Photo by Abram P. Barrameda

THE ROAD to the finals rematch was a study in contrast. While the Blue Eagles have cruised through the first round, the FEU Tamaraws have logged more than their fair share of crunch time battles, manufacturing comeback wins against NU and UST while stumbling against fellow contender Adamson and humbly upset by the UP Fighting Maroons.

But when push came to shove, it was the Tamaraws who wilted in the heat of the moment, collapsing in the fourth quarter en route to a 69-49 trouncing by the Ateneo Blue Eagles on  August 7 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

While FEU’s talent was never in short supply, despite losing forwards Arvie Bringas and JR Cawaling to supension and an early injury respectively, their core of reigning MVP RR Garcia and Defensive Player of the Year Aldrech Ramos weren’t enough to overcome the efforts of Ateneo’s own one-two punch in Kiefer Ravena and Greg Slaughter, who combined for 34 points.

The Tamaraws had a plethora of big bodies to throw at Slaughter, however, they were unable to cover the big man in single coverage leading to a bevy of free throws for the 6’11” center, who converted on all but one of his 10 charity attempts.

Despite being matched up against the athletic Chris Exciminiano, Ravena used a big showing on the glass, grabbing nine rebounds, to spark the running game of the Blue Eagles for much needed easy baskets.

Though the pair of rookies once again buoyed the Ateneo offense, it was a complete team effort on the defensive end that shut down the potent Tamaraws, shackling them to a 27.6% mark from the field.  Kirk Long, in particular, drew praise for holding last year’s Rookie of the Year Terrence Romeo to a dismal 3 for 15 shooting night.

With six and a half minutes to play and the Tamaraws finally getting in an offensive groove, incidental contact between Emman Monfort and Romeo resulted in a questionable favorable call for Ateneo, drawing an emotional reaction from Romeo. The FEU player was subsequently called for a technical.

Tamaraw head coach Bert Flores was then called for a technical of his own for excessive complaining, resulting in four free throws and possession for Ateneo. A Kirk Long three-pointer on the ensuing possession was bookended by an unsportsmanlike foul on Cameroonian center Christian Sentcheu, which resulted in more free throws for Slaughter and possession.

Followed by a back-breaking jumper by Long, and the Tamaraws were clearly deflated. The shrinking nine point lead was turned into a 20-point cushion for the Eagles, who cruised to their third first round sweep in the UAAP Final Four era.

“Defensively we’re probably in a very good position right now. We shot the ball poorly these last two games so it’s been our defense that has won us these last few games,” mentioned Ateneo Coach Norman Black after the game. “Once you lose your composure, you lose focus.”

As their reward for sweeping, the coach said, “We’ll take Monday off and start working again Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. It’s not much of a break for us.”

Scoring Leaders:

ADMU, 69: Ravena 19, Slaughter 15, Salva 10, Long 9, Gonzaga 4, Chua 4, Monfort 3, Sumalinog 2, Austria 2, Golla 1, Erram 0, Tiongson 0

FEU, 49: Garcia 15, Escoto 8, Romeo 8, Setecheu 5, Ramos 5, Excimiano 4, Tolomia 3, Cruz 1, Mendoza 0, Foronda 0, Knuttel 0

Quarter Scoring: 15-15, 30-26, 47-35, 69-49