Ateneo de Manila University young star Jared Bahay. Photo from UAAP Images

MANILA (UPDATED) — Ateneo de Manila University leaned on its young guns to finally earn their second win in UAAP Season 87.

Jared Bahay and Kristian Porter delivered for the Blue Eagles en route to a 70-68 win over National University in their men’s basketball tournament Round 2 clash on Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum.

Bahay had 12 points, six rebounds, and five assists, while Porter finished with a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double alongside crucial plays down the stretch.

"Well, it was enough. It was enough to get us over the finish line. It was very, very satisfying," said Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin on what this victory meant for his young squad. 

"I know, for the players. It's been a tough first half of the season, and they've stuck together. I got to give them credit for that because you know I think I've tried to put a lot of pressure on them because I know that you know there's so much we're going to take out of this season particularly these young guys like this and the pressure is on whether you're getting results or not to get better, and we were better tonight for sure," he added.

The Ateneans indeed needed to show out as when they were up by seven in the final five minutes of action, the Blue Eagles saw their lead diminish, 62-61, after Kenshin Padrones hit a floater and Steve Nash Enriquez hit two consecutive three-pointers to build a seven-to-two spurt.

Plays later, Porter answered with a huge basket to give Ateneo a 68-65 lead with only 27 ticks left, and also blocked Jake Figueroa on the other end, but NU wouldn't give in just yet.

Ian Espinosa extended ADMU’s lead to four after he split his charities, but Figueroa answered with a three-pointer to bring NU to within one, 69-68.

Espinosa then had another one-of-two from the foul line for a 70-68 Blue Eagles lead with only five seconds left. This opened a small chance for the Bulldogs to either tie or win the game.

However, Jolo Manansala missed his shot at the rim, and this eventually gave National U their sixth defeat in eight games.

"I think today, we displayed a toughness that we might have lacked in other games this year," Baldwin said of the endgame performance of his troops. "It shows that the team is starting to mature but if we want to keep winning, and that is the hope, we've got to continue to get better and play better basketball than we play today."

On the other hand, Figueroa led the Jeff Napa-mentored team with a game-high 15 points, while Manansala, Enriquez, and Reinhard Jumamoy followed with 12, eight, and eight, respectively. 

The Scores:

Ateneo 70 – Porter 14, Bahay 12, Koon 10, Bongo 9, Tuano 8, Quitevis 5, Edu 5, Espinosa 4, Espina 2, Balogun 1, Gamber 0, Reyes 0.

NU 68 – Figueroa 15, Manansala 12, Enriquez 8, Jumamoy 8, Yu 6, Palacielo 5, Padrones 4, Santiago 4, Garcia 3, Francisco 3, Tulabut 0, Perciano 0, Lim 0, Dela Cruz 0, Parks 0.

Quarterscores: 15-13, 35-31, 50-45, 70-68.