Blue Eagles break into win column

MANILA, Philippines -- The Ateneo Blue Eagles finally tallied a win in the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball tournament, holding on against the gritty Adamson Soaring Falcons, 60-51, Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

After losing their first three games en route to a decade-worst start, Ateneo finally broke through.

Shawn Tuano led the Blue Eagles with 11 points and four rebounds. Kristian Porter and the returning Chris Koon had eight markers apiece, with the former hauling down 10 boards, while the latter had four boards.

The Katipunan-based squad led by 14 points, 50-36, heading into the final frame.

Adamson then cut the lead to three, 49-52, with a 13-2 run capped by a Ced Manzano layup. A putback by Porter with 2:47 remaining halted the run.

The two teams, then, failed to put points on the board until Manzano’s pair of free throws with 1:04 to go to make it 51-54.

The Soaring Falcons were able to get the ball back, but Manzano’s floater with about 26 ticks left came up short.

Two free throws by Ian Espinosa kept them at bay, as Monty Montebon missed a triple on the other end.

“We’re obviously happy. The guys fought really hard. I’ve said that we’re a team that will have good patches and bad patches, and the fourth quarter was a really bad patch but we survived,” Blue Eagles head coach Tab Baldwin said after the game.

Ateneo started the game waxing hot, erecting a 15-point lead in the first half.

It was an advantage the Blue Eagles controlled for the majority of the game, as the advantage grew to 16, 44-28, after a Kyle Gamber trey, before the Falcons tried to soar back.

Ateneo will try to get things rolling as it faces  Far Eastern University next Sunday, while Adamson takes on National University on Wednesday.