ATENEO rookie center Kristian Porter and prized freshman Jared Bahay formed a formidable tandem to frustrate National University last night.
With Porter and Bahay showing the way, the Blue Eagles edged the Bulldogs 70-68 to get back on track in the 87th UAAP basketball tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The 6-foot-5 Porter rose to the occasion–soaring for a crucial block on Jake Figueroa’s driving layup with 12.5 seconds left before teammate Ian Espinosa hugged the leather.
Espinosa was fouled by Jolo Manansala, but split his free throws that left the door ajar for the Bulldogs.
Manansala banged in a three-pointer that made it a 68-70 game with 5.1 ticks to go. Espinosa then muffed two of his freebies.
With a chance to steal the victory, NU went to Manansala anew who fired a trey but the ball bounced off the rim.
Porter wisely tapped the ball outside as time expired, much to the delight of Ateneo’s bench, including coach Tab Baldwin.
“It was enough, you know. It was enough to get us over the finish line and very, very satisfying. I know for the players that it’s been a tough first half of the season. They’ve stuck together. I’ve got to give them credit for that because,” Baldwin said. “I think I’ve tried to put a lot of pressure on them because I know that there’s so much we’re going to take out of this season, particularly these young guys like this.
“The pressure is on whether you’re getting results or not to get better and we were better tonight for sure. We stuck more to what we were trying to do in the game plan,” he added.
Bahay backed up Porter with 12 markers, six boards and five assists while Chris Koon had 10 and eight as the Eagles atoned for a 68-78 loss to the Bulldogs last Oct. 5 and improved to 2-6 in one of their most trying campaigns in recent memory.
NU slipped to 2-6.
Ateneo raced to an early 32-19 lead before the Eagles settled for a 35-31 buffer at the half. They still held a 50-45 edge going into the fourth canto.
Figueroa carried the fight for the Bulldogs with 15 points and 10 caroms while Manansala got 12 and seven.
It’s a step in the right direction for Ateneo in its bid to turn its fortunes around in the second half of the cage wars.nc
