Undefeated Blue Eagles clinch first Final Four spot
Ateneo made quick work of University of Santo Tomas with a 50-point demolishing, 101-51, to capture its 10th straight win and clinch the first Final Four spot in the UAAP Season 84 men's basketball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City Thursday, April 21.
The Blue Eagles led by as many as 25 early in the first half, 46-21, behind the efforts of Joshua Lazaro, Raffy Verano, Ange Kouame, Dave Ildefonso, and SJ Belangel before using a strong third quarter surge to pull away for good and never looked back at that point.
The Growling Tigers were only limited to eight points in the first quarter and continued to struggle from the field, shooting only nine of their 31 attempts (29 percent) after halftime.
The 50-point demolition marked the biggest margin since the computerization of stats in 2003, per league statistician Pong Ducanes, breaking De La Salle's 43-point routing of UST back on October 23, 2016 at 99-56.
"I think the difference in the scoreline is a reflection that our coaching staff asked for 40 minutes of performance from our players, and that's something that's plagued us this year," said Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin.
The Eagles, who are four wins away from yet another elimination sweep, also notched their 36th straight win since October 2018 to barge into the Final Four for the seventh straight time.
Verano led Ateneo's balanced attack with 18 points on an 8-of-12 shooting along with seven rebounds while five other Eagles scored in double digits.
Belangel posted 16 points built on five triples to go with five assists, and three rebounds, Geo Chiu registered 14 points and eight rebounds, Lazaro chalked up 12 points and seven rebounds, Ildefonso added 11 points, seven rebounds and four assists, while Kouame had 10 points, nine rebounds, and three assists.
The Tigers, for their part, slipped to seventh place with a 3-7 record as Nic Cabanero was the lone player to score in double digits with 18 points and four rebounds.
Ateneo shoots for its 11th consecutive victory on Saturday, April 23 against National University in their 12:30 p.m. encounter while UST and streaking Adamson clash in the 10 a.m. curtain-raiser.
The Scores:
ATENEO 101 -- Verano 18, Belangel 16, Chiu 14, Lazaro 12, Ildefonso 11, Kouame 10, Koon 9, Andrade 6, Padrigao 5, Mamuyac 0, Tio 0, Gomez 0, Daves 0.
UST 51 -- Cabanero 18, Manaytay 9, Fontanilla 8, Manalang 7, Concepcion 5, Yongco 2, Santos 2, Ando 0, Herrera 0, Gomez de Liano 0, Garing 0, Mantua 0, Pangilinan 0.
Quarterscores: 22-8, 46-21, 80-36, 101-51.