Ateneo keeps unbeaten record, survives gritty UST

Angelo Kouame rises to the occasion to keep Ateneo undefeated.

Ateneo escaped a gallant challenge from University of Santo Tomas, 71-70, to stay immaculate in the UAAP Season 82 Men's Basketball Tournament Wednesday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Ange Kouame scored the go-ahead tip with 3:40 left that put the Blue Eagles, 68-67, before emphatically denying Soulemane Chabi Yo's jumper in the final minute, before Thirdy Ravena and Matt Nieto iced the game at the charity stripe in the waning seconds.

The Ivorian Kouame finished with 11 points, 10 boards, and two blocks, while the senior Ravena topped Ateneo with 17 points, 11 of which coming in the second half, to go with 10 rebounds, two assists, and two steals.

"We understood that game was going to be a really tough game. I feel fortunate we won the game. That's the kind of game that you can credit the team as much as you want, talk about character, and all of that, but I think that every applaud you give your team, you give the other. That could have gone either way," said coach Tab Baldwin of what he regarded as a "track meet" and lived up to everyone's expectations.

Gian Mamuyac also did his damage with 10 points and four rebounds, while Will Navarro had eight points, five rebounds, and five assists in the win to keep the Blue Eagles at the top of the standings at 3-0.

There's no doubt, though, that UST left a lot of impression on Ateneo with Baldwin having a lengthy talk with counterpart Aldin Ayo after the game.

Chabi Yo paced the Growling Tigers in the valiant stand with 25 points, 13 rebounds, two assists, and two blocks as they fell to a 2-1 slate.

Rhenz Abando, Mark Nonoy, and Renzo Subido all had nine in the losing cause.

The Scores:

ATENEO 71 -- Ravena 17, Kouame 11, Mamuyac 10, Navarro 8, Belangel 6, Maagdenberg 6, Ma. Nieto 5, Go 3, Wong 3, Mi. Nieto 2, Andrade 0, Daves 0, Tio 0.

UST 70 -- Chabi Yo 25, Abando 9, Nonoy 9, Subido 9, Huang 6, Cansino 4, Concepcion 4, Ando 2, Paraiso 2, Bataller 0.

Quarterscores: 23-13, 33-37, 53-56, 71-70.

Collegiate Press Corps Awards highlight best of 2018-19

Collegiate Player of the Year winner Thirdy Ravena with (from left to write) former UAAP-NCAA Press Corps officials Joey Villar of the Philippine Star, Jonas Terrado of the Manila Bulletin, and Cedelf Tupas of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, and Collegiate Press Corps president Reuben Terrado of SPIN.ph.

Heroes from the recently-concluded NCAA and UAAP seasons were honored in the 2019 Chooks-to-Go Collegiate Press Corps Awards presented by SportsVision, last Monday at Amelie Hotel Manila.

The preeminent student-athletes who showcased their talent and workmanship at the highest level of collegiate sports were gathered in the annual event held by the the Collegiate Press Corps, made up of print and online reporters covering the beat.

Ateneo de Manila University’s Thirdy Ravena was hailed as Basketball Player of the Year after leading the Blue Eagles to their second straight UAAP title.

"It's a great feeling to be recognized, especially for an award like this. Lahat ng mga pinaghirapan ko, finally nagpay-off,” said Ravena. "But in all honesty, I owe this all to my teammates. Of course, also the hardworking coaching staff of our team. We've come this far because of them."

Ravena joins the elite company of Mac Belo, Jeron Teng, Ben Mbala, Robert Bolick, and his own brother Kiefer as players who have received the coveted award.

"I also dedicate this award to my family, my friends, and those who have supported us in this journey. Honestly, I'm so surprised. I'm still in shock,” said the second-generation star.

The King Eagle was also named part of the All-Collegiate Team together with San Beda’s Robert Bolick, University of Perpetual Help System Dalta’s Prince Eze, and the University of the Philippines duo of Bright Akhuetie and Paul Desiderio.

It was also an historic night for volleyball as the sport's best individual performers were recognized for the very first time in the event supported by Amelie Hotel Manila, Rain or Shine, NorthPort, World Balance, Arellano University, AXA Team Eds, and NBL.

University of Santo Tomas’ Sisi Rondina and Arellano University’s Regine Arocha became the first recipients of the SportsVision Volleyball Player of the Year award.

Rondina capped off her stellar UAAP career by winning MVP in both beach and indoor volleyball in the same season, all while carrying the Golden Tigresses to their first Finals in eight years. Arocha, meanwhile, took the spotlight in the NCAA after helping the Lady Chiefs capture a three-peat while also winning the Finals MVP award.

The Award of Excellence was then handed out to the National University women's basketball team, as the Lady Bulldogs have run off eighty straight wins to claim five straight UAAP championships. UP's men's basketball team, meanwhile, earned a Special Citation for their inspiring Cinderella run to end their school’s 32-year Finals drought.

Coaches Boyet Fernandez of San Beda and Tab Baldwin of Ateneo were deemed top tacticians in the NCAA and UAAP, respectively, after leading their respective squads to championships.

Other awardees were Pivotal Players Angelo Kouame of Ateneo and Javee Mocon of San Beda as well as Impact Players CJ Perez of Lyceum and Sean Manganti of Adamson.

Nabalan, Kouame share Player of the Week nod

In a first for the Collegiate Press Corps, the print and online media selected a couple of players to share the latest Player of the Week nod for the UAAP.

Presented by Chooks-to-Go, the scribes bestown such honor to Ria Nabalan of National University and Angelo Kouame of Ateneo de Manila University, beating out Juan Gomez de Liano of the University of the Philippines who became the first man to produce a triple-double in the UAAP in twelve years.

Nabalan made history as the first female student-athlete to be named as a Player of the Week, becoming the third female in league history to score at least forty points in a game. She joins Raiza Palmera and Allana Lim as the only players to achieve that milestone, the former netting 44 for Far Eastern University in an 85-80 win over the University of the East back in 2011, with the latter dropping 45 on the same Lady Warriors in an 85-43 blowout one year later.

The national team standout scored 40 points on 14/23 shooting in the Lady Bulldogs' 111-64 win over La Salle this past Saturday, extending their long winning streak to 72 games, which is one short of the record for all sports, currently held by Adamson's softball team.

Even her head coach Patrick Aquino was delighted to be a witness to this moment. He shares, "Sobrang happy that everything was falling for (Nabalan). It’s only a once-in-a-lifetime na makakuha siya ng forty points. Sobrang saya."

Later that afternoon, it was Angelo Kouame's turn to take the stage.

With Ateneo slightly undermanned due to the absence of Thirdy Ravena due to suspension and the Nieto twins due to illness, the Ivorian center took over against Far Eastern University.

Kouame finished with 33 points and 27 rebounds to tow the Blue Eagles to an 82-62 demolition of the Tamaraws, becoming the first male student-athlete since Rabeh Al-Hussaini to produce a 30-20 in a UAAP game. The total rebounds is a single-game record since computerized stats were integrated into the league back in 2003.

Al-Hussaini pulled off that feat back in 2008 also against FEU, although the Tamaraws won that one, 72-66.

Even with that performance, the Ateneo coaching staff believes that Angelo is merely scratching the surface of his potential.

Ateneo lead assistant Sandy Arespacochaga shared to media after the game, "We’re very happy with his development and we’d like to think of it that he’ll still continue to improve. That’s the mentality of coach Tab [Baldwin] - kung anong talents niya, he will continue to improve it and he will continue teaching."