The score ended 88-66 in favor of Ateneo, with Ivorian center Ange Kouame providing a total of 24 points throughout the game – 11 alone in the third quarter. He also was one rebound away from overcoming the league’s record set by CEU’s Maodo Malick Diouf for most boards at 30. Fellow big man Isaac Go also impressed with 11 points and three rebounds, while Thirdy Ravena and Adrian Wong both scored 10 points each.
For St. Clare, Darwin Lunor had a double-double at 12 points and 16 rebounds, while Paul Santos also chipped 12. However, Ateneo still proved to be stronger; the Saints now standing at 4-1 in the Aspirants Group, while the Eagles are at second place with five wins and one loss.
In response to their victory, Cignal-Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin admitted, “Our halftime talk was direct to the point, that we weren’t doing what we said we’ll do before the game,” referring to improving in the third quarter and getting the lead from there.
As for experiencing their first defeat, St. Clare wingman Junjie Hallare, who contributed 11 points for his team, shared in Filipino, “We relaxed in the third quarter. What we were doing in the first half was good, but when we came back, some of the players relaxed. We just allowed them to shoot from the outside,” then stating, “We lost because of that, but we still fought well. We made it hard for them. We didn’t give them a fight that was so easy.”
Ateneo will try to total their wins to six as they face McDavid on Tuesday, April 16 also at the JCSGO Gym. St. Clare College Virtual Reality, on the other hand, will try to bounce back on Tuesday, April 23, facing Petron-Letran at the same venue.