ATENEO and Far Eastern University took different paths before hurdling their respective opponents and keep a share of the lead in the 2023 Bola.TV AsiaBasket Las Piñas Championship at the Villar Coliseum in Las Piñas City over the weekend.

Ateneo walked the  tight rope  before beating Corsa, 77-76,  in Group A while FEU showed too much class in downing San Beda University, 80-51, in Group B for their third straight win in their respective groups their third straight win.

Both the Eagles and the Tamaraws now lead their respecive groups as they stayed unbeaten in the 10-team tournament.

Fil-Am  Kai Ballungay was the man of the hour again for the Blue Eagles, as he scored  17 points,including the game-winning basket — a putback off  a missed three-pointer by Gab Gomez  — with 17.2 seconds remaining.

The 6-7  Ballungay,  who was named as  Bola.TV “Best Player of the Game:, also had eight rebounds, two steals, and  one block for the Quezon City-based Eagles.

Chris Koon added 11 points, six rebounds, and two assists for Ateneo.

Justine Sanchez topscored with 25 points, including a perfect  10-for-10 from the field,  and added  six rebounds, two assists, and two steals for Corsa, which fell to 1-2,
Tony Ynot  added  18 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, and one steal,  Ahron Estacio contributed 15 points, three rebounds, two assists, and two steals, and Babacar Ndong had  10 points, 15 rebounds, and one assist for Corsa

Actor Gerard Anderson had three points.

It was  sorry setback from Corsa, which led  76-75, on an  Estacio layup with 42.2 seconds left.

Corsa also had a chance to steal the game after  Balunggay made it  78-76 and  missed the bonus free throw.. But  Estcaio missed  a tough jumper as time expired.
FEU had an easier time against San Beda.

Patrick Sleat tallied 15 points, five rebounds, three assists, and two steals, while Xyrus Torres and Renzo Competente  added 13 points each for the Tamaraws, who led by as many as 32 points, 75-43, before coasting to victory.

Mouhammed Fatty had a quiet game offensively for FEU, but shone on the defensive end by blocking two shots and stealing the ball twice. He had  12 rebounds,  five points and one assist.

Richi Calimag led San Beda  with 11 points, three rebounds, and one steal, and Bryan Sajonia tallied 10 points, six rebounds, two assists, and one block against his former team.

San Beda dropped to 0-3.

The scores:

First game

FEU (80)–  Sleat 15, Competente 13, Torres 13, Tempra 10, Anonuevo 9, Alforque 8, Fatty 5, Buenaventura 3, Ona 2, Bagunu 1, Felipe 1, Devares 0
San Beda  (51) — Ri. Calimag 11, Sajonia 10, Lina 5, Alloso 5, RC Calimag 5, Etulle 3, Lopez 2, Dimaculangan 2, Mundas 2, Mina 2, Tolentino 2, Teruel 0, Lecciones 0, Peregrina 0
Quarterscores: 8-15, 32-24, 57-38, 80-51

Second game

Ateneo  (77) —  Ballungay 17, Koon 11, Gomez 10, Chiu 9, Amos 7, Credo 6, Obasa 5, Tuano 4, Espinosa 4, Gamber 3, Nieto 1, Quitevis 0, Celis 0
Corsa  (76) — Sanchez 25, Ynot 18, Estacio 15, Ndong 10, Anderson 3, Acosta 3, Macatangay 2, Cunanan 0, Pagulayan 0, Lepalam 0
Quarterscores: 15-13, 35-36, 60-55, 77-76.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Robert Andaya