The Blue Eagles made all of their 17 free throws in the fourth quarter as they scored a third straight victory to tie the University of the East Warriors in the lead in the UAAP group of this brief benefit tourney.
The Heavy Bombers remained winless in three outings.
Earlier, NCAA champion San Sebastian displayed unwavering endgame poise as it downed Santo Tomas, 77-71, to gain a semifinals seat from the NCAA side.
Leomar Najorda had another explosive game with 18 points although it was Fil-Am Clark Moore who played big at crunch time, leading the Stags to a second win against a solitary loss.
The Stags dealt the Tigers a second loss in three outings.
Ateneo roared to a mighty 14-3 start but Jose Rizal waged a fight to seize a 53-51 lead at the half.
But the Eagles made another vicious assault in the third quarter and the UAAP champions regained the lead, seized the momentum and took the fight out of the Heavy Bombers.
Starting guard LA Tenorio joined Enrico Villanueva on the sideline but Chris Quimpo and Andrew Cruz picked up the slack, combining for 27 points.
For San Sebastian, Moore played the fireman’s role in the fourth quarter, making 10 of his 17 points in the period.
The Tigers took control in the first two quarters and were down by only two points at 53-55 before Moore stepped up and fuelled a torrid San Sebastian attack.