Monday, August 25, 2008

Ateneo gets win no.11


The Ateneo Blue Eagles closed out the Battle of Katipunan with a win once again as they buried the centennial hosts, the UP Maroons, with a masterful 79-58 win at the Araneta Coliseum.

The Ateneo Blue Eagles seized the upperhand rightaway but failed to sustain it as the Maroons ended the quarter strong as they kept the Blue Eagles at bay 12-11. The Blue Eagles then called on Rabah and Chris to give the Blue Eagles enough distance as they padded the lead to eight by the end of the first half. The game was quite boring from then on since the only thing that was not final was the score.Rabah Al-Husainni scored 177 pts in the past three seasons he played for the Blue Eagles, this year he is averaging 17.83 points per game for the Blue Eagles as he scattered 24 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in another double-double effort to lead the cause of the Eagles. Supporting After sitting out the last three minutes of the game against UE with cramps, team captain Chris Tiu was 4 rebounds short of a triple double. Chris scored 14 points, grabbed six rebounds and issued 10 assists, the most assists in the UAAP for the past two years. The confidence of Tiu in his teammates showed in this game as he was there to spot the open man and was content in doing so. Just like in the game against Adamson in which he just took three shots, the captain was more satisfied with making his team mates get their games going and just spot up when needed.

The win gave the Blue Eagles another chance to finish no.1, the Blue Eagles have won 11 games in the eliminations in 1987, 1988, 2000, and 2003. This is the 10th consecutive season that we will be in the final four while in contrast, the Figthing Maroons who were sporting new Black uniforms have missed the final four for the 11th straight year. The last Maroon team that played in the final four were led by the troika of Paolo Mendoza, Bryan Gahol and Ogie Gumatay.

The scores:

Ateneo 79 – Al-Hussaini 24, Tiu 14, Buenafe 8, Baclao 6, Reyes 6, Baldos 5, Long 4, Escueta 3, Gonzaga 3, Salamat 3, Salva 3, Burke 0, Chua 0, Gonzaga 0, Sumalinog 0.

UP 58 – Co 10, Sison 10, de Asis 7, dela Victoria 6, Sorongon 6, Lopez 5, Astorga 4, Braganza 3, Gamboa 3, Hipolito 3, Reyes 1, Maniego 0, Marfori 0, Pajela 0.

Quarter scores: 12-11; 36-28; 54-42; 79-58




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