Eagles back in the hunt;Warriors up

Ateneo rode on the heroics of Enrico Villanueva and Wesley Gonzales in the absence of LA Tenorio as it pummeled National University, 90-79, yesterday to rekindle its Final Four hopes in the 65th UAAP basketball tournament at the Makati Coliseum.

In the second game, University of the East went to the free throw line when it could not buy a basket in the stretch as it wore down Far Eastern Universtiy, 80-75, to extend its amazing run to eight.

Villanueva and Gonzales provided the firepower in a telling endgame run against the sputtering Bulldogs as the Eagles snapped a three-game skid to post a 5-5 win-loss slate.

Chris Quimpo and rookie Mark Escalona had some shining moments as they tried to fill in the void left by Tenorio, who sat on the bench nursing a fracture on his right hand.

"We showed a lot of power in the shaded area but more importantly, Chris and Mark kept the team going even without LA," said Ateneo coach Joel Banal.

Quimpo scattered eight points and had six assists while Escalona, a neophyte out of Ateneo high, backed up Quimpo with quality minutes in well orchestrated job.

After the Eagles took control at the break, Froilan Baguion and Alfie Grijaldo teamed up in a blistering run that saw the Bulldogs turning a 45-52 halftime deficit to a 75-70 fourth quarter lead.

But it was to be NU’s last show of force as Villanueva and Gonzales, who combined for 42 markers, 18 rebounds, and nine assists, entered the fray to deliver the crushing blows.

Baguion led NU with 18 markers plus six assists and five rebounds but could not hit the shots in the homestretch as the Bulldogs floundered another potential win to their 10th defeat against a loss.

The Warriors went without a fieldgoal in the final four and a half minutes of play but made five of the eight foul shots given them as they weathered the Tamarraws’ late comeback.

From 57-75 with 4.37 remaining in the contest, FEU stormed back to cut the deficit to three points, 75-78, with 12.1 seconds to go but Arwind Santos’ three-point attempt missed its target as UE sealed its eighth win in 10 outings to move closer to unbeaten La Salle (10-0).

It was the Tamarraws’ sixth loss against four triumphs.