FLYING HIGH: Blue Eagles slip past Bulldogs

It was an ugly win but Ateneo de Manila University head coach Tab Baldwin will take it nonetheless.

The Blue Eagles weathered a fourth-quarter uprising by National University (NU) to essay a thrilling 70-68 escape for a good start in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 men’s basketball tournament second round Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Baldwin and the rest of the Ateneo side breathed a sigh of relief after Jolo Manansala missed a potential game-winning trey at the final buzzer as they earned their second win and a satisfying revenge over their first-round tormentor.

“Well, it was enough, you know. It was enough to get us over the finish line. And, you know, very, very satisfying,” Baldwin said after getting payback after a tough 68-78 loss to the Bulldogs last week.

“I know for the players that it’s been a tough first half of the season. And, you know, they’ve stuck together. I’ve got to give them credit for that because, you know, I think I’ve tried to put a lot of pressure on them because I know there’s so much we’re going to take out of this season, particularly these young guys like this.”

The Blue Eagles joined their victim and idle Far Eastern University in a three-way tie at sixth to eighth with identical 2-6 win-loss slates.

Kristian Porter played clutch in the last half minute of the game, nailing a key basket that gave Ateneo some breathing room before swatting away a Jake Figueroa attempt on the other end.

Ateneo guard Ian Espinosa split his charities before Manansala hit a bank shot trey to breathe down the necks of the Blue Eagles, 69-68, with 5.1 seconds left.

NU brought Espinosa back on the foul line as he again split his tries before the Bulldogs called time to plot the last play for Manansala.

“I think today we displayed a toughness that we might have lacked in other games this year,” Baldwin added.

“And it shows that the team is starting to mature.”

Porter finished with a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds with two steals and two blocks while Jared Bahay scored 12 points on top of six boards and five assists. Chris Koon added 10 points for the Blue Eagles.

NU ignited a 10-2 run to cut a nine-point deficit in the payoff period to just 62-61 with 3:31 left before Porter and Koon pushed Ateneo’s lead back to six. Manansala and Figueroa answered with back-to-back baskets to bring it down to one with 1:06 left.

Andrew Bongo carried Ateneo on his shoulder in the first half, hitting 3-of-4 from the three-point area while Bahay orchestrated the offense and added seven points.

The Blue Eagles also punished the Bulldogs by throwing a shifting zone defense to disrupt their offensive sets while creating separation.

Ateneo even built a 13-point lead, 32-19, in the second quarter before NU mounted a counterattack to make it interesting going into the intermission.

Figueroa and Patrick Yu anchored a huge 12-3 closing run to enter halftime trailing only by four, 31-35.

Figueroa had 15 points while Manansala had 12 for the Bulldogs.

The scores:

Ateneo (70) — Porter 14, Bahay 12, Koon 10, Bongo 9, Tuano 8, Quitevis 5, Edu 5, Espinosa 4, Espina 2, Balogun 1, Reyes 0, Gamber 0.

NU (68) — Figueroa 15, Manansala 12, Enriquez 8, Jumamoy 8, Yu 6, Palacielo 5, Padrones 4, Santiago 4, Garcia 3, Francisco 3, Lim 0, Tulabut 0, Perciano 0, Parks 0, Dela Cruz 0.

Quarters: 15-13, 35-31, 50-45, 70-68.