Eaglets rally for Filoil win over DLSZ

MANILA, Philippines – The Ateneo Blue Eaglets ended their Filoil Flying V Preseason Cup stint with an 80-68 win over the De La Salle Zobel Junior Archers last Monday at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

Graduating forward-center Jynno Ladimo led the Blue Eaglets with 22 points and seven rebounds in a come-from-behind win over their rivals.

The Blue Eaglets were playing catch-up for much of the first 30 minutes before they evened the count at 53-all heading into the final frame.

In the final canto, Ateneo grew stronger and put away the Junior Archers in the fourth period with a 27-15 blast.

The Blue Eaglets also punished DLSZ on the boards with their 59-31 dominance translating into a 16-2 advantage in second chance points.

Ian Espinoza backstopped Ladimo’s output with 19 points, Francis Lopez poured in 14 points and Joaquin Jaymalin torched DLSZ with 13 points, including four triples.

Ateneo ended its tournament campaign with a 3-2 record.

Ateneo’s two Batang Gilas players — Forthsky Padrigao and Joshua Lazaro — each scored points but the former added four assists while the latter pulled down 15 rebounds. 

DLSZ, which fell to 1-2, was led by Kean Baclaan with 22 points while Ivan Cudiamat added 21.