Ateneo de Manila University absorbed a narrow 63-70 setback to heavy favorite Iran to miss a podium finish in the 40thWilliam Jones Cup yesterday at the Xinzhuang gymnasium in New Taipei City, Taiwan.

Riding the crest of a three-game winning streak, including a nail-biting 77-76 win over host Chinese Taipei Blue two days ago, the Blue Eagles unleashed a 25-16 second quarter barrage to transform a 14-15 first quarter deficit into a 39-31 lead at the half.

But Ateneo could not sustain its momentum as the more experienced Iranians fought back in the third quarter by launching a 23-11 run to snatch the lead, 54-50, heading into the final canto.

The tight battle continued in the fourth quarter, where Iran had difficulty shrugging off the Filipinos with just a slim 64-62 lead in the last two minutes.

Ateneo had multiple chances to tie the game or even snatch the lead, but Thirdy Ravena, Matt Nieto and Ivorian import Angelo Kouame couldn’t buy buckets down the stretch.

Kouame stopped the bleeding with a split from the charity stripe to make it 63-67 in the last 43.2 seconds.

But Vahid Dalirzahan sank a dagger trey at the other end in the final 5.57 seconds to give the Asian powerhouse the victory.

With the loss, the Ateneo finished its Jones Cup campaign with a 5-3 win-loss record to formally secure the fourth spot.

Matt Nieto, the hero in the Filipinos’ victory over the home team, continued his fine performance with 14 points, three assists and two steals while Ravena also came up big with 12 points, two rebounds and three assists.

Koaume was also instrumental for the Blue Eagles with 11 points, 15 rebounds, two steals and four blocks.

Meanwhile, Dalirzahan and Rasoul Mozafarivanani paced Iran with 26 and 16 points, respectively.

Iran is currently tied with defending champion 3D Global Sports of Canada on top of the eight-team standings with a 7-1 win-loss card.

The top team at the end of the eliminations will take home the championship.

Iran (70) – Dalirzahan 26, Mozafarivanani 16, Vand 9, Mohammad 8, Azari 4, Khandanpour 4, Pazrofteh 3, Sheikhi 0, Bahramzad 0, Monji 0

Ateneo (63) – Nieto, Ma. 14, Ravena 12, Kouame 11, Mamuyac 9, Go 9, Nieto, Mi. 6, Navarro 2, Asistio 0, Verano 0, Andrade 0, Black 0, Maagdenberg 0

Quarter Scores: 15-14, 31-39, 54-50, 70-63.

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