#UAAP79 The Good and the Bad: Ateneo vs De La Salle - October 2, 2016

The Ateneo Blue Eagles tried their best to slow down Ben Mbala and the De La Salle Green Archers. Only ADMU stood in the way of a first round sweep for the boys in green. Unfortunately, even the suspension of Coach Ayo and injury of Jeron Teng could not prevent DLSU from running allover the Blue Eagles. 

Ben Mbala could not be stopped

The BAD

• ADMU could not solve the Mayhem press defense; they scrambled and panicked often
• They had 30 turnovers which led to 33 turnover points for DLSU
• Only 2 fast break points for the Eagles which meant they could not break the press
• Ateneo was called for 3 unsportsmanlike fouls (Ravena, Tolentino, Matt Nieto) 
• Mike Nieto struggled with his jumper (1 of 7)
• Ben Mbala dominated with 28 points, 13 rebounds, 5 steals and 1 block
• Andrei Caracut scored 14 points and was +41 
• Chiz Ikeh had 7 points and 5 boards but was -43
• DLSU recorded 16 steals while ADMU had only 4
• La Salle was awarded 21 of 33 free throws, ADMU just 14 of 24
• Points in the paint were 54-28 for DLSU
• Mbala had 3 monstrous dunks including a wicked alley-oop 

Mbala made sure that everyone would remember his ferocious alley-oop dunk

The GOOD

• The score was tied at 20 after the 1st quarter
• ADMU had their biggest lead at 26-20, then it went downhill afterwards 
• Perimeter shooting was clicking at 13 of 28 from downtown 
• Ravena had 10 points in the first half, but only 1 point in the 2nd 
• Ravena had a double-double of 11 and 11 (his 2nd of the season)
• Kris Porter hit 2 threes and had 6 points in less than 9 minutes
• Matt Nieto went down hard and appeared to hurt his knee BUT he came back to play and he was solid with 13 points and 2 threes
• Ateneo had more assists 20-17
• Eagles were only out-rebounded by 8
• ADMU had more bench points, 44-35 

Final Thoughts 

Ateneo battled and tried their best. They kept it close for one period, but that was it. DLSU is just too deep, too fast, too big and too strong right now. Ben Mbala is unstoppable. He can probably play in the PBA as an import. 

Still, ADMU should be happy with their 4-3 record after the first round. They are certainly in the hunt for a final four slot. 

Hopefully, they continue to improve because they can beat the other schools except La Salle. 

Lastly, Aaron Black did not play and we all hope that we receive good news regarding his leg/foot injury. #OBF


Click HERE for more game photos between Ateneo vs La Salle! 

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