After winning the last four UAAP championship, the Ateneo Blue Eagles surrendered to the men from Taft in an exhibition game against the Blue Eagles.
The Dream Game 2012 was held at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last Feb. 5. The game featured Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) players who hailed from either the De La Salle Green Archers or the Ateneo Blue Eagles.
Veteran forward Don Allado picked up 23 points and seven rebounds as he bossed the green shirts towards victory in the match-up, The Barako Bull Energy big man was adjudged the Most Valuable Player of the charity game.
Unlike the last two PBA encounters, the first which ended in favor of Ateneo, 88-85, and their second reunion which finished in a 90-all standstill, the pro cagers in Green did not give their blue counterparts an opportunity to edge out over them in the 117-104 rout.
The Franz Pumarez-mentored squad dominated in the early run-in as Air 21 Express stalwart Ren-Ren Ritualo sparked a 14-5 run with his trademark trey.
Allado, Macmac Cardona and Carlo Sharma also did their part in extending the lead as the Green Archers alumni ended the first canto in front, 34-20.
In the second quarter, Alaska Aces playmaker LA Tenorio scored and assisted to give the Blue-and-White cagers a glimpse of hope as they tied the ballgame at 38-apiece in the 7:07 mark.
The ex-Green Archers, however, did not lose their momentum as Allado, Cardona and Gerwin Gaco made baskets that kept the Norman Black-led squad at bay.
The game entered halftime with a score of 61-48, in favor of the men from Taft Ave.
The Pro Archers connected better with each other after halftime. Both their frontcourt and backcourt fired precision arrows, with Sharma, Allado, Mike Cortez and JV Casio pouring in baskets in almost every possession.
The lead went as huge as 26 in the 3:41 mark of the third frame, courtesy of Joseph Yeo, at 89-63.
Despite trimming the deficit down to 10 at the last 4:21 mark of the game, the ex-Eagles, led by JC Intal, failed to recapture victory.With 1:27 left on the clock, Intal, the man which the Eagles heavily relied on, was fouled out of the game.
The men from Loyola were noticeably the taller team while the ex-Archers were faster as the squads featured more players from the frontcourt and the backcourt, accordingly. The former Taft boys’ fire power also set their differences early on the game.
“I am happy we won. We have just proven who’s the better school for now (and) it was a good experience,” the game MVP ends after he and his green team won a well-fought battle.
The charity game was held for the benefit of the Cancer and Hematology Center of the Philippine Children’s Medical Center.
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