Jared Bahay did not blame the officiating after the Ateneo Blue Eagles fell to the defending champions La Salle Green Archers, 83-76, on Wednesday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. The loss leveled the all-time series between the two rivals after 100 meetings.
Ateneo was called for 27 fouls to La Salle’s 16, and the Green Archers made 23 of their 34 free throws. The Blue Eagles went 11-of-14 from the line. Jacob Cortez drew 8 fouls for La Salle.
Joaquin Tovera’s two free throws with one second left in the third quarter gave La Salle a 63-62 lead, and Ateneo did not lead again. With 3:42 left in the game, a technical on the Ateneo side sent JC Macalalag to the line, where he made all three of his attempts for a 77-70 lead.
Jared Bahay Offers Even-Keeled Perspective
Asked about the free throws, Bahay said Ateneo needed to take care of its own fouling.
“Wala naman kaming masabi doon. Ia-avoid lang namin mag-foul,” he said. “At the end of the day, it’s the game, and hindi naman ‘yung referees ’yung magde-decide, it’s us naman how we play, how we control the game.”
Bahay finished with 14 points on four three-pointers. One of those threes gave Ateneo its biggest lead of the game, 52-45, early in the third quarter, before La Salle came back and outscored the Blue Eagles 20-14 in the fourth.
“Well, I think it’s the never-give-up mentality. We play until the last buzzer,” Bahay said. “And yun nga, dahil hindi pa tapos, patuloy pa rin kami pero kinulang kami.”
Jared Bahay and the rest of the Blue Eagles will review the game film before facing the FEU Tamaraws tomorrow, October 10, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum as the UAAP Season 89 Men’s Basketball Tournament continues to heat up.
