SoKor shoots down Ateneo

Ateneo de Manila University fell prey to South Korea, 73-90, in the third day of the 20th William Jones Cup Invitational basketball tournament Monday at the Xinzhuang gymnasium in New Taipei City in Taiwan.

But the Blue Eagles didn’t go down without putting up a fight.

After staring to a huge 15-point lead in the fourth quarter, 60-75, Thirdy Ravena sparked a quick 7-0 run to move within striking distance, 67-75, and keep their upset bid alive in the final 6:47.

The Koreans, however, refused to succumb to pressure as they detonated a 10-4 bomb capped by Jeon Jeobeom’s booming trey to regain control, 85-71, to ice the game and capture their second consecutive victory.

It was the Blue Eagles’ first setback after opening the tournament with an 87-64 victory over Chinese Taipei White on Sunday.

Ravena, the reigning Most Valuable Player of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines, delivered an all-around performance with 14 points, four rebounds, four assists and five steals to spearhead Ateneo.

Angelo Kouame of Ivory Coast chipped in 10 points, 16 rebounds and two blocks, but still not enough as the Blue Eagles struggled against the vaunted zone defense of the Koreans.

Naturalized player Ricardo Ratliffe, a former Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) import, paced the Koreans with 15 points, six rebounds, two assists and two blocks in just 20 minutes of play.

Heo Ilyoung was also instrumental with 15 points while Heo Ung added 12 markers for the South Koreans, who hammered a fitting follow up to their 92-86 win over Indonesia last Saturday.

The Blue Eagles will gun for a rebound against defending Jones Cup champion 3D Global Sports of Canada at 3 pm on Tuesday.

South Korea 90 – Ratliffe 15, Heo I 15, Heo U 12, Lee J 9, Heo H 6, Kang 6, Jeon 6, Kim J 6, Park 5, Choi 4, Lee S 4, Kim S 2.

Ateneo 73 – Ravena 14, Nieto 12, Kouame 10, Wong 9, Verano 5, Mendoza 5, Go 5, Navarro 5, Maagdenberg 3, White 3, Mamuyac 2, Andrade 0.

Quarterscores: 26-22, 50-41, 70-60, 90-73.