Ateneo de Manila University moved on the cusp of sweeping the UAAP Season 84 men’s basketball elimination round, taking down Far Eastern University, 70-53, Thursday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
The Blue Eagles will go for the sweep, the automatic Finals berth, and their 40th straight win on Sunday against second seed University of the Philippines at 7 pm.
Already ahead by 10 at the half, Ateneo still pounced even more in the third, scoring 18 while limiting the Tamaraws to just 11 points to enter the fourth frame ahead by 17, 51-34.
RJ Abarrientos’ triple at the 5:08 mark of the payoff period brought his FEU to within 11, 45-56, but Raffy Verano and Gian Mamuyac answered for the Blue Eagles with seven straight points for a brand new 18-point lead with 3:15 left, 63-45.
“I didn’t think we played well today,” said Ateneo coach Tab Baldwin. “I think FEU had a bit to do with that. Gotta give Olsen a lot of credit. Unfortunately for them, they failed to hit open shots.”
Verano played his best game this season with 17 points, 13 rebounds, two steals, and a block, while Tyler Tio chipped in 14 points on a 3-of-4 clip from behind the arc.
SJ Belangel and Dave Ildefonso each had eight points, while Mamuyac – who injured his ankle last game – added seven points.
FEU sank to 6-7, tied with National University for the fourth spot with one game each to go. Adamson University (5-8) is also lurking at the sixth spot, hoping the Tamaraws and the Bulldogs suffer losses on Sunday while taking a win for the triple tie.
Abarrientos had 12 points on 4-of-14 shooting from the field in the losing cause while L-jay Gonzales got 10 points, seven rebounds, and four assists to his name. They combined for seven turnovers.
After shooting 29-of-64 from deep in their previous two games, a high 45.3 percent, FEU was silenced with just five conversions on 23 attempts, a poor 21.7 percent.
Needing a win, the Tamaraws will face University of Santo Tomas at 12:30 pm on Sunday.
