Ateneo keeps its Final Four bid alive.
Ateneo Blue Eagles coach Tab Baldwin was under no illusion the game against the Jerom Lastimosa-less Adamson Falcons would be a breeze.
As expected, the Falcons made it tough for the Blue Eagles before the latter was finally able to hammer out a 62-58 win in the UAAP Season 86 men’s basketball tournament on Sunday.
“It was tough as it gets and we expected that,” said Baldwin after the match at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
After being down 10 in the third period, Adamson Vince Magbuhos, Ced Manzano, and Matthew Montebon conspired to string together 17 points to help the Soaring Falcons take a 49-42 lead heading into the final quarter.
It was a back-and-forth game, and the Blue Eagles hung tough to take solo fourth in the standings with a 6-6 win-loss record.
“That's the Adamson team, that's the Adamson coaching staff. They just grind you down, and they're doing it to everybody. It is never easy against them,” said Baldwin, whose team lost to the Falcons in the first round.
Ateneo will next face the UE Red Warriors on Wednesday with a playoff for that Final Four spot at stake. Game time is set at 11 a.m. at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. Adamson, meanwhile, will fight for its postseason life on the same day against the NU Bulldogs.
(MDB)