By NIKOLE JAVIER
Forthsky Padrigao shone brilliantly as Ateneo thumped Far Eastern University, 79-70, in the UAAP Season 85 men's basketball tournament Sunday, Oct. 2, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
The Blue Eagles found themselves unable to convert any possession during the second period where they only scored six compared to the Tamaraws’ 20-point run.
After its troubled first half, Ateneo found rhythm in the next two periods with Padrigao and BJ Andrade conniving to keep their distance from the Tamaraws, 69-56.
“Scrappy (win), for sure, which is nothing new. I think that’s a standard line for most coaches. We got the typical FEU fight. They beat us to the ball, a lot of loose balls, a lot of rebounds, they outhustled us,” said Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin.
“I think fourth quarter, we found some reserves and I mean, energy reserves. We started getting balls, we started betting the rebounds,” he added.
Padrigao tallied 19 points including seven assists while Andrade and Sean Ildefonso added 15 and 14 markers, respectively.
“Para sa akin, grabe ‘yong game kanina. Sobrang scrappy sabi nga ni coach Tab. Nahirapan kami sa physicality pero ginawa lang namin ‘yong execution namin, especially on offense and nag-stick lang kami sa script. ‘Yon nakapag-execute naman kami,” said Andrade.
Gonzales went from 5-of-7 beyond the arc with 19 points while Sleat added 17 points for FEU.
Ateneo will take on National University, which is also coming off a win against University of the East, 77-70, on Wednesday, Oct. 5, at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.