MANILA, Philippines -- Kiefer Ravena sparkled with a near triple-double as the Ateneo Blue Eagles arrested a two-game slide with an 87-72 rout of the Adamson Falcons on Saturday in the UAAP Season 78 men's basketball at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Ravena collected 20 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists to power the Eagles.
The Eagles methodically wore down the Falcons as they pushed the tempo starting in the second quarter to pull away for good. Ravena hit 15 of his total output in the first half where the Eagles sat on a nine-point cushion at the half, 50-41.
The Falcons never threatened seriously as frustrations crept in with Joseph Nalos getting ejected for a hard foul on Vince Tolentino. Ravena came to Tolentino's defense shoving Nalos to the ground that earned him an unsportsmanlike foul.
The incident, however, fueled the Eagles more as they broke the game wide open to catch their arch-rival De La Salle Green Archers at 5-4 win-loss mark.
Von Pessumal added 17 points while Aaron Black, son of the Eagles' former coach and architect of the school's three-peat, chipped in 14 points pouring in the heat in the searing third quarter.