Tyler Tio served as Ateneo's spark plug off the bench and fired all of his 17 points in the third quarter to lift the Blue Eagles past Far Eastern University, 79-70, in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 84 men's basketball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City Tuesday, March 29.
FEU battled back from a 21-point hole in the third quarter and made it a nine-point deficit after RJ Abarrientos and James Tempra enabled a 10-0 run for the Tamaraws, 75-66, midway through the payoff period.
After a quick exchange of baskets, SJ Belangel, who had seven points, sank a one-hand floater with 40 seconds left before Dave Ildefonso iced the game with a pair of free throws.
“Really tough game,” said Ateneo coach Tab Baldwin. “But you always get that with Olsen and his team. They’re just a tough organization and they don’t give anything away easily and that was the case again today.”
Tio, who went 6-of-10 from the field and drained four of his six three-point attempts for a career-high scoring performance, added two rebounds, one steal, and one assist while Ildefonso likewise posted 17 points to go with four rebounds and two assists to help extend Ateneo’s win streak to 28 since 2018.
Bryan Andrade contributed nine points, two assists, one rebound, and one steal while big man Ange Kouame had a double-double performance of nine points and 11 rebounds.
Ateneo, which improved to 2-0, uncorked a 15-3 blast highlighted by three triples from the hot-shooting Tio to lead by as many as 21 points, 63-42, before FEU responded with a mini 6-0 run capped by an Abarrientos basket. Tio doused the attack and prevented a meltdown after nailing another triple for a 66-48 lead.
Abarrientos spearheaded FEU, which dropped its first game after a sensational season debut against the University of the East, with 16 points, five rebounds, three assists, one block, Emmanuel Ojuola hammered down 15 points, 17 rebounds, and two blocks, and Royce Alforque had 12 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
The Scores:
ATENEO 79 -- Ildefonso 17, Tio 17, Andrade 9, Kouame 9, Belangel 7, Verano 6, Mamuyac 5, Koon 4, Mendoza 3, Lazaro 2, Chiu 0, Daves 0.
FEU 70 -- Abarrientos 16, Ojuola 15, Alforque 12, Torres 8, Tempra 8, Gonzales 4, Bienes 3, Gravera 2, Li 2, Sajonia 0, Coquia 0, Sleat 0.
Quarters: 18-17, 42-32, 67-51, 79-70.