THE ATENEO Blue Eagles began their University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 NBA 2K title retention bid with conviction, defeating the De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Aces, 2-1. In the last two games of the heated series, reigning champion Paolo Medina showed off his clutch gene with two consecutive wins.
The opening day’s finals rematch took place this afternoon at the Quantum Skyview Deck of the Gateway Mall 2 in Quezon City.
Game 1
In the series opener, Ateneo’s Justin Lagac (Boston Celtics) clashed against DLSU’s Keegan Yap (Oklahoma City Thunder). Entering the virtual TD Garden, the highly-anticipated matchup initially saw Lagac trailing, 7-10, due to Yap’s dominance in the paint. DLSU’s groove carried into the latter half of the first frame, as Yap’s back-to-back buckets added to the Blue Eagles’ 12-18 deficit.
Trying to stay afloat, Lagac subsequently exploited the Green Ace’s lackadaisical defense, making it a 24-31 contest in the proceeding quarter. The Blue Eagle’s resilience continued into the second half, with a textbook three from reigning NBA champion Jrue Holiday cutting La Salle’s lead to four, 36-40.
Despite several impressive defensive stops from Lagac, Yap put the nail in the coffin with a Shai Gilgeous-Alexander triple and a Chet Holmgren dunk in the final quarter, 40-47. The win shattered Lagac’s then-undefeated UAAP first-semester record, with the Blue Eagles entering the next matchup down 0-1.
Game 2
With Medina on deck for the second game, the Blue Eagles eyed to even up the series with the inaugural 2K champion’s selection of the Thunder.
However, DLSU’s upset-seeking Jose Parducho looked sharp early on with his pick of the Celtics, leading 13-9 midway through the first quarter. Recognizing his opponent’s aggressive approach in producing turnovers, Medina slowed the game down and relied on Gilgeous-Alexander’s shot creation to build a 19-17 end-of-quarter advantage.
Medina then hinged on his ability to hit contested baskets, but Parducho equally flexed his precision and timing as traded shots dictated the second canto. La Salle constructed a 32-28 margin by connecting on point-blank attempts, yet the Ateneo veteran generated a string of fastbreak points off calculated interceptions to finish the half with a manageable 33-34 deficit.
The third quarter featured an identical game flow, as Parducho’s commanding interior offense and Medina’s breakneck off-steal transition plays saw the contest arrive at a 40-40 tie. The two prized players showed brilliant flashes on both ends as stakes continued to heighten, leading the third frame to fittingly conclude in a 49-all stalemate.
Medina and Parducho’s slugfest carried over into the fourth, with the Blue Eagle’s mastery of Gilgeous-Alexander reflecting on the Thunder superstar’s total of 44 points with just over 90 seconds remaining in regulation. As the quarter wound down, Ateneo and DLSU exchanged two-pointers, capped by Medina’s feed to Holmgren for a crucial 65-62 lead. Showing calm under duress, however, Parducho buried a game-tying Derrick White corner triple with 15 seconds left, tying the score at 65-all. Medina missed what would have been a walk-off buzzer-beater on the next possession, sending the game to overtime.
Refusing to let up in the extra period, both Media and Parducho relied on the invaluable production of their offensive weapons, Gilgeous-Alexander and Jayson Tatum, respectively, barely giving one another room to breathe. In similar fashion to the previous quarter’s ending, another game-tying three from Parducho, followed by Medina misfiring on a potential game-winner, pushed the barn burner into a double overtime, 75-75.
While the second overtime remained hotly contested, the Atenean’s patented expertise of Gilgeous-Alexander, the player pivotal in his championship victory the prior tournament, ultimately decided the outcome. Medina poured in 10 of the Canadian point guard’s whopping 57 points in the period, including a dagger dunk that sealed the dramatic duel at 83-80, and forced a deciding Game 3 against La Salle.
Game 3
Energized from his double-overtime victory in Game 2, Medina faced off against Game 1 winner Yap in a poetic first-semester finals rematch. Their hunger manifested in-game, with Ateneo’s Celtics and DLSU’s Thunder exchanging haymakers on both ends. After a buzzer-beater trey in the first frame, Medina soared to a 29-22 lead following persistent swipes at the half court.
The Atenean skipper’s defensive prowess ballooned his lead to double digits at one point in the second canto, 33-23. However, Yap consistently penetrated the lane to bring the game to a 35-32 scoreline by halftime.
Medina’s mettle prevailed in the opening stretches of the second half, as the Blue Eagle preyed on his previous finals adversary’s poor shot quality to mark the matchup’s largest lead, 43-32. Also showing his finals experience, Yap piloted a 14-4 run, forcing an Ateneo timeout with the Blue and White’s cushion down to 47-46. While Medina buried a smothered Tatum three to momentarily stop the bleeding, 50-46, Yap feasted on his rival’s vulnerable interior defense to make it a 50-all ballgame heading into the final frame.
Looking to wisely pick his spots, Medina kickstarted the deciding quarter by finding big man Kristaps Porzingis under the rim, punishing Yap’s undersized defenders in the paint, 54-50. Despite the Green Ace making several strong pushes, Ateneo’s surgical reads on offense produced open three-pointers and easy shots from point blank, with a transition Holiday slam keeping the Blue and White ahead, 67-61. Medina was ultimately triumphant with keeping his familiar foe at bay, clinching a 71-64 win to lift Ateneo to a grind-out 2-1 series victory against La Salle.
Following the outcome, Medina noted that his intense training from last week to today spurred his match-winning performance. He then shared that he was happy that he could finally repay his teammate Lagac for his tournament-saving performance in the previous year.
With the conclusion of the finals rematch, the Blue Eagle trio will seek to best the Far Eastern University Tamaraws tomorrow at 12:15 PM, in the same venue.
Game Scores:
Ateneo-DLSU (2-1): 40-47, 83-80 (2OT), 71-64
Group B Standings (Points Overall):
- UP Fighting Maroons: 1-0 (3)
- ATENEO Blue Eagles: 1-0 (2)
- DLSU Green Aces: 0-1 (1)
- FEU Tamaraws: 0-1 (0)
