Eagles defang listless Bulldogs

MANILA, Philippines - Defending champion Ateneo waylaid a hapless National U side, 75-54, yesterday and firmed up its bid for the twice-to-beat incentive in the Final Four in the UAAP seniors basketball tournament at the Araneta Coliseum.

Ryan Buenafe came out of a slump and fired a league-high 23 points, including 14 in the second quarter where the Eagles cut loose en route to their 10th win in 11 games.

Reigning MVP Rabeh Al-Hussaini dished out a double-double job of 15 points and 10 rebounds as Ateneo dominated NU from start to finish to zero in on the top spot in the next round.

The Eagles, who sealed their Final Four stint with an 80-70 win over the UST Tigers last week, try to move closer to the coveted berth with a win over Adamson on Sunday.

“We need to come out with a lot of fire again against Adamson on Sunday,” said Ateneo coach Norman Black.

Earlier, Far Eastern U relied on rookie RR Garcia’s endgame brilliance as the Tams repulsed the Adamson Falcons, 84-75, to formalize its entry into the semifinals with a 9-2 (win-loss) slate.

Ateneo also employed a stifling defense to hold NU to just three points in the first quarter and 10 points in the first half.

NU’s three points in the first quarter was the lowest since it scored four against La Salle last July 23 and Adamson managed only four versus Far Eastern U on July 13 in 2003.

The Bulldogs also own the lowest output in a quarter – two – also against the Eagles on Aug. 28 in 2003.

The Eagles unloaded a 28-0 blitz linking the first two quarters to virtually take the fight out of the Bulldogs.

Joseph Hermosisima actually scored the game’s first basket – a triple – which turned out to be NU’s last in the period. But Ateneo scored 28 unanswered points to put the game out of reach early.

The Falcons fell to their eighth setback against three wins while the Bulldogs took their ninth defeat against two wins.

Garcia, who averaged 7.5 points in the last two games, scattered 10 of his career-best 25 points in the fourth quarter as the Tams put the Falcons away for good.

Smart Gilas Pilipinas veterans Andy Barroca, Aldrech Ramos and JR Cawaling chipped in 15, 10 and 10 points, respectively, while Reil Cervantes also scored 10 points for the Tams.

Despite the win and the balanced scoring, FEU coach Glenn Capacio remained far from satisfied.

“We’re still obviously struggling,” said Capacio, whose wards bounced back from a 72-87 loss to the University of the East Warriors last Sunday to drop out of a tie for the lead with the Eagles.