Ateneo-Pioneer pounds Hapee, halts losing skid

Ateneo-Pioneer bounced back from back-to-back setbacks, unleashing a big third quarter run to smother Hapee Toothpaste, 64-55, behind a tough defensive stand in the 2000 PBL Challenge Cup at the Makati Coliseum yesterday.

Paul Tan-chi and Rainier Sison took charge in that decisive break-away where the Blue Eagles turned a close contest into a rout to improve their win-loss record to 3-4.

But it was Blu Detergent which came up with the bigger surprise in the day when it stunned highly-fancied and erstwhile unbeaten Shark team via a 61-57 victory in the second game.

The win thus evened Blu’s record to 3-3 while dealing the Power Boosters their first defeat after streaking to six straight victories.

Ateneo-Pioneer coach Joe Lipa, however, said it was their defense on key Hapee gunners that anchored their victory.

"In the first half, we tried to outscore them which didn’t work so I told the boys to play tougher defense in the second half and they did just that for this win," said Lipa.

Hapee leaned anew on Cyprus Baguio, who powered the team’s big 51-46 victory over fancied Montana last Thursday but the high-scoring guard’s 16-point output proved not enough to save the Teeth Sparklers from absorbing their third loss in six games.

With Baguio matching every basket of the entire Blue Eagles, Hapee took control in the early going although they just led by four points at the turn, 36-32.

But Lipa ordered a clampdown on Baguio and the entire Hapee squad and Ateneo-Pioneer held the Teeth Sparklers to just a basket in the first nine minutes of the third quarter while scoring 20 points of their own to build a big 55-38 lead.

A triple by Jaymar Rivera came a little too late for Hapee, which came closest to within seven points before the Blue Eagles swooped down on them again before coasting to the nine-point win.