Photo by Raisa M. Tumbocon
IN WHAT can be considered as one of the greatest games of this UAAP season, the Ateneo Blue Eagles paid back the University of Santo Tomas (UST) for their first round loss by escaping with a 68-66 win on September 15 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. This win guaranteed a twice-to-beat advantage for the Blue Eagles and secured their place at the top of the standings.
Former Xavier School standout Jeric Teng fired UST into the early lead, knocking down back-to-back three-pointers. With less than eight minutes left on the clock, the Tigers were up, 8-2.
The Blue Eagles got a three of their own with 5:55 on the clock, cutting their deficit to three, 7-10, care of Oping Sumalinog. The Tigers would not relinquish the lead, though, with Ateneo only coming as close to within one point after Greg Slaughter’s conversion.
Ryan Buenafe’s solo 6-0 run put the Blue and White to within one once more, 15-16, with 1:44 remaining. However, current Most Valuable Player race leader Karim Abdul put some distance between the teams with the last bucket of the quarter, putting UST on top, 18-15.
Ateneo still could not leapfrog their opponents in the second quarter. The Tigers kept a tight lid on Greg Slaughter, double-teaming the seven-footer whenever he received the ball. He did, however, manage a jumper with 7:32 left to keep Ateneo close, 17-20.
UST went on a 7-0 run that ballooned their lead to nine, 27-18, with 5:30 left in the first half. The Blue Eagles managed to answer back, scoring eight unanswered points, capped off with a Slaughter dunk that brought Ateneo to within one, 26-27, with 3:00 left in the second quarter.
More solid play by Teng and Abdul, however, furthered their team’s lead, 31-26, with just over two minutes to go.
Slaughter and Ravena made baskets as the clock ran down to bring the score to 30-31 with 40 seconds left. Ravena made a strong case for the dunk of the year when the 6’0” guard posterized the 6’6” UST center with a ferocious one-handed slam.
Abdul had the last say, though, draining a jumper with 20 seconds to go. Slaughter attempted to answer back, but the ball did not leave his hands as the clock expired. It was 33-30 to UST at the break.
The defending champs still trailed at the beginning of the third, but a four-point play by Sumalinog and free throws from Ravena gave Ateneo the advantage for the first time since 2-0 in the first quarter, 38-37, with 6:26 on the clock.
Two minutes later, Juami Tiongson heated up for nine straight points that stretched Ateneo’s lead to nine, 50-41. Abdul cut his team’s deficit to seven, with 50 seconds left, but Slaughter’s two charities restored the lead, 52-43, at the end of the quarter.
Nico Elorde and Buenafe increased the Blue Eagles’ lead to double digits early into the fourth quarter, 56-43, at the nine-minute mark. Coach Pido Jarencio’s men, however, were able to cut Ateneo’s lead to five, 53-58, with less than six minutes remaining.
Ravena then fought back and knocked down a three-pointer in the succeeding play to further the distance, 61-53. However, UST went on a 10-0 run, topped off with a Clark Bautista three that leveled the score at 61-61 with 2:50 left.
The Benedictine International School recruit swung the lead back to the Tigers, only to be canceled out by a Ravena jumper with a minute left to make it 63-all.
After Aljon Mariano split his free throws with less than a minute to play, Tiongson sank a 15-foot jumper that gave the Blue Eagles the lead, 65-64. In the ensuing play, former NCAA Juniors MVP Buenafe stole the ball and was fouled.
UST, however, stole the entry pass and found Abdul open for the jumper. Slaughter challenged Abdul’s jumper, but it found the net and put UST up, 66-65, with seven seconds left.
A livid Norman Black called a timeout and took to the referees, who did not call any fouls in the play that led to the UST conversion, as it seemed like a Blue Eagle had been fouled in the sequence.
The subsequent inbound saw Ateneo’s play broken, but the ball ended up with Buenafe, who drove to the basket and was fouled by Kevin Ferrer. He put up a shot that was swatted away by Abdul, which after further inspection was found to be a goaltend. The former San Sebastian Staglet made the clutch free throw that handed the lead to the Blue Eagles, 68-66, with five seconds on the clock.
In the final play of the game, the Tigers found Aljon Mariano, who put up a three that only found the back iron as the final buzzer rang.
Although both teams shot well from the field, the Blue Eagles fared much better from the three-point line, making six of 16 (37.5%) compared to just five of 23 (21.7%) for UST.
Ravena, who cramped up at the end of the match, scored 18 points, from six of 11 shooting, together with six rebounds and four assists. Tiongson added 13 points, Buenafe had 11 and Slaughter had 10.
Abdul tallied 22 points and 12 rebounds, but gave up five turnovers, while Teng contributed 12 points.
“This was a tough game,” said Coach Norman Black after the game. “You see exactly how good the UST team is. They could be very formidable down the stretch.”
The Blue Eagles finish the elimination round on top once again, with a 12-2 record.
Ateneo is facing a lengthy break before the Final Four kicks off. The UAAP has yet to release the schedule.
Box scores:
Ateneo 68 – Ravena 18, Tiongson 13, Buenafe 11, Slaughter 10, Sumalinog 7, Salva 6, Elorde 3, Gonzaga 0, Golla 0, Chua 0
UST 66 – Abdul 22, Teng 12, Mariano 9, Fortuna 8, Ferrer 8, Bautista 7, Vigil 0, Pe 0, Lo 0, Afuang 0
Photo by Mario T. Dagdag
