Blue Eagles secure twice to beat advantage

The Ateneo Blue Eagles secured the first twice to beat advantage in the 72nd UAAP after rallying to beat the Adamson Soaring Falcons 61 -52. The score actually did not show the tightness and closeness of the game as the Blue Eagles played catch up for most of the game. In the first half it was Rabah Al-Husaini and Nico Salva who carried the fight for the Blue Eagles while Eric Salamat joined hands with the big ticket in the second half.

It was another lethragic start for the Blue Eagles as the defense of the Soaringt Falcons limited the defending champions to only 10 first quarter points with four of them coming in the last minute of play. Nico Salva scored 9 points in the first half as his never say die attitude helped the Blue Eagles come back after trailing by 10 at 15-25. The Blue Eagles then narrowed the gap at the end of the quarter to 28 - 30.

It was obvious that the Blue Eagles lacked intensity in the first half. Although they are bigger than the Falcons, Adamson had 11 offensive rebounds as against only 3 for the Blue Eagles. At the same time the Blue Eagles turned the ball over 11 times in the first half and had only two free throws. That showed that they lacked the inside game that they have mastered and the slashers were unseen.

Luckily things changed in the second half as the Blue Eagles defense tightened that made the Falcons take difficult shots and eventually miss. At the same time, the Blue Eagles checked their turnovers and forced the Falcons to commit errors themselves. Eric Salamat was at the forefront of the Ateneo attack as he sank a three pointer, stole the ball for a lay up and scored after a spin move at the 15 foot line. That scoring splurge was enough as the Falcons exchanged baskets with the BLue Eagles as they matched every output of their air opponents as the quarter ended with the Hail Mary Squad finally on top 46-45.

The Blue Eagles fourth quarter defesnse remained their most potent weapon as the Ateneo shut down the Adamson offense completely. Kirk Long shadowed Adamson's top gun Leo Canuday as he gave the Top Falcon only limited space to operate and was eventually a non factor in the game. With the score tied at 51 -all, the Blue Eagles went to an 11- 1 run as the Falcons could not buy a field goal in the last 6 minutes of the game. The Eagles sank four free throws and when Long stole the ball, the distance between the two teams widened and eventually the Blue Eagles got the win. Rabah scored 19 points and collared 13 rebounds while Eric Salamat added 17 points with most of them coming in the crucial stretches of the game. The Eagles have two more games with the UP Maroons coming up next.

The scores:

ADMU 61- Al Hussaini 19, Salamat 17, Salva 9, Buenafe 7, Baclao 5, Reyes 2, Long 2, Monfront 0, Golla 0, Chua 0, Austria 0

AdU 52- Cañada 10, Nuyles 7, Canuday 7, Colina 6, Cabrera 6, Margallo 4, Camson 4, Basillio 4, Alvarez 4, Lozada 0, Galinato 0

Quarter Scores: 10-16, 28-30, 46-45, 61-52