Ateneo de Cebu loses to NU in semis of NBTC Nationals
The end of the line came for the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu Magis Eagles as they got walloped by the National University Bullpups, 71-47, in the Final Four stage of the SM-NBTC 2018 National Finals yesterday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Less than 24 hours after they took down the top-ranked Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eaglets, the Magis Eagles failed to find the same rhythm and confidence that brought them to this stage, instead faltering in the second half behind a barrage of perimeter shots from NU’s Gerry Abadiano and Terrence Fortea.
Abadiano paced the UAAP juniors runner up NU with 23 points, making all but two of his nine shots while Fortea finished with 17 markers.
The Magis Eagles were within three, 28-31, at halftime but suddenly went cold in the third while Abadiano and Fortea took turns puncturing the Cebuanos’ defense to erect a 53-48 lead heading to the last 10 minutes of action.
Ateneo de Cebu tried to rally in the fourth but just couldn’t hit the broad side of the barn, finishing the game with a paltry 23.29 percent clip from the field. It also did not help that the Cebu team missed 10 of their 18 tries from the free-throw stripe.
Eroll Pastor, Ateneo de Cebu’s main man in their momentous win over Ateneo de Manila with 21 points, had just 14 this time on a 5-of-18 shooting clip. Nobody else reached double figures for the Magis Eagles.
In the finals today, NU will be taking on La Salle Greenhills, which routed Chiang Kai Shek College, 81-64, in the other semifinals affair.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
