Kai Sotto of the Ateneo de Manila Blue Eaglets scores on a dunk against Colegio de Sta. Ana Victorias in the title match of the San Remegio Properties Invitational 2017 at the Magis Eagles Arena yesterday.
(CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON)
The Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eaglets beat the Colegio de Sta. Ana de Victorias, 75-60, to capture the championship in the San Remegio Properties Invitational on Sunday at the Magis Eagles Arena in Canduman, Mandaue City.
SJ Belangel, Dave Ildefonso and 7-foot center Kai Sotto proved clutch in the fourth as they scored dagger buckets to help the Blue Eaglets pull away from the hard-fighting CSA-V squad from Victorias City in Negros Occidental.
Belangel, the Bacolod-bred wonder boy who once scored 99 points in a single game, led the way for the Blue Eaglets with 22 points, five boards, three assists and two steals while Ildefonso chipped in 17 markers and nine boards.
Sotto finished with a near triple-double of 13 points, 10 rebounds and eight blocked shots. He was eventually named Most Valuable Player of the tournament after averaging 11.75 points, 8.25 rebounds and four blocks per game.
The title though, was definitely earned by the boys from Katipunan as CSA-V rallied from a 15-point deficit and closed the gap to three, 47-50, at the end of the third. Jeric Adorio sparked that run by scoring 11 of his 17 points during that stretch.
CSA-V came even closer and sliced the deficit down to a single point at the start of the fourth after foreign player Junior Essakadoulla banked a shot in but the Blue Eaglets pushed right back behind baskets by Belangel and Sotto that raised their lead back to seven, 56-49.
Ateneo de Manila then put the game away as Jason Credo and Belangel swished three straight free-throws and Sotto scored on an undergoal stab and a putback to put them up by 12, 69-57, with just two minutes remaining.
Essakadoula had 14 points and 12 rebounds while Jeffrey Manday, who came into the finals game averaging 29 points per game, managed just 12 but still had 10 boards, four assists and six steals.
Meanwhile, the hosts Ateneo de Cebu won third place honors after beating Western Leyte College, 87-81.
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