Ateneo remains confident in Ildefonso, says coach, despite Game 1 struggles

Karl Cedrick Basco, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="The UP Fighting Maroons battle it out against the Ateneo Blue Eagles for game 1 of the UAAP Men’s Basketball Finals held at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on December 11, 2022. George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/sports/12/11/20221211-ateneo.jpg"/><figcaption>The UP Fighting Maroons battle it out against the Ateneo Blue Eagles for game 1 of the UAAP Men’s Basketball Finals held at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on December 11, 2022. George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA – Ateneo appeared to have lost steam catching up to University of the Philippines, as some of the Blue Eagles&#x27; leading scorers were held in check in a 72-66 loss in Game 1 of the UAAP finals Sunday. One such scorer was Dave Ildefonso.UP clamped down on him, limiting him to just 10 points in a dismal 25% of shooting from the field. But assistant coach Sandy Arespacochaga assured that the team will try to device ways to help Ildefonso find cleaner looks to the basket. “We’re also confident with Dave. Aside from scoring naman, he does a lot things for us. So, how to get Dave going … Dave is a very mature player. He’s a pro, I mean, ganun na yung attitude niya,” he continued. “We’re not gonna go to the extent na we’re gonna run 10 plays for Dave. But, definitely, we’ll take a look at how we can get Dave cleaner looks. We’re hoping he’ll be able to shoot better next game.”Arespacochaga noted UP gave Ildefonso fits.“You’ve got to give credit to UP’s defenders also. They are throwing a lot of very good defenders on Dave — James Spencer, Harold Alarcon, they are very good defenders, can even call them elite,” he said. <ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/12/11/22/uaap-up-edges-ateneo-on-cusp-of-title-repeat">UP on cusp of back-to-back UAAP titles after Game 1 win over Ateneo</a></li></ul>Another player notably missing on offense for Ateneo was Kai Ballungay, who missed all three attempts from the floor playing 17 minutes.Ildefonso averaged 12.1 points per game after the elimination round to lead the Blue Eagles, while Ballungay ranked third among the scorers with 11 points. Game 2 is on Wednesday at Araneta Coliseum.<div>UAAP Season 85 is streaming on iWantTFC every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, available for Premium users outside the Philippines. </div>

Ateneo remains confident in Ildefonso, says coach, despite Game 1 struggles | ABS-CBN

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Ateneo remains confident in Ildefonso, says coach, despite Game 1 struggles

Ateneo remains confident in Ildefonso, says coach, despite Game 1 struggles

Karl Cedrick Basco,

ABS-CBN News

Published Dec 11, 2022 10:39 PM PHT

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