds.
The Blue Eagles cruised to 7-1 win-loss slate.
“It was a physical game. I think that was their formula when dealing with our big guys. But I told my players to just play through that and play good basketball. That was what we focused on,” said Blue Eagles head coach Tab Baldwin.
JP Maguliano was the lone player to notch double-digits in scoring with his 12 points and six rebounds for the Generals, which bowed out of playoffs contention as it fell to 2-6.
Meanwhile, SMDC-National University Bulldogs crawled its way back from a 19-point hole to pull off a 74-67 stunner over Centro Escolar University Scorpions for its second straight win.
Dave Ildefonso spearheaded the Bulldogs’ upset win by scoring his team’s last nine points, as well as 12 of his 21, in the fourth quarter to improve its Foundation Cup standings with 2-5 win-loss.
Issa Gaye added 10 points and 15 rebounds, including the go-ahead undergoal stab at 4:24 remaining that made it a 65-64 lead before Ildefonso wrapped the game up in what was an 11-3 finishing tear for the Bulldogs./PN
