JERIC TENG drained back-to-back threes and unloaded 13 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter to help the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers clinch their first title in the Philippine Collegiate Champions League (PCCL) against the Ateneo de Manila Blue Eagles, 81-76, on Friday, December 7, at the Ynares Arena in Pasig City.
Playing in their first collegiate finals game without Norman Black, the Blue Eagles were slow on defense and outhustled by the Growling Tigers. The España-based squad was hungry to avenge their UAAP Season 75 finals loss and nab their first collegiate title since their 2006 UAAP trophy. As Coach Pido Jarencio told his boys late in the game, “Tayo naman. Lagi na lang Ateneo. (It’s our turn. It’s always Ateneo!”)
A three by Nico Elorde and a jumper by Nico Salva momentarily gave Team Ateneo an early 5-2 lead with 7:50 to go in the first quarter, but Melo Afuang’s long two sparked a 12-0 run for UST that gave them a comfortable 14-5 lead with 4:20 on the clock.
Ryan Buenafe took over as he created his own three-point play and dished out assists, one of them translating into a Salva jumper that brought Ateneo within two, 12-14 with 1:59 on the clock.
Later, Oping Sumalinog connected from three-point land and heaved a pass to Juami Tiongson for the easy finish to give back the lead to Ateneo, 19-17, with less than 30 seconds in the opening quarter. Mythical Five team member Karim Abdul, however, evened the score at 19-all with a basket right before the sound of the buzzer.
Consecutive threes by Ferrer and Jeric Fortuna, another Mythical Five member, allowed a quick 8-2 run for UST to start the second quarter, 27-21. Kiefer Ravena, who was scoreless in the first quarter, finally scored his first two points from the stripe and Tiongson nailed a three to close the gap to 26-27. Former UAAP Juniors MVP Ferrer responded for UST by scoring nine points in the second quarter and Teng made two of his five threes to give UST a 45-39 lead at the end of the half.
Teng had many open looks in the game, as the Blue Eagles were poor on the defensive end and unable to control the boards. UST’s defense prevented Ateneo from getting any flow going, especially for Greg Slaughter who was double-teamed the entire time.
The Blue Eagles returned to the second half on a 10-4 run capped off by four free throws by Buenafe and one from Elorde that tied the game at 49-all with 5:42 left in the third quarter. A basket by Ravena from another Buenafe assist returned the lead to Ateneo for the first time since the first quarter, but Aljon Mariano tied the game in the following possession to peg the score at 51-all with 4:42 in the third.
The lead swung back forth and three more deadlocks ensued until Fortuna sank a three in the dying seconds of the third quarter to put UST ahead, 60-57.
With 9:20 left in the game, Slaughter kicked it out to an open Ravena for a three that tied the game one last time at 60-all.
And then Tengsanity happened.
After Ferrer’s bank shot regained the lead for UST, 62-60, Teng shelled out seven straight points that built an eight-point lead, 70-62 near the 5:00 mark. Baskets from Buenafe and Slaughter kept Ateneo in the game, but the two Jerics combined for seven more points that built a 12-point lead for UST, their biggest of the game, 79-67, with 2:40 left to play.
Ateneo, however, responded with heart. Buenafe scored seven straight points and Ravena made two free throws to weather the deficit to three, 76-79, with 30.5 seconds on the clock to make it a two-possession game.
The five-peat champs played good half court defense against UST’s inbound play and forced a shot too strong by Abdul, but the one thing they didn’t do well the entire game killed them: securing the rebound. Ferrer grabbed his ninth rebound and easily put back Abdul’s miss to give UST the lead, 81-76, with 10.5 seconds remaining. At that point, the UST crowd went wild.
The Blue Eagles had a good look in the following play, but Buenafe’s triple was short and the Tigers just dribbled the clock out and celebrated their first PCCL title.
While Abdul and Slaughter were speaking to each other as both teams shook hands, the two showed true acts of sportsmanship as they exchanged jerseys. Abdul proudly wore Slaughter’s blue Ateneo jersey for the awarding ceremony.
Blue Eagles Slaughter and Ravena were also named to the Mythical Five and Jarencio was awarded Coach of the Year.
New Blue Eagles head coach Bo Perasol was present with the team on the bench, but assistant coach Gabby Severino called the shots.
It was also the final game for veterans Greg Slaughter, Tonino Gonzaga, Nico Salva, Justin Chua and Oping Sumalinog as Blue Eagles. UST also bids farewell to Fortuna and Afuang.
