Ateneo clinches onto twice-to-beat advantage after conquer of Che’Lu

FILE: “Final: 102 – 88 in favor of the Cignal-Ateneo! Best Player: Thirdy Ravena with 24 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals #PBADLeague2019” (Photo: PBA D-League/Facebook)

Cignal-Ateneo officially has a twice-to-beat advantage for the 2019 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Developmental League (D-League) playoffs after defeating Che’Lu Bar and Grill, 102-88, last Monday, April 29 at the JCSGO Gym in Cubao.

The Blue Eagles now stand at an 8-1 win-loss card in the Aspirants Group after being led by Thirdy Ravena, who had 24 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. Center Ange Kouame, the team’s import, had a double-double at 18 points, 16 rebounds, and four blocks, while Adrian Wong chipped 17 points, especially performing in the fourth quarter. For the Revellers, it was Jhaps Bautista who was the top-scorer at 21 points, with 50% success beyond the arc, while Philip Mangalang scored a total of 20. However, they were not able to pull off a successful endgame, causing the team to now stand at three wins and three losses in the same group.

After the end of the game, Coach Tab Baldwin applauded his players for staying strong amidst the highly physical game, sharing, “I think it got into our heads a little bit and we didn’t execute a lot of good basketball actions and it’s something we can learn from. I’m just happy that we’re able to hold our ground,” referring to Chris Dumapig’s flagrant foul for elbowing William Navarro, that led to Coach Tab and Reveller Stephen Siruma getting into a verbal altercation.