The Ateneo Blue Eagles routed Chinese-Taipei White to kickstart their campaign in the Jones Cup. File photo

The Ateneo Blue Eagles, representing the Philippines, opened their campaign in the William Jones Cup on a high note as they dominated Chinese-Taipei White, 87-64, on Sunday afternoon at the Xinzhuang Gymnasium in Taiwan.

The Blue Eagles broke the game open in the second quarter, when they outscored Chinese-Taipei White, 22-13, to build a 48-33 lead at the half.

The hosts never threatened from there, with the Blue Eagles maintaining control in the second half and eventually leading by as much as 25 points, 85-60, off two charities by Jolo Mendoza with a minute and 33 seconds left to play.

Thirdy Ravena led the way for Ateneo with 17 points and seven rebounds, while Angelo Kouame had a double-double of 15 points and 15 boards in just under 25 minutes of action. Mendoza finished with 11 points, Isaac Go had 10, and every player sent in by Coach Tab Baldwin tallied at least two points.

READ: 5 outstanding PH teams that won Jones Cup titles

Ateneo managed just a 26-20 advantage at the end of the opening frame as they struggled to stop Chinese-Taipei’s Chun-Chi Lin, who fired 13 points in the first quarter alone by making all five of his shots, including three triples.

But Lin was shut down in the second period, while Ateneo's bench came through with solid contributions to help the Blue Eagles pull away.

It was all Ateneo in the second half, despite the best efforts of Chinese-Taipei’s Oscar Kao who repeatedly wowed the crowd with his shot-making.

Kao finished with 16 points, while Lin had 15 for the hosts. 

Chinese-Taipei White dropped to 0-2 in the tournament after losing their opener to Canada, 83-73.

Ateneo returns to action on Monday against South Korea. Game time is at 5 p.m.

The scores:

ATENEO 87 – Ravena 17, Kouame 15, Mendoza 11, Go 10, Ma. Nieto 8, Verano 8, Tio 4, Mamuyac 4, Asistio 3, Mi. Nieto 3, Black 2, Navarro 2.

CHINESE-TAIPEI WHITE 64 — Kao 16, Lin C 15, Lin T 12, Chen K 8, Chen Y 7, Wang 3, Wu 2, Chien 1, Lai 0, Lu 0, Sun 0, Hsu 0.

Quarter scores: 26-20, 48-33, 67-52, 87-64.

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