Dominant Ateneo ousts SWU in PCCL semis

MANILA, Philippines – UAAP champion Ateneo De Manila University outclassed South Western University in a lopsided 96-78 victory in the Philippine Collegiate Champions League Final Four round at the Fil-Oil Flying V Arena in San Juan today.

The disparity in talent and skill of the Blue Eagles over the Southern division champions was very apparent at the onset of the game, which they dominated with a wire to wire finish.

SWU tried to mount a run but only managed to cut down Ateneo’s lead to 62-76 at the 7:51 mark of the final canto courtesy of a jumper by Justine Aboude.

But Greg Slaughter responded with a three-point play and Ateneo completed a 9-1 blast to stretch the lead again to 85-63 with 4:56 left.

Ateneo at one point held a 27-point lead when Frank Golla split his charities with 3:16 remaining in the third quarter for a 70-43 lead.

"We really emphasized on playing defense and it’s a big thing that guys like Greg, Justin (Chua) and Oping (Sumalinog) were there in practice yesterday – a big morale boost to our team," said ADMU assistant coach Gabby Severino.

Slaughter poured in 18 markers and converted on countless dunks while Kiefer Ravena and Nico Salva added 16 and 10 points, respectively, for the Katipunan-based squad.

"We played with more energy as compared to our last game and we controlled the rebounds well today so hopefully, we can continue this trend," said Severino.

Monbert Arong led the Cobras with 17 points while Benoit Mbala, Bonifacio Guillena and Justin Aboude chipped in 15, 12 and 11 points, respectively.

"He is very strong and we definitely prepared for him. Fortunately he was in foul trouble and Greg was able to defend him well," said Severino of Mbala, who scored 27 points against San Beda the last time out.

Ravena led an explosive first half for the Blue Eagles with 12 points while Mbala tried to ignite the Visayan champions’ charge with 13 markers but to no avail.

The Blue Eagles took a 50-31 advantage entering the second half.

Ateneo's pesky defense limited the Cobras field goal shooting to a measly 38 percent compared to their 55 percent clip.

The Eagles upped their record to a 1-1 in the short round-robin phase while SWU is already out of contention with a 0-2 record.

UST (1-0) and SBC (1-0) are playing as of posting time for the solo lead.