Eagles fall anew

The University of the East Red Warriors welcomed import Charles Mammie back in a huge way yesterday and the hulking center promptly delivered as he scored 20 points and grabbed 23 rebounds to propel his squad to a, 72-68 win over defending champions Ateneo Blue Eagles in the 76th UAAP men’s basketball tournament at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

Mammie, a 6-foot-8 specimen from Sierra Leone, was unstoppable all afternoon and provided the game’s most telling play. UE was leading by just two, 70- 68, when Mammie grabbed an offensive rebound off a miss by guard Roi Sumang and drew a foul while attempting a putback. He then converted both freethrows for the final, 72-68 tally with 17 seconds remaining in the game.

Ateneo then missed three tries from beyond the arc as they fell to 1-4 while UE improved to 2-3.

Mammie’s rebounding total tied him with Jervy Cruz, then playing for the University of Santo Tomas, for the highest in a game since 2003. Roi Sumang and Dan Alberto chipped in 14 points each.

Juami Tiongson had 17 points, 12 coming in the third canto when Ateneo made their move to tie the game at 54-all after being down by as much as 15. However, Tiongson committed a costly turnover as he was slapped with an offensive foul that gave possession back to UE with a little over a minute left. Von Pessumal had 12 while Kiefer Ravena added 11.

Ateneo appeared to have the momentum in the final canto as they led, 63-60 after a three-pointer and a lay-up by Ravena with 4:18 remaining. However, UE recovered and made six straight to reclaim the lead. Ateneo’s last hurrah gave them a, 67-66 lead after baskets by Tiongson and Frank Golla, but JM Noble and Sumang pushed UE in front once again, 70-67, with baskets of their own.

In the second game, the Far Eastern University Tamaraws avoided a late-game collapse and turned back the hard-fighting National University Bulldogs, 87-83 for their fifth win in a row.

Terrence Romeo had 24 points and five assists to push the Tams to the gritty win. Emmanuel Mbe led NU with 27 points and 12 rebounds.

BOX SCORE

UE (72) Mammie 20, Sumang 14, Alberto 14, Casajeros 8, Noble 7, Olivares 5, Santos 2, Javier 2, Olayon 0, Sumido 0, Jumao-as 0, Hernandez 0, Guion 0

ADMU (68) Tiongson 17, Pessumal 12, Ravena 11, Newsome 10, Elorde 5, Golla 4, Buenafe 4, Erram 3, Asunscion 2, Tolentino 0, Lim 0, Enriquez 0, Capacio 0.