De La Salle University got a big game from Schonny Winston to shock the Ateneo Blue Eagles, 83-78, in their first match-up of UAAP Season 85 on Sunday afternoon at the Araneta Coliseum.
This marked the first time that La Salle had beaten Ateneo since November 29, 2017, in Game 2 of the UAAP Season 80 Finals when Ben Mbala powered the Green Archers to a 92-83 win. Since then, the Blue Eagles have won seven straight rivalry games.
Winston bucked a slow start to finish with 25 points, five rebounds, six assists and two steals, as the Green Archers erased a double-digit first quarter deficit to snatch the win. Evan Nelle returned to action to finish with 10 points, while Mike Phillips bucked foul trouble to grab 11 rebounds.
It is the second straight victory for the Green Archers in Season 85, as they improved to 2-1. Ateneo now has the same record, losing their first game of the season after a 2-0 start.
"I think the boys really worked hard," said La Salle coach Derick Pumaren. "They believed that they can beat Ateneo, and we really worked and prepared for Ateneo."
"Even when we were down, we were able to regroup noong 2nd quarter. I think we even got the lead noong 2nd quarter. Hat's off to my guys. I told them to never doubt that we can match up with Ateneo, and they showed it in today's game," he added.
Ateneo led by as much as 12 points, 28-16, in the opening period as the Blue Eagles found their mark from the perimeter. But La Salle opened the second quarter with a 13-0 blast to snatch a 31-28 lead, and it was back-and-forth from there.
The Blue Eagles took a three-point lead, 70-67, off a Paul Garcia triple with 6:14 left but his bucket was answered by an Evan Nelle three-pointer in the next La Salle possession. His bucket touched off a 10-2 run for the Green Archers, capped by a putback from Mike Phillips to give La Salle a 77-72 lead with 3:13 to play.
A split at the line by Dave Ildefonso made it a four-point game, 77-73, but Winston nailed another midrange jumper for a 79-73 count. Padrigao knocked down his long three-pointer of the contest in Ateneo's next possession to give the Blue Eagles some life, 79-76, but Winston drilled another clutch jumper on the other end to pad the lead for La Salle anew, 81-76.
Ateneo still had a chance when Kai Ballungay converted an awkward layup for an 81-78 count with 47.3 seconds left, and Ateneo forced Kevin Quiambao into a missed three-pointer on La Salle's next trip down. But out of a timeout, the Blue Eagles couldn't execute and they settled for a Padrigao triple that badly misfired. Two free throws by Nelle iced the game for the Green Archers.
"It was definitely a game we had on our schedule for a long time," said Winston, who was scoreless in the first quarter before finding his rhythm in the second. "I was just trying to do everything we could to win. We just all wanted to win really badly in this game."
La Salle shot 44.1% from the field and limited Ateneo to just 32.6% shooting. The Blue Eagles kept themselves in the game thanks to their hard work on the boards; their 36 offensive rebounds led to 28 second chance points.
Reigning Most Valuable Player Ange Kouame had 22 points, 12 rebounds, four blocks and two assists, while Ballungay had his best game so far with 19 points and 10 boards.
But they couldn't overcome a poor shooting afternoon from their perimeter players. Dave Ildefonso made just three of 14 shots for seven points, while Padrigao went 2-of-18 from the field and missed 11 of his 12 three-point attempts.