MANILA, Philippines – UAAP champions Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU) Blue Eagles kept their title hopes alive by thrashing the Southwestern University (SWU) Cobras in the round robin Final Four of the Philippine Collegiate Champions League (PCCL) on Friday.
The Eagles took advantage of the Cobra’s troubled performance to register a trouble-free 96-78 win against the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) champions.
Greg Slaughter, who was outdueled by Karim Abdul in the Eagles’ 76-66 loss to the UST Tigers, led Ateneo with 18 points, three rebounds and one block.
“We're a little rusty right now, so I think this [win] is good for us,” the 7-foot center said in the post-game interview.
Ateneo, led by Keifer Ravena, unleashed a 14-9 run against SWU in the first quarter.
Benoit Mbalah tried to stop the bleeding for the Cobras, but the Blue Eagles eventually posted a 23-12 advantage by the end of the first period.
Nico Salva and Chris Sumalinog teamed up for Ateneo in the second quarter to further widen the gap to 50-31 at the half.
Although SWU performed better in the third quarter when it outscored Ateneo, 24-22, it continued trailing the UAAP champion, 72-55.
The Cobras tried to maintain their run in the fourth, chopping the deficit down to 14 points, 77-62.
But Slaughter took advantage of his defenders’ foul troubles, scoring 10 points in the final period before the bench took over.
source: abs-cbnnews.com
