By JOAHNA LEI E. CASILAO, CRIS EUGENE T. GIANAN, and MA. LEANDREA A. TAMARES
SOCIOLOGY (Socio) secured a spot in the semifinals of the Athena Cup basketball tourney after demolishing Behavioral Science (BES), 62-52, and Asian Studies (ASN), 57-52.
Socio ran through BES early in the first quarter, 17-9, despite the efforts of BES’s Marvic Ponti with his series of three-pointers. Socio prevailed despite multiple turnovers due to BES’s violations throughout the game, ending the bout at 62-52.
ASN fell behind Socio throughout the game. Quick and consistent drives from Socio’s Rowi Pascual as well as a miracle shot in the last quarter from Raymund Abuel kept ASN at bay despite their 10-1 run in the fourth quarter.
History bounced back from their loss to Economics (Econ), conquering Political Science (PolSci) in a five-minute overtime period, 73-65. PolSci initially dominated the game with an 8-0 run in the second quarter, but History caught up with a parade of rebounds led by Lanz Gutierrez.
Combined efforts of History’s Albert Arucan, Tomojiro Ono, and a series of three-pointers by Joseph Alfonso tied the game at 56, leading to the neck-and-neck overtime match.
Legal Management (LM) meanwhile dashed Journalism’s chances in the tournament, ending the match at 46-33. Journ initially managed to keep pace until LM pulled ahead in the second half with turnovers and fast breaks, achieving a 17-to-2 run.
Economics (Econ) overwhelmed History, 93-48, on the back of consistent two-pointers by Kristian Baluyot that established their dominance early in the match. Econ defended their lead in the second half through aggressive steals coupled with Miguel Florencio’s fast breaks.
ELS defeated Lit, 72-61, despite Lit taking the lead in the first half. A series of effective dribble penetrations from Lit’s Carl Latoja kept the team in the lead early in the game, but an 11-point run allowed ELS to get ahead in the middle of the third quarter.
The games were held at the Brgy. Bombers Court on Friday, Feb. 15. F
