The Abellana National School (ANS) pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament so far after they thwarted grassroots powerhouse Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC), 93-89, in the CloudFone Batang PBA Cebu leg on Sunday evening at the Magis Eagles Arena inside the Ateneo de Cebu campus in Canduman, Mandaue City.
ANS got off to a fast start and led by 14, 24-10, after the opening 10 minutes of action. It continually kept the Magis Eagles at bay and pushed its lead to 16, 71-55, heading to the last period.
Ateneo de Cebu’s last-ditch effort in the fourth got the Magis Eagles within striking distance several times but ANS never wavered and hung on for the victory, its first in the tournament after two straight losses.
Julian Romano played like a man possessed and torched Ateneo de Cebu’s defense for 35 points.
Coco Tuadles had 30 markers but it was not enough to keep the Magis Eagles from falling to their first defeat after opening the competition with two straight wins.
In spite of the loss, Ateneo de Cebu remains in solo second place behind the unbeaten University of the Visayas.
ANS, on the other hand, forged a three-way tie for third place at 1-2 (win-loss).
Only the top four teams at the end of the single round-robin elimination round will advance to the semis.