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UP loses 2nd straight game
By Kim Lesaca Eagles Turn Back Maroons 71-63
By Jason Inocencio



The Battle of Katipunan proved to be a very exciting match as the Ateneo Blue Eagles survived the the challenge of the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons 71-63, and in the process caught up with the Maroons at third place in the standings with three wins in five games in UAAP's Season 68.

From a very tight first quarter, Ateneo's big guns led by JC Intal and Doug Kramer exploded in the second quarter to outscore UP 21-12 in the period. The Fighting Maroons fell into a series of errors while being outrebounded by their Katipunan Avenue neighbors as the Blue Eagles took a 10 point lead at the half. And it seemed that UP had no answers in sight as they tried to rally by shooting from beyond the arc but in vain.

During the halftime break, UP Coach Lito Vergara again questioned his players' desire to win. He also questioned his players' mental toughness, and the ablility to defend the basket. For the third consecutive game, the Maroons allowed their opponent to score 30 or more points in the first half. The inability of the Maroons to stick to their system resulted in a very low field goal percentage for them (33.33% at 12/36) while Ateneo attempted fewer but had a higher percentage (50% at 15/30). Ateneo played better as a team in the first half by dishing 10 assists while UP had 4, and played better defense by forcing the Maroons to 12 turnovers resulting to 8 fastbreak points. But the most glaring number was the 37 points allowed by the Maroons in the first half.

The Blue Eagles again dropped a 12-5 bomb midway in the third quarter to get their biggest lead at 15, 49-34. But in the last four minutes of the third quarter, UP countered with their own 14-5 run to cut Ateneo's lead to 6, 54-48 after the third period.

After UP guard Marvin Cruz cut Ateneo's lead at 54-50, Intal and Kramer again presided an 8-3 run to give the Blue Eagles some breathing room at 62-53, with seven and a half minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Then after another exchange of baskets, UP's main men Abby Santos, Nestor David and Cruz combined for seven unanswered points to close the gap at 64-62, 2 minutes and 50 seconds remaining. But Intal again proved to be UP's tormentor as he made it a 66-62 count with 2 minutes and twelve remaining.

The Fighting Maroons had a chance to equalize the count when a driving Nestor David was fouled hard and a technical foul was slapped on Intal right after that play. But Doruelo and Cruz (who took the charity shots for the hurting David) missed three of four free throws given to them. And after Kramer made it a five point game for Ateneo with 42 seconds left, Santos and Cruz took ill-advised three point attempts to spell doom for the Maroons.



Back-to-back wins. For the first time in this young UAAP season, the Ateneo Blue Eagles have racked up consecutive wins, thanks to an explosive scoring outburst from J.C. Intal and yet another double-double from Doug Kramer. The victim: our neighbors down the street, the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons. With a 71-63 win over UP, Coach Norman Black seems to have a better feel for his quintet and morale in Katipunan is high.

On the day before the Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the Eagles did their patron saint proud, playing team basketball powered by great defense and an effective fastbreak attack. Even though big man Japeth Aguilar was saddled with foul trouble seemingly from the opening buzzer onward, Black was able to get enough from a variation of frontcourts composed of Intal, Kramer, Ford Arao, Martin Quimson, and surprising Zion Laterre. Ateneo was still hounded by a turnover problem however, having collected 7 in the first quarter, but L.A. Tenorio's aggressiveness led to a 17-16 first quarter edge.

Macky Escalona teamed up with Tenorio to power the Blue Eagle break in the second quarter, scoring on a jumper and connecting on fastbreak passes to both Intal and Kramer for a 35-26 lead. At halftime, Ateneo led the Fighting Maroons 37-27 with 9 points apiece from Tenorio and Intal. Back-to-back baskets by J.C. opened the third for the Ateneans followed by a Kramer fastbreak layup.

After a Marvin Cruz triple put UP behind 43-32, the Eagles went on another tear. A veritable touchdown pass conversion by "Baby Rocket" Intal and a beautiful passing play between Tenorio and Escalona was followed by a great basket underneath the hoop by Laterre and the Eagles got their biggest lead of the night at 47-32. However, Coach Lito Vergara's Fighting Maroons weren't going to go without a fight.

The "Double Trouble" tandem of Abby Santos and Nestor David powered UP in the paint, while Marvin Cruz's triple and Gino Ferrer's hustle kept the Maroons within striking distance. David, in fact, had 7 points in the third period and the Eagles seemed a bit rattled as the quarter winded down. That period saw UP outscore Ateneo 21-17, but the Eagles still led entering the final quarter 54-48.

Finally taking on the role of superstar that the blue and white faithful have been waiting for, Intal brought out a complete game for the world to see. His second three-pointer of the contest gave Ateneo a 57-50 lead, only to be answered by Marvin Cruz's own triple, before Intal's last three-pointer pushed Ateneo to a 60-53 advantage.

A major problem for UP came up when they called their final timeout of the game with still 7 minutes left on the clock. However, Coach Vergara's charges got aggressive on both the offensive and defensive ends, forcing Ateneo turnovers while attacking the hoop. After Escalona's shot put-like shot put the Blue Eagles ahead 64-55, the Maroons went on a 7-0 blast. Ateneo was now just up by two, 64-62, with under three minutes left.

That's when Intal scored his final basket, a tight lay-in that gave him a final stat line of 23 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. Missed free throws did the Maroons in as Cruz had two misses off a technical foul sent Intal's way, while Axel Doruelo made 1 of 2 from the stripe. What could have been a tied ballgame instead resulted in a Blue Eagle lead of 66-63. Tenorio tried to extend the lead with a runner but missed, luckily Doug Kramer had another strong offensive rebound and raised the Ateneo lead to 68-63, effectively ending the Maroons' rally. Kramer finished with his third straight double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds and Ateneo won 71-63.









Ateneo 70: Intal 23, Tenorio 13, Kramer 12, Escalona 6, Reyes 4, Membrere 4 LaTerre 3, Arao 3, Aguilar 2, Quimson 1

UP 63: David 16, Santos 15, Cruz 12, Vainio 7, Doruelo 6, Ferrer 4, Gavino 3, Quebral 0, Padolina 0, Bienvenida 0, Agbayani 0

QUARTER SCORES: 16-15, 37-27, 54-48, 71-63



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