WORDS: Lean Menor of Ubelt.com
With the Blue Eagles down by one, and with Chris Tiu's dramatic game winning shot in their first meeting still looming in their minds, Ateneo showed no fear in the dying seconds and gave the ball to JC Intal as he drove the length of the floor and scored the game winning basket.
But with 8 seconds remaining, Adamson still had a chance to steal the game away but point guard Marvin Poloyapoy fumbled the ball and Ateneo threw the ball in the air as time expired.
"I've always told everybody that of all the teams, Adamson will be the most difficult team to play against because of their size in their frontline" said the winning coach Norman Black "It's not gonna be one of those days where we can run wild offensively, because we had to spend some time on the defensive side"
The game started off slow from the get go as both teams only managed to combine 31 points in the first twelve minutes of action. The first half ended with Adamson leading 38-33 with Bono and Hugnatan leading the way.
JC Intal's back to back jams with 3:49 midway in the third period brought Ateneo within a point 44-43, and Ken Barracoso's 3-pointer from the side gave Ateneo the lead 46-44 with 1:15 remaining in the third
Kramer and Intal scored the last 10 points for Ateneo. After Bono's reverse layup with 1:25 left, and the lead 65-64, Adamson had a lot of chances to take the game away but with Ateneo's swarming defense, the game led to Intal's final play much to the delight of the Ateneo crowd.
Ateneo was led by Rabeth Al-Hussaini's double double and a career high 16 points together with13 rebounds and 2 blocks.
Guard Chris Tiu again came big with 14 points and so is JC Intal, who is enjoying his finest year as a Blue Eagle. Doug Kramer had another double double with 10 points and 12 rebounds for the league leading Ateneo who still holds the solo spot with their unblemished record (7-0).
Ken Bono led all scorers with 21 points, but was hardly a factor in the fourth period, where they needed him the most. Bono also grabbed 11 rebounds.
Roel Hugnatan also struggled offensively against Ateneo's big men, scoring 14 points. Paul Gonzalgo came off the bench and scored 11 for Adamson who drops to 3-5 card after losing last week to the defending champs.
Ateneo's next game will be against bottomfeeders UP on Sunday August 20 at the Araneta Coliseum while Adamson will be pitted against UP Thursday next week August 26 at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
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