AFTER UST fumbled for the ball in the second quarter, Kiefer Ravena asked for the rock, zoomed past a forest of defenders, and bumped an expecting Ronnie Mison. As soon as he got within ten feet of the rim, the ‘phenom’ leapt, twitched in mid-air, and heaved the ball, which bounced off the tip of the backboard and into the rim. By league rules, the referees waived the basket off, and season MVP Kevin Ferrer could only watch with relief from half court.
For most of the game, however, Ravena hit the shots when they counted. He scored eight points in a torrential 23-14 first quarter—the quarter which proved to be a template for the Eaglets’ 76-59 three-peat triumph.
In order to contain Ravena, the UST Tiger Cubs doubled him up in the succeeding quarters, but Ravena was still unstoppable; hacking his way to get free throws, or passing to potent scoring options and fellow RP Youth Team mainstays Von Pessumal and Paolo Romero. Both did their fair share of making defences pay for leaving them open.
No matter how feeble they looked in the first quarter, the Tiger Cubs were still a threat, particularly from beyond the arc. With a plethora of sharp shooters, the Cubs found the magic that pitted them against the top-seeded Eaglets.
Ferrer hoped to bring the same tenacity that broke the Eaglets’ 14-game winning streak in game one of the Finals series. EJ Corre averaged 24.5 points per game prior to game three—scoring the bulk in game two after Ferrer found himself cold. Jaypee Sarcia was back with a vengeance, after a suspension that voided his presence in game two, and if all else failed, Airon Cabauatan’s ball handling skills could have caused problems for Ateneo line-up.
But by halftime, the Tiger Cubs found themselves trailing by ten points, 35-25, and as soon as the third started, Ferrer knew what he had to do.
Just a minute into the second half, Ferrer drew a foul from beyond the arc. Defensively, the season MVP helped Mison box out the Ateneo frontline, in hopes of second chance opportunities. The heart and hustle paid off, as the Cubs got to within six points in the third.
Much was the championship hunger for these boys in Blue; they were flawless during the round robin eliminations and were not about to finish the season off in defeat. Pessumal went back in the game, drilling UST with mid-range jumpers. Romero scored back-to-back buckets in the paint. As Ravena’s lay-ups weren’t falling, and UST geared up a notch in defense, the Blue Eaglets deviated from their long range gunning and opted for an inside bang.
Man-to-man defences are usually risky when the offensive team has MVP-caliber players, but Eaglets Coach Jamike Jarin rolled the dice. After all, they had the thrice-to-beat advantage.
The move paid off huge dividends, as Ferrer struggled to find his jump shot. Sarcia needed 22 shots to tally 17 points. Corre, who was expected to take over scoring duties when Ferrer’s jumpers aren’t falling, never scored a point in the last quarter. Cabauatan’s managed to find its way into the basket only to be denied by Romero and Jay Javelosa.
By the time the fourth quarter had started, the crowd had its eyes on Ravena to make the big plays. One particular sequence, he went for a pick and found himself doubled; he looked Ferrer squarely in the eye, and passed to an open Javelosa for the and-one play, showing that he wasn’t a one man show.
UST looked spirited, as Lazaro hit back-to-back threes to bring them back within nine points. The Ateneo offense got stagnant, and UST’s team play came to life. They came close within five points, but Ateneo’s Chuckie Dumrique was not to be outdone, twice making drives that iced off the victory.
The lead had gone ballooned to 15 points, with UST struggling and with the game clock fastly approaching the dreaded 0:00, the lead looked insurmountable. Cabauatan knew their long range shots were killing them and went for stabs to the rim but only came up short.
With only a minute and a half remaining in the game, Ravena looked up at the game clock and he pumped his chest. He knew he had done his teammates, his coach, his father, and his alma mater well. He shook his fist, and gave Pessumal a fist bump of gratitude. The buzzer rang, and both the Blue and the Yellow meshed to shake hands.
The Blue Eaglets had finally repeated history, giving Ateneo its second three-peat; the first was accomplished from 1983 to1986. For Eaglets’ Coach Jamike Jarin, it was just another day at work, the 13-year Eaglets’ coach has won eight championships with the Ateneo High School team.
Finally, all issues regarding Ravena’s choice of college momentarily came to arrest, as he cradled the Finals MVP trophy along with the championship trophy, which will nest for another year in Loyola Heights.
Scores:
Ateneo 76 – Ravena 24, Pessumal 15, Romero 14, Dumrique 14, Tenorio 5, Javelosa 3, Sacluti 1, Vitangcol 0, Suarez 0, Puno 0, Mercado 0, Lim 0, Gamboa 0, Gadia 0, Austria 0
UST 59 – Sarcia 17, Ferrer 13, Corre 9, Mison 7, Lazaro 6, Cabauatan 5, Gooh 2, Salas 0, Ilarde 0, Florentin 0
Author’s Notes: Kevin Ferrer scored only 13 points, while also grabbing 10 rebound. Dumrique scored 14 points, six in the fourth, along with five rebounds. Pessumal played an all-around game, scoring 15 points, grabbing six rebounds, dishing out four assists, and swiping two steals. Paolo Romero had 14 points and a team-high 13 rebounds.
Editor’s Note: The senior’s team assured their slot in the finals later that day (GAME RECAP HERE), bringing them one step closer to their own three-peat dreams.
