The country’s most storied collegiate rivalry continues to be one-sided.
With Ryan Buenafe coming up with a virtuoso performance, four-time defending champion Ateneo de Manila sustained its domination of archrival La Salle with a 77-67 victory that stretched its winning streak to eight in the UAAP Season 75 men’s basketball action before another jampacked Saturday crowd at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
After getting ejected for the first time in his playing career in their rugged 77-64 win over Far Eastern University last Wednesday, Buenafe sizzled throughout with a personal-best of 24 points, laced by three triples, plus eight boards in an efficient 24 minutes of play to lead three other teammates with 10 points each as the Blue Eagles gain at least a playoff for a semis spot with a league-leading 9-1 record.
“Kinausap ako ni Coach (Norman Black) na kailangan kong mag-step up every game,” stated the 6-foot-3 Buenafe, who failed to see action last season due to personal issues. “Binigyan niya ako ng confidence na pag open, itira mo lang. Last game pa ako ganado maglaro. Kinontrol ko na lang ‘yung sarili ko ngayon.”
Kiefer Ravena collected 18 markers and seven boards while Nico Salva added 12 and Juami Tiongson had 10 for Ateneo, which extended its mastery of La Salle to five straight and 11 of the last 12 meetings since 2008.
Towering center Greg Slaughter took the back seat offensively, coming up with just four points on five attempts but hauled down 11 rebounds and swatted four shots for Ateneo, which also humbled La Salle 71-61 last July 28.
Prolific rookie Jeron Teng, who nailed the winning jumper in La Salle’s 53-51 win over University of Santo Tomas last Wednesday, struggled this time, shooting an awful 6-of-21 from the field but still finished with a team-best 22 points.
Diminutive Almond Vostros came off the bench to all but six of his 20 markers in the first half, but the Blue Eagles just had more weapons.
The Archers, who went into the game armed with a four-game winning run, dropped suffered their fourth loss in 10 outings and slipped into a tie for fourth with host National University.
“We really wanted to re-establish ourselves as the best defensive team in the league,” stressed Black, whose wards held down the Archers to a 23-of-67 output (34.3 percent) from the field while shooting much better, going 27-of-64 (42.2 percent). “We just want to prove we’re still the best defensive team.”
And Black was also quick to heap praises on Buenafe’s remarkable outing, saying: “We got a big lift in the case of Ryan. He stepped up offensively. It makes a little difficult for them to double up Greg. Most of the teams are using small forward to double up Greg so we decided to put Ryan because he’s an offensive threat. He keeps the other team guarded.”
With 17,126 fans wildly cheering and jeering, Buenafe got the Blue Eagles rolling early, racking up nine points highlighted by back-to-back treys that gave them a 20-5 bubble.
Trailing 10-26 after the first 10 minutes, the Green Archers woke up from a long stupor, with Vosotros taking charge with two consecutive treys that sparked La Salle’s 19 points in the second quarter, trimming the lead at 29-35 heading into the dug-out.
Tampus, tasked to make life miserable for Ravena, provided a timely lift from the bench with six points as the Green Archers pulled within 42-44, courtesy of a Teng triple. But the Blue Eagles buckled down to work anew, dropping a telling 13-4 surge that helped preserve their lead at 57-46 into the payoff period.
The Green Archers repeatedly knocked on the Ateneo’s door, closing within 53-61, but Buenafe and Co. came up with timely buckets that completely kept La Salle at bay.
Buenafe, the 2010 Finals MVP, clearly proved he still has what it takes, saying: “Nawala ako last year kaya parang nawala rin pangalan ko. Kaya dapat akong magpakita.”
Meanwhile, the league offered a minute of silence for the late DILG secretary Jesse M. Robredo, a proud alumnus of both schools, prior to the start of the game.
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