The expected fireworks came a little too late.
Ateneo de Manila University weathered a 36-point fourth quarter explosion by De La Salle University to eke out an 81-74 win and stay unbeaten in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 88 men’s basketball tournament Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The Blue Eagles got a serious scare after the Green Archers made the game exciting by cutting down their 33-point deficit to 79-74 after an EJ Gollena layup with 12.6 seconds left in the final canto.
Shawn Tauano’s pair of free throws with 8.9 ticks left took Ateneo out of harm’s way for its fourth win in as many outings at the solo top spot.
Tauano scored 15 points while big man Kymani Ladi and Dom Escobar flirted with double-double with identical 15 points and nine rebounds stat lines for the Katipunan-based squad.
The Blue Eagles erected their biggest lead at 68-35 after Ian Espinosa sank both his charities with 4.7 seconds left in third before La Salle’s Doy Dungo swished in a triple at the buzzer on the other end.
Ateneo started to pull away in the second quarter after limiting La Salle to just eight points before a 32-19 third canto for a comfortable 68-38 advantage heading into the payoff period.
The Green Archers dropped to a 2-2 slate tied with defending champion University of the Philippines.
Mike Phillips had 17 points and 20 rebounds, Kean Baclaan had 13 while Jacob Cortez finished with 10 in a lost cause.
Meanwhile, Janrey Pasaol rescued Far Eastern University (FEU) from collapse with a clutch trey down the stretch to turn back Adamson University, 64-58, for the Tamaraws’ breakthrough win.
Pasaol nailed a corner triple with 1:33 left to douse cold water on the Falcons’ last-ditched fightback that ultimately fell short.
FEU arrested three-game skid and joined its victim with an identical 1-3 slate.
“We’re grateful that God put us in this place to be an example of resilience because we could have easily feel pretty down about ourselves but what I like about my guys was after the disappointing loss to La Salle, we actually worked even harder,” Tamaraws coach Sean Chambers said.
Gambian center Mo Konateh posted a double-double of 18 points and 21 rebounds with three assists and two blocks for FEU.
Rookie Kirby Mongcopa had 15 points while Pasaol added 13 points, six rebounds, and five assists for the Tamaraws as top gunner Jorick Bautista was limited to just two points.
FEU saw its 61-53 lead with three minutes left nipped to just three in the last 1:49 after Mathew Montebon nailed a triple and then executed a slick pick-and-roll play with Cedrick Manzano.
Pasaol, however, answered with a cold-blooded triple for a two-possession separation. The Falcons came up empty in their last two possessions.
Montebon was the lone bright spot for Adamson with 14 points while Eli Erolon chipped in nine.
The scores:
First game
FEU (64) — Konateh 18, Mongcopa 15, Pasaol 13, Owens 9, Daa 5, Bautista 2, Felipe 2, Macapagal 0, Ona 0, Montemayor 0, Jones 0, Bagunu 0, Salangsang 0.
Adamson (58) — Montebon 14, Erolon 9, Anabo 8, Perez 8, Ojarikre 5, Torres 3, Manzano 3, Medina 2, Fransman 2, A. Ronzone 2, Jaymalin 2, C. Ronzone 0, Cañete 0, Barcelona 0, Demisana 0, Tumaneng 0.
Second game
Ateneo (81) — Ladi 15, Escobar 15, Tuano 15, Lazaro 9, Espinosa 8, Espina 7, Bongo 4, Bahay 3, Adili 2, Lazo 2, L. Fjellvang 1.
La Salle (74) — Phillips 17, Baclaan 13, Cortez 10, Gollena 7, Amos 6, Pablo 5, Dungo 5, Daep 4, Abadam 3, Gomez 2, Marasigan 2, Quines 0.
Quarters: 14-11, 36-19, 68-38, 81-74.