By the Numbers: Ateneo Torches San Beda in UAAP-NCAA Challenge Match

After losing 5 key players from their championship team last year, the Ateneo Blue Eagles knew winning a 4-peat in Season 83 of the UAAP will more difficult. The same thing can be said in making it two in a row in the PCCL. But, if you watched at how Ateneo played against the San Beda Red Lions on the first day of the PCCL UAAP-NCAA Challenge, it looked clear that the Tab Baldwin-coached Blue Eagles haven't missed a beat.

The game was back and forth as the Blue Eagles would go on a scoring run only to be countered by San Beda's mini-scoring run at every turn but in the end, it was the reigning UAAP kings who taking an 83-69 over the runner-up of NCAA 95. What was scary about this Ateneo victory was that Angelo Kouame only scored 8 points although he finished with 14 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 2 steals. Numbers Tab Baldwin would have wanted from his Ivorian giant.

The Belangel Effect: 25 Big Points

If you look back at Game 2 of last season's UAAP Finals, whenever the UST Growling Tigers would threaten to make a run against the defending champs, SJ Belangel was there to put out the fire and give the Blue Eagles more room to breathe. The same thing happened against the Red Lions as even with San Beda was within 4 points in the second half, SJ Belangel's timely baskets were more than enough to keep San Beda.

Belangel came off the bench and led all scorers with 25 points on 7 for 9 field goal shooting. He shot 5 for 6 from the three-point and went perfect in all 6 trips to the free-throw line. He also finished with 5 assists and a steal in only 18 minutes.

The Bench Stepped Up: A Big 54-19 Advantage

While 4 of the 5 San Beda starters scored at least 10 points, their bench got clearly outnumbered by their Ateneo counterparts. How big? 54-19.

Next to SJ Belangel 25-point outburst, Dwight Ramos finally made his debut as an Ateneo Blue Eagle and scored 12 points on 5 for 9 field goal shooting including two three-pointers. Troy Malilin chipped in 7 points while Mathew Daves added 6 points. Jason Credo and Geo Chiu each had 2 points.

On the other side, Franz Abuda led the charge for San Beda's bench players with 9 points while Damie Cuntapay added 7 points of his own. Dan Villejo added 2 points while Alex Visser added a point. 

The Ateneo Defense Worked on San Beda

We all know how great Ateneo's defense was last year and yes, Angelo Kouame's intimidating presence was a big reason for that. But in this particular game against the Red Lions, Ateneo was able to keep San Beda from scoring over 18 points in each of the first three quarters. 

All 3 starters who scored 11 points each had to bleed for their points, Calvin Oftana shot 5 for 19. James Kwekuteye shot 5 for 15. Ralph Penuela shot 3 for 18. As a team, San Beda was limited to 40% field goal shooting, 45% from the two-point area, and a disappointing 26% shooting from downtown. You just got to give it to the players of Tab Baldwin for their commitment to play excellent defense all game long. 

Photo is from the Facebook page of PCCL