THE UST Growling Tigers dismantled the Ateneo Blue Eagles, 80-68, to conclude the first elimination round of the UAAP Season 89 men’s basketball tournament on Saturday, Oct. 17.
Foreign-student athlete Collins Akowe led all scorers with 18 points, 15 rebounds, and four blocks before a home crowd at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.
Team captain Mark Llemit and sharpshooter Amiel Acido combined for 30 markers and 11 boards.
The win improved the Tigers’ record to 4-3 and brought them back to the top four. Ateneo fell to a 3-4 slate because of its third straight loss, which also sent the Katipunan squad to seventh place.
Rookie Kieffer Alas opened the match with consecutive triples to put up an early five point advantage for Ateneo, before Koji Buenaflor fired back with his own three to quickly tie the match, 11-all.
Eli Kapihe and Andrew Bongo retaliated with 8 combined points to put Ateneo ahead, before a late Llemit three-pointer trimmed the lead, 19-18, to close the opening frame.
Despite a defensive-powered second quarter from both sides, the Tigers maintained a slim, 23-21 margin midway into the quarter, before the Eagles uncorked an 11-4 blitz led by a Michael Asoro three to put the Katipunan squad back up, 32-27.
The España crew slowly chipped away at the lead down the stretch when a leak out play from Buenaflor and timely free throws from Akowe snatched the lead back, 34-32, at the end of the first half.
Coming hot off the heels of their comeback, Acido caught fire with 11 quick points to open the second half, including back-to-back long range bombs, padding UST’s run up to 32-4 to build a daunting 55-36 advantage.
One-and-done Landyn Jumawan added further pressure late, sinking back-to-back threes to close the quarter with UST’s biggest lead so far, 63-42.
The Blue Eagles opened the final salvo with a threatening 14-6 blitz with timely triples from veteran Shawn Tuano and captain Jared Bahay to close in on the Tigers’ chokehold, trimming the lead down to 13, 69-56.
Despite further efforts from Ateneo, a Llemit three and crucial free throws from Akowe and Buenaflor finally put the game to rest, 80-68.
Alas paced the Eagles with 18 points and 4 assists in their loss.
The Tigers’ three-game winning streak over the Eagles dates back to their historic triple-overtime bout at the Blue Eagle Gym during UAAP Season 88. F
