Ateneo Blue Eagles center Greg Slaughter dunks on Lord Casajeros of the UE Red Warriors.(Photo by Roy Afable)
Thursday, August 25
1st Game: Ateneo escape near upset from UE 74-70
The UE Red Warriors shocked UAAP hoops this season when they defeated the Green Archers a week ago. They were looking to score another one on the defending champs. Coach Norman Black took notice on how the 1-2-2 or 1-4 (box-1, to some) zone defense worked like a charm on their rivals from Taft. So the focus was on how to break the UE defense. Apparently, UE took the Blue Eagles by surprise with not only their defense but also their hot shooting as well.
Ateneo struggled in the process. With 7 deadlocks and 15 lead changes of the game, that pretty much said it all. Unlike the Archers, the Blue Eagles were able to capitalize on a win albeit the Warriors' scoring surge.
Greg Slaughter was dominant force once again for Ateneo with 19 points, 10 boards, 2 dime drops and 2 blocks.
UE's John Noble lead his team and finished with 21 points while veteran teammate Paul Zamar had 15 points.
Game 2: UST Tigers upset DLSU 60-52
After losing to the UE Red Warriors last week, the Gang Green needed a W to be 1-game ahead of the UST Tigers to remain in the Final Four contention. Both teams were fighting for the 4th spot in the standings.
With the losing skid hindering their chances, there's definitely no room for error for the Archers. Losing Yutien Andrada due to a knee injury, a partially depleted roster pose a huge challenge for them.
The UST Tigers on the other hand, haven't forgotten their loss to the Archers in the first round. despite the DLSU's setbacks the opportunity to 1-up them on the standings was just too hard to pass up for UST.
The Tigers dominated the entire game before the Archers made a surging comeback late in the 4th quarter. DLSU's ALmond Vosotros literally pulled out all the stops to get back into the game. In the end, the Tigers were the Victors in their 2nd round matchup.
UST's Jeric Teng had 14 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 assist and 1 block.
In a losing effort, Samuel Marata chalked up 11 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block for the Archers.
Saturday, August 27
Game 1: Adamson drop UP 64-51
The race for the number 2 spot must be an awful lot of pressure on the Adamson Falcons. Since they made it to the Finals last season, securing that all import spot behind Ateneo ain't as easy as they thought it would be.
The Maroons have been struggling all season long. They're still trying to find that winning formula and it's really been taking them quite a while. Not only that, facing a team like the Soaring Falcons ain't a walk in the park. The only thing they could do was give them a run for their money -- literally.
And so they did but the Falcons were simply just too much for them.
A player not named Alex Nuyles was the high point man in this game for Adamson. Janus Lozada scored 16 points, 9 boards and 1 steal.
UP's Jose Manuel had 11 points and 1 assist.
Game 2: FEU Tams ram National U. Bulldogs 84-82
The National University Bulldogs is another team struggling this season albeit having Ray Parks Jr. in their roster. They may not have a shot at the Final Four this year but somehow they've made some noise in UAAP hoops.
Meanwhile, the Tams aren't about to lose their spot in the top 4 standings. They're gonna do whatever it takes to remain in the title hunt.
It was back and forth action for both teams but when the smoke was all cleared, it was the Tamaraws the claimed the victory.
Aldrech Ramos' hot shooting came through for the FEU Tams as he chalked up 19 points, 7 rebounds and dropped 2 dimes.
The Bulldogs' prized rookie Bobby Ray Parks Jr. finished with 32 points, 4 boards, 2 assists and 1 steal.
Sunday, August 28
Game 1: UST roll past UE 54-45
The Red Warriors weren't successful trying to repeat what they did to the La Salle. The Tigers however weren't planning on being next to the Archers on their the Warriors' list.
Despite UE's efforts, UST managed to get back in the game and get the W. The win put the Tigers 2 games ahead of the Archers for the 4th spot.
Karim Abdul of UST had a monster game with 16 points, 13 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 steals.
John Sumido was the only player in the Red Warriors roster that finished in double digits with 10 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 block.
Game 2: Blue Eagles destroy rival Green Archers 79-62
Their storied rivalry continued in the second round of the season. The defending champs literally owned the Gang Green in the first round. La Salle's without a key player in their lineup, beating a team like Ateneo is just as important as staying in the Final Four.
Just like their matchup in round 1, it was yet another typical game for the Blue Eagles.
Ateneo's Nico Salva played his usual game with 19 points, 3 rebounds and 1 block. Superstar rookie Kiefer Ravena added 13 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists.
Arnold Van Opstal finished with 13 points, 2 rebounds, 2 blocks and 1 assist for the Green Archers. Almond Vosotros came off the bench and added 9 points, 3 rebounds and dropped 3 dimes.
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