By NIKOLE JAVIER
Ateneo recovered from a 19-point deficit to eke out a 71-65 win against Far Eastern University in the second round of the UAAP Season 85 men’s basketball tournament Sunday, Nov. 20, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Ange Kouame registered a double-double performance of 20 points on top of 14 rebounds for Ateneo including key defensive stops against FEU side in the final minute.
The Blue Eagles, who were struggling in the first half of the contest, had to dig deep to improve 8-3 in the standings and secure a playoff for the Final Four.
Down by 19 in the second quarter after a Xyrus Torres triple, the Blue Eagles had to come to their senses which led to a blistering 20-0 run in the third capped by Forthsky Padrigao's three-pointer to pull themselves within five, 54-49.
With 8:34 left in the final quarter, Paul Garcia pulled up for a triple to give Ateneo the lead, 56-55, for the first time in the game.
However, Torres answered with back-to-back threes for the Tamaraws to snatch back the lead, 61-56, with 6:56 to go.
BJ Andrade and Kouame responded with consistent offensive production to eventually give Ateneo a breather with a three-point advantage.
But Ljay Gonzales won’t be coming down without a fight after racing to the basket for two consecutive layups to tie the game at 65-all.
With only a minute left, Kouame was sent to the foul line and drained both freebies for a slim advantage before Torres missed a much-needed trey that would have counted the most for FEU.
Ending the regulation, Padrigao and Dave Ildefonso knocked four more points off the line to ice the game.
“It seems like he does a great job preparing for us. I don’t know, we always seem to escape FEU. They always seem so well-prepared for us. It always feels like an escape act whenever we go against them,” said Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin. “But up until then, we were pretty bad really. In most aspects of the game, the second half of the third quarter our defense kind of finally dug in and shut them down. But it looked like they a the much better prepared team.”
For FEU’s part, Torres finished with 19 points while Gonzales and Patrick Sleat added 15 and 10, respectively.
The Scores:
ATENEO 71 -- Kouame 20, Padrigao 13, Andrade 9, Ildefonso 8, Garcia 8, Ballungay 5, Koon 4, Lazaro 2, Daves 2, Chiu 0, Quitevis 0.
FEU 65 -- Torres 19, Gonzales 15, Sleat 10, Tchuente 8, Anonuevo 8, Bagunu 3, Bautista 2, Alforque 0, Sajonia 0, Sandagon 0, Tempra 0.
Quarters: 14-21, 27-41, 49-54, 71-65.