By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Another Nieto is making a name for himself in the UAAP boys’ basketball scene.
After the legacy cemented by former UAAP champions turned PBA stars Mike and Matt Nieto, their younger brother, LeBron, is currently having a terrific start in the juniors’ division after leading the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) to a 109-64 demolition exhibition on the UP Integrated School (UPIS) on January 18, 2023.
The young scoring machine had a performance to remember and dropped a career-high 36 points alongside 11 rebounds, four steals, and three assists.
Nieto was all over the place burying shots including an array of insane step-back jump shots and long attempts from the three-point area.
It was in the second quarter when Nieto exploded for Ateneo and single-handedly put UPIS away when he helped the Blue Eagles establish a comfortable double-digit cushion.
Ateneo’s firepower led by Nieto was then too much for UPIS to handle and failed to trim their deficit to just a single-digit gap in the second half.
Nieto was backstopped by Ports Porter who filled the stat sheets after chipping in 19 points, eight rebounds, five steals, and two blocks.
Ateneo’s win over UPIS was also a statement outing after losing their opening game at the hands of the Far Eastern University (FEU) Baby Tamaraws.
The boys in blue and white lost by 35 points and were hungry in placing themselves in the UAAP boys’ hoops tourney’s winning column.
Negrense superstar and former center of the Bacolod Tay Tung High School, Kobe Demisana, wasn’t able to replicate his debut game for UPIS and is hoping to bounce back in their next game.
