Adornado, Gonzaga hold off La Salle Stingers for Ateneo’s third win

Joma Adornado bringing down the ball against the USLS Stingers. He drove hard to the basket in this shot but it rimmed out.

Adornado, Gonzaga hold off USLS Stingers for Ateneo’s third win

An old and new hand combined to give the University of St. La Salle Stingers a lesson about being clutch and desire.

by rick olivares

October 26, 2011

Capiz Gym

The team in front of the Ateneo Blue Eagles must have looked familiar. There was that familiar green and white uniform and that deadeye shooting from the perimeter.

Only it wasn’t their emerald foes from Taft Avenue but the University of St. La Salle Stingers who looked not only to avenge their Manila brethren but to also top their group play with an upset over last year’s semifinalists.

The Stingers threw a 2-3 zone against the Blue Eagles and opted to bombard from the outside with Rogie Gelasan and Scott Salvacion accounting for a combined 36 points. When Ateneo’s bigs rotated out, they drove hard to the basket.

Yet even when Ateneo seemed sloppy and out of synch, as a testament to their talent and championship pedigree, the Blue Eagles bucked a tough challenge from USLS to win their third consecutive game, 86-67, in the men’s basketball competition of the 16^th University Games.

Ateneo posted its biggest lead of 18 points, 55-37, at the 8:57 mark of the third period following a floater in the lane by Juami Tiongson. But USLS went on a 19-7 run that saw them knock on the Blue Eagles’ door, 56-62, with the crowd buzzing over a potential upset.

But Joma Adornado, the son of former pro great William “Bogs” Adornado who has been logging serious time on Ateneo’s Team B, hit a triple from the left quarter court with six seconds left in the third period to give the blue and white some breathing room, 65-56.

Adornado earlier hit a trey (from the right corner pocket) in the midst of USLS’s stirring third quarter comeback and teamed up with Tonino Gonzaga to score eight and six points respectively and keep their side afloat. He went on to drain another, his fourth of the match at the 5:49 mark of the final quarter to hike the score to 73-57 Ateneo.

Gonzaga who was having trouble with his ball handling and was misfiring from the outside, tried to make amends with his stellar defense. He picked off five passes like a free safety and issued three assists.

Juami Tiongson bucked early foul trouble to score eight points in the final period as Ateneo regained its double-digit lead. They also had help from the inept free throw shooting of the Stingers who missed 11 of 12 free throws awarded them in the payoff period.

“We were off on many things – our shooting, our perimeter defense, and our rebounding,” noted assistant coach Gene Afable after the match. “It’s just one of those days. But the boys responded to the challenge.”

The Stingers’ Gelasan led all scorers with 25 points while Salvacion backed him up with 11 of his own. However, Ateneo, led by Justin Chua’s 16 points saw four Blue Eagles score in double figures.

“Panget laro namin,” confessed Gonzaga. “We didn’t have a good grip on the game until the fourth period. Siguro La Salle din kasi kaya hindi magpapatalo. Buti na lang nag-click din si Joma.”

The Ateneo Blue Eagles faced a familiar foe in green and white that could shoot some. The USLS Stingers trouble was, they weren’t the only ones who could stroke it.

Ateneo de Manila University 86 – Chua 16, Tiongson 15, Adornado 14, Gonzaga 11, Capacio 9, Cipriano 8, Erram 6, Pessumal 5, Estrada 2, Mercado 0, Siarot 0.

University of St. La Salle 67 – Gelasan 25, Salvacion 11, Cuenca 7, Cuaresma 6, Badillo 4, Villaroman 4, Genzanes 4, Delagante 2, Dionela 2, Villafranca 2, Ong 0, Reyes 0, Bernales 0.

Notes: One day after cheering on Ateneo’s women’s volleyball team, the Lady Eagles repaid the favor by watching the match at the Capiz Gym to cheer on the blue and white.

The Ateneo Blue Eagles went over to the Filamer Christian University to cheer on the Ateneo Lady Eagles during the evening match against Colegio de la Purisima Concepcion last Tuesday. In the picture above, they react to a monstrous spike by Ella de Jesus. In the picture below, the volleybelles exchange high fives with the Blue Eagles.

During the Blue Eagles' game against the University of St. La Salle Stingers, it was the volleybelles turn to cheer on their fellow Ateneans. And of course, it was their turn to high five.