Ateneo hands biggest loss margin to UST for its 10th win
Ateneo Blue Eagles, on their way to collecting their 10th win in the UAAP Season 84 men’s basketball, murdered the University of Santo Tomas witha 50-point margin loss,101-51, to remain unbeaten this season at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The win puts Ateneo just a win away from formally making the Final Four, and four from sweeping the eliminations in their campaign for a fourth straight crown.
Ateneo’s 50-point margin in this game is the biggest since the Final Four era and also the biggest since the computerization of stats in the UAAP in 2003.
The Blue Eagles started hot by posting a commanding 22-8 lead in the first quarter, together with a 22-0 run in the middle of the match to keep control of the game from start to finish.
“I think the difference in the scoreline is a reflection that our coaching staff asked for 40 minutes of performance from our players, and that’s something that’s plagued us this year — we haven’t really given up a 40-minute performance so today we came pretty close,” said Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin.
To put into perspective, the Blue Eagle’s starters scored more points than the entire Growling Tigers squad as they produced 61 points while their bench provided additional 40 points as compared to the UST’s bench with just 11 markers.
Raffy Verano was the game’s main gunner as he came up with 18 points and seven rebounds while SJ Belangel produced 16 points built on five three-pointers and Geo Chiu also contributed 14 points and eight rebounds of his own.
The Growling Tigers have now lost back-to-back games in blowout fashion as they have managed to let their opponents score over a 100 points for the second game in a row after their loss to the De La Salle University, 112-83, on Tuesday.
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