HOISTING THE championship for the second consecutive time, the Ateneo Blue Eagles put on a flawless clinic during their Final Four run, defeating the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Teletigers Esports Club in the finals, 2-0. Before this, the Blue and White also swept the Adamson University (AdU) Soaring Falcons in the semifinals.
The University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 NBA 2K second-semester tournament playoffs took place this afternoon at the Quantum Skyview Deck of Gateway Mall 2 in Quezon City.
This win marks the final appearance for Blue Eagle trio of Paolo Medina, Luis Jovellanos, and Justin Lagac in the UAAP Esports stage. After Ateneo’s victory in August and now today, the triumvirate has firmly cemented their UAAP legacy in glory.
Moreover, Jovellanos was named Finals MVP after a pivotal overtime performance in the finals’ opening match.
Semifinals Game 1 (Tier 3) – Ateneo: Washington Wizards vs. AdU: Portland Trail Blazers
Lagac (Washington Wizards) kickstarted the Blue Eagles’ semifinals stint against the Soaring Falcons’ Aaron Advincula (Portland Trail Blazers) in a Tier 3 battle. Both squads opened with tight defensive schemes, causing a scoring drought in the first two minutes of the ball game. However, Lagac’s Khris Middleton caught fire from deep, sinking his third three-pointer of the quarter in transition to establish a seven-point lead, 11-4. Even with Advincula’s efforts, Lagac remained calm and composed to cap off the first quarter with a five-point advantage, 13-8.
Ateneo amped up their aggression on defense, generating multiple steals and fastbreak opportunities to bring the lead back to seven, 17-10. Though Lagac’s Wizards made a good push to put Adamson’s Portland on their heels, Advincula asserted his presence in the paint, placing the game from pillar to post. Regardless of the back-and-forth affair throughout the half, Lagac had the last laugh as he closed the half with a quick bucket using Alex Sarr to establish a seven-point cushion, 29-22.
Not wasting any opportunity, Lagac commenced a 5-0 run at the beginning of the second half, plunging his foe into a 12-point hole, 36-24. Unleashing the two-way play of Malcolm Brogdon and Marcus Smart, Lagac kept Advincula’s Trail Blazers at bay, ending the quarter with a comfortable 46-32 lead following Smart’s and Brogdon’s back-to-back contested layups.
The narrative remained the same in the final frame, as the Wizards overwhelmed the Trail Blazers on both ends of the floor, exposing the Soaring Falcon’s defensive lapses. Despite Advincula’s push with Anfernee Simons’ solo 5-0 run that trimmed Ateneo’s lead to 55-44, Lagac swiftly responded by sparking a 4-0 mini run, capped off with back-to-back dunks from Middleton and Sarr. With time being on Washington’s side, Lagac played it safe in the dying seconds of the game by securing defensive stops in his last three possessions to seal a 65-53 win for Ateneo.
Semifinals Game 2 (Tier 2) – Ateneo: Milwaukee Bucks vs. AdU: San Antonio Spurs
After a resounding opening performance from Lagac, Ateneo hosted a pivotal matchup at the virtual Fiserv Forum for a chance to advance to the finals. With Tier 2 restrictions, defending champion Medina (Milwaukee Bucks) looked determined to close out the series against Adamson’s Joaquin Lorenzo Obado (San Antonio Spurs).
Medina opened the game by taking advantage of Obado’s poor defensive coverage, attacking the Soaring Falcon’s defense through quick three-point opportunities from Damian Lillard and transition baskets from Giannis Antetokounmpo, 10-7. As the match continued, Medina quickly established an 11-0 run, backed by an array of buckets from his whole team, 26-12. Determined to narrow his deficit, Obado banked on a De’Aaron Fox dunk and a Victor Wembanyama three-pointer to close off the first quarter, 26-16.
Both teams continued to trade buckets in the second frame, as Obada utilized Wembanyama’s length to narrow Medina’s lead back to single digits, 33-24. However, the Katipunan-based skipper responded in emphatic fashion to end the half, using Antetokounmpo on the break to find the open man, 48-31.
Neither side garnered control at the onset of the third quarter due to a multitude of turnovers and missed shots. Aiming to throw the first punch, Obada relentlessly hammered the Blue Eagle’s interior defense, relying on dunks before capping off his offensive surge with a Devin Vassell three-pointer, 42-54. In response, Medina made sure to end the quarter with momentum on his side, firing a long-range bucket using Taurean Prince and a ferocious Antetokounmpo alley-oop slam, 59-46.
Looking to close the game and the series on a strong note, Medina once again controlled the paint and lit up the floor from downtown to establish the largest lead of the match, 66-48. Despite Obada’s best efforts in the closing stages of the match, Ateneo’s lead proved to be insurmountable as a pair of Bucks three-pointers sealed the game, 79-62, locking in the Blue Eagles’ second-straight finals appearance.
