The duo of Dominic Escobar and Kymani Ladi made the most of their first and last taste of the storied Ateneo-La Salle rivalry.
Bolstered by the efforts of the one-and-done cogs, the Blue Eagles escaped Green Archers, 81-74, after squandering a commanding lead in the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball tournament on Sunday at Mall of Asia Arena.
While Escobar and Ladi paced their early outburst, but it was Shawn Tuano who came out with the push Ateneo needed to get to the finish line after La Salle’s herculean comeback.
‘I’m not going to take away from these players, especially the new guys,’ Ateneo coach Tab Baldwin said.
‘We’ve got several guys who have never played in this rivalry before, so I’m not going to take away from them what they accomplished in the first three quarters.’ Ateneo led by as much as 31 against La Salle, and seemed headed for an easy blowout.
But Green Archers refused to fold, unloading a 19-0 run to start the fourth quarter and shaving the lead to 11, 68-57, 3:45. Tuano, though, sank back-to-back buckets for a 73-59 lead with 3:19 to go, giving the Blue Eagles enough cushion to fend off the Green Archers’ advances until the final buzzer.
Tuano finished with 15 points for Ateneo, which kept its grasp of the top seed at 4-0.
Escobar and Ladi also both finished with near double-doubles of 15 points and nine rebounds each in the victory.
La Salle dropped to the standings with a 2-2 record, tying with the University of the Philippines, which was its dance partner in last year’s Season 87 Finals.