STARING AT a 19-point deficit with 10 minutes left in regulation, no one would blame the Blue Eagles for folding. However, they did just the opposite, narrowly defeating the Far Eastern University Tamaraws (FEU), 68-64, on Saturday, September 13 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
The win gives the Blue Eagles the sole lead in the elimination round standings with an 11-3 record to close out the regular season.
“It feels good to be back in the final four and having that number one spot,” said Team Captain Kiefer Ravena after securing the top seed. After willing the team to victory from a huge deficit, the Phenom adds that the team’s conditioning was able to survive the game’s heated intensity. He said in a mix of English and Filipino, “The hard work that we were doing last summer is really paying off.”
The first half was a low-scoring affair, with FEU putting up a frigid field goal percentage of 30% while Ateneo responded with a mere 24% clip of their own. The result was a 25-18 slugfest as the half expired.
However, FEU’s 20-8 third quarter blitz positioned the Tamaraws ahead against the Blue Eagles. Momentum swung to the Manila-based squad when guard Mike Tolomia hit a backbreaking three pointer at the 6:10 mark. Meanwhile, the front court duo of Mark Belo and Anthony Hargrove imposed their will on the undersized Blue Eagles to push their lead to 45-26, a 19-point gap to start the fourth quarter.
Facing such a disadvantage, the Blue Eagles remained unfazed. A barrage of layups by Ravena was accompanied by several hustle points from Alfonso Gotladera as well as a corner three by Von Pessumal. Their inspired play sparked a 33-point output by the Blue and White to tie the game at 59-all with 20 seconds left in regulation.
The Tamaraws ruined their chances of salvaging the game when Mike Tolomia missed both of his free throws with two seconds left in the fourth quarter. Off the Ateneo timeout, Ravena was able to free himself for a tough fade away shot at the corner which clung off the rim as the buzzer sounded.
A three-pointer by Nico Elorde marked the first Ateneo lead with 4:25 left in the overtime period while a subsequent Newsome jumper pushed that number to seven points. Free throws by Tamaraw forwards Roger Pogoy and Carl Cruz helped trim the Ateneo lead to 66-64 with 54 seconds left in the game.
With the game going down the wire yet again, crucial free throws by Gotladera and Ravena cushioned the lead for the Blue Eagles, who finally escaped with the 68-64 victory.
Ravena led the boys in blue and white with 23 points despite shooting only 5/28 from the field. Newsome tallied a double double with 13 points and 16 rebounds while Gotladera and Von Pessumal followed in the offensive output with nine and seven points respectively.
Scores
Ateneo: Ravena 23, Newsome 13, Gotladera 9, Pessumal 7, Capacio 6, Babilonia 5, Elorde 3, V. Tolentino 2
FEU: Belo 16, Pogoy 15, Tolomia 10, Cruz 8, Hargrove 8, Inigo 3, Jose 2, Dennison 2
Updated: Sept. 14, 2014, 12:40 AM
Welp, games over for Ateneo and La Salle. We have a brand new cast of protagonists in the Finals. That took long to finally happen. It was as if either of these dominant schools (which practically starred in all championship series since the Final 4 era and even the years before, when Ateneo finally crashed the top two in 1987) just tried testing the fast changing landscapes of import reinforcement and trying to hold up on their own for as long as they could without resorting to foreign supports. But they have reached their limits. Schools like Ust, which started it all for this league after the now less popular Ncaa trailblazed the systemic recruitment, UE, and NU have all started flexing their muscles. And all the remnants of the schools which didn’t succumb to the change for parity, like UP, Ateneo, and Dlsu (in before “what about your own foreigners?”; they were not mvp materials fyi) were slowly but inevitably waylaid. But starting next year, after the residency, at least two of these schools will join the african-imports bandwagon. And it remains to be seen for how long the pioneers of this league will hold onto this fleeting or sustained dominance. The real test of dominance should have been kept at all Filipino or Fil-foreigners level. But when push comes to shove, it’s time to join the conference. Let’s see.
Good luck on the finalists.