ATENEO de Manila University finally broke through, turning home-court advantage into its first win of the UAAP Season 89 High School Boys’ 16-and-under Basketball Tournament with a 100-80 victory over University of the Philippines Integrated School on Sunday at the Blue Eagle Gym. The Blue Eagles, who lost to their Katipunan rivals on a game-winning triple in their first-round meeting, exacted revenge and snapped their winless start to the season. The victory also offered Ateneo a measure of redemption after its 34-77 blowout loss to Far Eastern University-Diliman last Thursday. “We’re so blessed. Breaks went our way. These guys, sila ‘yung gumawa. They worked hard for it. Even in practice yesterday, so it started there, we just translated it into the game,” said Ateneo head coach Jeff Mangubat. Ateneo broke away in the second quarter, capitalizing on UPIS’ shooting woes and attacking the paint for easy baskets to take a comfortable 55-37 lead into halftime. Led by Jayden Ylen, the Blue Eagles extended their advantage to 23 points in the third quarter, unleashing a 14-3 run with three minutes remaining in the period. The Fighting Maroons, however, mounted a comeback in the final canto, trimming the deficit to single digits midway through the fourth quarter. Despite UPIS’...
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