Ateneo survives La Salle in second round opener; UST, Adamson, UP bag wins

The Ateneo de Manila Blue Eagles continued their winning ways as it survived the De La Salle Green Archers, 75-68, in the second round opener of UAAP Season 84 on Tuesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

SJ Belangel and Gian Mamuyac led the way for the Katipunan-based squad with 15 points apiece. Ange Kouame, who was put to foul trouble early in the game, listed seven points and nine rebounds. Kurt Lojera tallied 21 markers, while Evan Nelle added 20 in the loss for the Taft-based squad.

The win, which was played in front of a crowd of 11,124, extended Ateneo's ongoing streak since 2018 to 34.

Earlier, the UST Growling Tigers snapped its three-game loss and won over the UE Red Warriors, 72-61, while the Adamson Soaring Falcons eked out a win against the FEU Tamaraws, 64-63. The UP Fighting Maroons, meanwhile, extended its winning streak to seven after beating the NU Bulldogs, 84-76.

Ateneo remained on top of the standings with eight wins, while UP retained its hold of the second spot at 7-1. La Salle (5-3) and NU (4-4) completed the upper half of the standings. FEU and UST are tied at the fifth spot with a 3-5 card, while Adamson (2-6) and UE (0-8) rounded up the last four spots.

UAAP action will be back next Tuesday.

—JMB, GMA News