UAAP 74: Ateneo mauls UST for 9th straight win

Source: gmanews.tv

It was another day at the office for Ateneo as the three-time defending champion Blue Eagles cruised to a lopsided 82-57 victory over University of Santo Tomas Saturday in the 74th UAAP men's basketball tournament at the Araneta Coliseum.

The Blue Eagles, aiming to clinch their fourth straight UAAP men's basketball crown, bagged at least a playoff for a Final Four berth after claiming their ninth victory of the season.

Ateneo's team play showed as it took an early 15-6 lead after the first quarter. Their offense continued in the second period as the Blue Eagles zoomed to a 40-22 lead at the turn.

It was an uneventful affair after that.

"The focus was to try to get a better flow on offense. We were starting well on defense in the last two games but our offense was a little bit stagnant because, personally, I thought that we are a little bit too individualistic to start the game," said Ateneo coach Norman Black.

Nico Salva was the recipient of Ateneo's crisp offensive flow as he had 16 of his 20 points in the second and third periods.

Justin Chua was second in scoring for the Blue Eagles with 18 points, 10 of which came in the fourth with the final score and the final score the only thing left to be settled.

UST dropped to 4-5 to tie De La Salle University at fourth to fifth spots just one game behind the 5-4 slate of Far Eastern University, The Growling Tigers suffered their biggest loss since a 90-63 drubbing at the hands of the Tamaraws last August 6, 2009.

Tonino Gonzaga's back-to-back baskets to end the third period hiked Ateneo's lead to 68-37. Justin Chua's two free-throws made it a 31-point lead, 70-39, with 7:56 left in the fourth.

Jeric Teng had 20 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals for UST while Cameroonian rookie Karim Abdul tallied 12 markers and 19 boards.