Jared Bahay stepped up to the plate offensively for Ateneo in its match vs. FEU that went into overtime in the UAAP men's basketball Saturday, Sept. 20.
Jared Bahay put his scoring prowess on full display to fuel Ateneo’s escape act in overtime against Far Eastern University, 86-83, in the opener of the UAAP Season 88 men's basketball at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion in Espana Saturday, Sept. 20.
As the Blue Eagles trailed behind by six points, 74-80, in the extra period, Bahay drilled back-to-back clutch three-pointers to tie the count at 80-all with 1:06 remaining.
He then found Kymani Ladi for a basket after stripping Janrey Pasaol to give ADMU the lead permanently with 59 ticks left.
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Jared Bahay: 'Hindi ko tiningnan 'yong pagkamalas ko'
Despite his clutch performance, Bahay wasn’t too happy about the whole ordeal.
Ateneo was in the driver’s seat for most of the fourth quarter, before offense from Janrey Pasaol and Jorick Bautista changed the Tamaraws' fortunes and forced the extra time.
“I believe what Coach Tab [Baldwin] said: This game was won between talent, and not tactics. So I think we have more to show. This is not us, and may ipapakita pa kami,” Bahay said.
Ateneo's Jared Bahay and Co. prevail over FEU in the UAAP Season 88 men's basketball Saturday, Sept. 20. | Photo: The UAAP
Bahay, a playmaker, was forced into a scorer's role.
Though he struggled in finding his rhythm early on, Bahay was able to recover.
After the match, he said that it was all about having a short memory to quickly move on from what happened before.
“Actually, I just shot it, and it went in... Hindi ko tiningnan 'yong pagkamalas ko sa first half of the game,” he said.
“I just trusted my shot and, fortunately, it went in,” he continued.
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Kymani Ladi paced Ateneo with 26 points, nine rebounds and three assists, while Bahay added three boards, five assists and four steals to his 13-point performance.
Ladi’s fellow one-and-done player, Dom Escobar, added 16 markers on 7-for-10 shooting.
Pasaol and Bautista had 24 points each in the loss, with Pasaol falling one rebound short of a triple-double. He also had 11 assists to his stat line.
Mo Konateh finished with a double-double of 11 points and 23 rebounds.
Ateneo goes for a 2-0 start against University of the East Wednesday, Sept. 24, at the same venue.
The Tamaraws, meanwhile, will enjoy a longer break before clashing with National U Saturday, Sept. 27, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
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Luisa Morales is a sportswriter with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team and mixed martial arts.