MANILA, Philippines - Ateneo staved off University of Santo Tomas’ fierce challenge, 76-72, to open its bid for a three-peat on a winning note in the opener of the UAAP Season 73 juniors basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan yesterday.
Von Pessumal sank two charities off a foul by Kevin Ferrer to give the Blue Eaglets a three-point cushion, 75-72, with 13.8 seconds left in the contest after the Tiger Cubs threatened to within, 72-73, on Ferrer’s triple.
The Katipunan-based cagers then forced UST’s Jaypee Sarcia to a traveling violation in the next play and finally secured the win on a Jose Mercado’s split in the final 7.3 seconds.
Kiefer Ravena made 23 points, six rebounds and four assists while Pessumal had 13 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two shot blocks.
Season 72 runner-up De La Salle-Zobel, with Alexander Torres churning out a double-double output, also got off to a rousing start, eking out a 72-61 romp over Far Eastern U-FERN.
Torres, a third year transferee from La Salle Greenhills, played true to form and fired 24 points and hauled down 16 rebounds while freshman Renzo Subido showed a lot of promise with an 11-point performance in his first stint in the league.
Joining Ateneo and La Salle-Zobel in the early lead were the Adamson Baby Falcons, who drew 22 points from Irvin Mendoza in their 112-74 rout of University of the Philippines-Integrated School.