Ateneo claws Adamson for 4th straight win

By Josiah Albelda Posted Aug 25th 2013

It was just too big of a mountain to overcome for Adamson University.

Ateneo de Manila University buried the Soaring Falcons in a deep hole early then held on when they made a run to score a 79-66 win in the 76th UAAP men's basketball tournament Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

After trailing early in the first quarter, the Blue Eagles dominated the next 30 minutes before holding off a persistent Adamson comeback in the final quarter to chalk up their fourth straight win.

Despite what was a scintillating performance by Ateneo in the third period, coach Bo Perasol wasn't too happy about the way they almost surrendered the lead in crunch time.

He admits, though, that it was a good learning experience for his crew.

"We can't just go through any other game without finishing it the right way," he said. "In fact, I was holding my time back for them to experience and adjust to the situations given to them."

The Eagles bamboozled the Falcons in a 26-6 run bridging the third and fourth erodes to create a 59-32 lead off a Frank Golla jumper.

But Adamson launched an eye-popping 19-0 run to trim the lead to just eight at 59-51 midway through the final frame.

The five-time champions, however, relied on Kiefer Ravena and Ryan Buenafe to finish the Falcons off and move up the standings with a 5-4 record.

"Adamson's a very capable team," Ravena said. If not for our 20-point lead, it would have been a different story."

Slowly getting back into his devastating form, Ravena fired 18 points on six of eight shooting while also tallying two steals and a block.

Meanwhile, Buenafe was an all-around wonder with 18 markers, nine boards, five assists and four steals even as Chris Newsome and reserve Nico Elorde teamed up for 18 points, 10 rebounds and five dimes.

The win, Ateneo's fifth in their last six games, allowed them to move just a full-game behind third-running archrival De La Salle University, whom they will face on September 1.

On the other hand, the Falcons crashed further down the standings with their fifth straight loss and sixth in their last seven outings.

Ingrid Sewa woke up from his slumber and made all of six field goal attempts to finish with 17 points and six rebounds while Jansen Rios, Jericho Cruz and Rodney Brondial each shared 14 markers for coach Leo Austria.

The scores:

Ateneo (79) - Ravena 18, Buenafe 18, Newsome 9, Elorde 9, Tiongson 7, Pessumal 6, Golla 6, Erram 2, Enriquez 2, Capacio 2, Tolentino 0, Lim 0

Adamson (66) - Sewa 17, Rios 14, Cruz 14, Brondial 14, Cabrera 3, Inigo 2, Agustin 2, Trollano 0, Petilos 0, Monteclaro 0, Julkipli 0, Abrigo 0

Quarters: 19-13, 33-26, 57-32, 79-66