MANILA, Philippines – The Ateneo Blue Eagles claimed its second victory of the 2018 William Jones Cup on Wednesday, escaping with a hard-earned 80-74 triumph over Japan at the Xinzhuang Gymnasium in Taiwan.

It was a difficult game for the defending UAAP champions, who led by as much as 14 points in the third quarter but had to weather numerous rallies by the gritty Japanese team in the final quarter.

A huge block by Thirdy Ravena in the final 90 seconds, followed by a clutch hook shot from Angelo Koume gave the Blue Eagles some breathing room, 76-70, with 38.47 seconds to go. 

However, a defensive breakdown in the next possession allowed Japan's Takuma Sato to knock down an open three-pointer, and the Blue Eagles committed another error when Adrian Wong was called for an inbound violation with still 28.49 seconds to go.

That gave Japan another opportunity, but Keita Imamura's triple hit iron with 20.61 seconds left, allowing Ateneo to hold on for a 76-73 lead.

The game nearly took a disastrous turn at that point, as Sato was caught hitting Wong on the head as he tried to foul the Ateneo guard. Wong took exception to the hit, but both players were separated before the situation could escalate.

Sato was called for a flagrant foul, and Wong coolly knocked down four free throws in his ensuing trip to the line to ice the game for the Blue Eagles.

With the result, Ateneo snapped a two-game slide in the Jones Cup to improve to 2-2.

Kouame was again a force to be reckoned with for the Blue Eagles, tallying 15 points and 15 rebounds. Ravena had 14 points and nine boards, and got the highlight of the game when he rose up to reject Sato's lay-up in transition with 1:29 to go.

Wong had 11 points, and Matt Nieto added 10 markers for the Blue Eagles. Gian Mamayuc came off the bench to contribute nine points and four steals, and was instrumental in keeping Ateneo ahead when Japan rallied in the third quarter.

Sato had 12 points for Japan, while Koyo Takahashi added 11 markers. 

The Blue Eagles will play Indonesia on Thursday at 1 p.m. 

The scores:

Philippines 80 – Kouame 15, Ravena 14, Wong 11, Nieto Ma 10, Mamuyac 9, Mendoza 8, Nieto Mi 5, Verano 4, Black 2, Go 2, Maagdenberg 0, White 0.

Japan 74 – Sato 12, Takahashi 11, Imamura 10, Hashimoto 9, Tamaki 8, Namizato 6, Hiraiwa 5, Toews 5, Schafer 5, Nakanishi 3, Sugiura 0, Inoue 0.

Quarterscores: 21-13, 37-31, 60-55, 80-74.

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