Finals Game 1 (Tier 3) – Ateneo: Washington Wizards vs UST: Miami Heat
Entering the virtual Capital One Arena, Jovellanos (Wizards) faced UST’s Daemiel Argame (Miami Heat) in hopes of taking Game 1 of the UAAP finals for Ateneo.
In the first canto, Jovellanos repeatedly slashed into the lane to establish a 5-0 advantage. However, the Blue and White’s lead was quickly erased by the Teletiger after a series of baseline jumpers and a deep three that tied the game at 9-apiece. The rest of the quarter devolved into a gritty back-and-forth between the two players, ending at a 13-13 scoreline.
In spite of the Blue Eagle’s efforts to create a significant lead, Argame orchestrated a chain of quick-witted maneuvers around the basket for a three-point lead. Jovellanos quickly retaliated with two consecutive steals, shifting the game back to the Katipunan-based squad’s control. Nonetheless, UST snipped the deficit and closed the gap to a one-possession game, 30-29.
While Ateneo demonstrated some semblance of control in the first half, Argame’s persistent attacks at the rim generated a slim four-point advantage for the España-based faction, 34-38. The Teletiger’s efforts eventually culminated in a 40-38 lead at the end of the half.
After a talk with Head Coach Nite Alparas, Jovellanos turned the momentum around in the third canto, threading through the defense with pinpoint entry passes to the rim, 56-52. The momentum-swinging factor was the Blue Eagles’ usage of Sarr, who consistently denied UST’s rim attacks. Although Argame almost took the driver’s seat, Ateneo calmly deterred every one of UST’s last-second plays to head into overtime, 64-64.
During extended play, Jovellanos demonstrated his championship experience, unleashing a Bilal Coulibaly dagger three to take a 69-64 lead. Even if the Teletiger attempted to employ the same tactics he used in the previous half, the Blue Eagle did not fall for his tricks, connecting a dunk and a contested jumper to surgically seal the game. Jovellanos then burned the clock, taking the series lead for the Blue and White, 77-71.
Finals Game 2 (Tier 2) – Ateneo: San Antonio Spurs vs UST: Dallas Mavericks
With hopes of sealing the championship for the Blue Eagles, Medina (Spurs) once again donned the Blue and White in Game 2 of the finals, confronting UST’s reigning bronze medalist Eryx Daniel Delos Reyes (Dallas Mavericks).
The Teletiger used Kyrie Irving to draw first blood after finishing a tightly contested layup. Both players refused to give an inch, denying any chance their opposition had to embark on a run. In the dwindling minutes of the frame, Medina closed the quarter with a dunk courtesy of Anthony Davis to keep Dallas within one, 15-14.
The Medina-controlled Wembanyama welcomed the second quarter with a 5-0 solo blitz, fueled by a trey and a highly challenged mid-range jumper, 20-14. Delos Reyes fought tooth and nail to trim the deficit, but Medina had an answer for everything thrown at him.
When Delos Reyes saw a glimpse of hope as his Mavericks narrowed the gap to within one, 26-25, Medina responded with a fastbreak trey from Vassell and a putback from Wembanyama to extend the lead to six, 31-25. With a few seconds left on the clock, Delos Reyes pounced on Medina’s sloppy defense with a buzzer-beating Anthony Davis floater to make it a four-point game at the end of the second frame, 31-27.
After the tightly contested first half, Medina came out of the break waxing hot, knocking down a Wembanyama three-pointer and a rare four-point play by Vassell to swing the game within the opening minutes, 39-27. The Blue Eagle found more holes in Delos Reyes’ defense as the match continued, creating scoring opportunities through pick-and-pop actions to convert easy scoring chances, 47-30.
Despite the Teletiger converting much-needed three-point opportunities late in the quarter, Medina regained control of the canto with a pair of dunks from Vassell and Wembanyama, ending the penultimate quarter with a comfortable 53-42 lead.
Kicking off the championship-clinching final period, Medina and Delos Reyes continued to trade baskets, as Stephon Castle and Wembanyama led the way for the Blue Eagles. On the opposing end, Delos Reyes relied heavily on Davis and Klay Thompson to rally from down 12, 61-49. Although an Irving steal and transition layup cut Ateneo’s lead to single digits, Medina eventually sealed the series with a Harrison Barnes interior finish to win the Blue and White’s second-straight championship, 69-59.
Following the victory, Medina described this year’s trophy as “very surreal.” The Atenean skipper then expressed his pride in his teammates, stating that he “wouldn’t have won the championship without them.”
Having reached the summit of UAAP 2K twice already, the golden trio of Medina, Jovellanos, and Lagac solidified their legacy among Ateneo’s greatest student-athletes. With the three Blue Eagles set to graduate, they can hold their heads high after ending their collegiate careers on top.
Team Captain Medina summed up their rare feat of two golds in one season, stating, “We did it,” noting the added significance of winning their second championship this time with his two long-time teammates.
Game Scores:
Ateneo-AdU (2-0): 65-63, 79-62
Ateneo-UST (2-0): 77-71 (OT), 69-59
