Ateneo earns five-peat in UAAP basketball
Despite their lackadaisical performances, Karim Abdul (right) and Ryan Buenafe (left) were the king of the boards for their respective teams. Abdul had 12 boards while Buenafe had 11 . (Photo by Ericka Alcantara)
The dynasty is firmly built, and the Norman Black era ends in victory.
The Ateneo de Manila Blue Eagles earned a rare five-peat in UAAP men’s basketball by sweeping the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers, 65-62, in game two of the finals at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum today.
The Eagles, narrowly relinquishing an eight-point lead in the final canto, relied on its stifling team defense and the clutch offense of prized guards Kiefer Ravena and Juami Tiongson.
“We really had to make the big shots down the stretch,” said Ateneo head coach Norman Black, who had coached his final game of his illustrious UAAP career. “Unlike last season, this series could have gone either way.
And the big shots were made indeed.
After forcing a five-second inbound infraction on Kevin Ferrer, the Eagles found a hero in Tiongson, who sank a teardrop shot with one minute and twelve seconds remaining to erect a 62-58 lead.
Ravena then followed up with a 18-foot jumper with less than a minute left to up the lead at 65-59, which was enough that even a Jeric Fortuna trey in the dying seconds was irrelevant for UST’s campaign.
“Pinahirapan talaga kami ng UST,” Ravena commented. “We really had to keep our focus especially maraming distractions and controversies sa series na ito.”
After a low-scoring first half knotted at 29-all, Ateneo took advantage of UST’s weak interior defense by dumping the ball twice to Justin Chua off the screen, and opening the lane for Ravena’s dribble drives for an 8-0 to erect a seven-point lead in the third quarter.
The Tigers retaliated via the shooting of Fortuna and Clark Bautista as they trimmed the lead to one at the end of the quarter, 46-47.
In the final period, graduating center Greg Slaughter dominated as the Eagles maintained its superior interior offense. Slaughter scored six straight points to up the champion’s lead to a maximum of eight, 59-51.
The Tigers initiated a mini run through the sole efforts of Fortuna but the Eagles played defense in a poised manner, even forcing the Tigers to four straight misses after hauling four straight offensive rebounds in one sequence.
The Eagles ultimately won the game with Tiongson stealing a Bautista pass intended for Fortuna, which could potentially tie the game.
“This has been the hallmark of our team—we have always maintained our good defense,” Black emphasized.
Ravena led the Eagles with 22 points while Slaughter had 15 points, 11 rebounds, and three blocks. Nico
Fortuna was the lone bright spot for the Tigers, tallying 20 points, eight rebounds, and six assists.
Salva afforded only eight points in the game but was nonetheless named finals most valuable player (MVP) for his 30-point performance in game one. He likewise earned the distinction as the only UAAP men’s basketball player who won five championships in all his five playing years in the league.
It was also the fifth championship in eight seasons for Black, who assumed the head coaching job for the Blue and White in 2005. He first barged in to the UAAP finals in 2006 but was defeated by the UST head coach Pido Jarencio.
Earlier, the Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws clinched the championships in the women’s and high school basketball tournaments.
The Lady Tamaraws swept the De La Salle Lady Archers, 70-66 in the morning game for their second consecutive crown, while the Baby Tamaraws revenged last season’s loss to the National University (NU) Bullpups with a 113-109 triple overtime win.
Tamaraws Jerie Pingoy and Allana Lim were named MVPs in the high school and women’s tournaments, respectively, while NU’s Bobby Ray Parks grabbed his second straight MVP in the men’s tournament.
De La Salle Green Archer Jeric Teng was name rookie of the year and mythical five member in the men’s tournament and joining him were UST’s Karim Abdul, Ateneo’s Slaughter, FEU’s Terrence Romeo, and Parks.
The scores:
Ateneo (65) – Ravena 22, Slaughter 15, Tiongson 10, Salva 8, Chua 8, Gonzaga 3, Sumalinog 1, Buenafe 0, Golla 0, Elorde 0
UST (62) – Fortuna 20, Teng 9, Abdul 8, Lo 8, Ferrer 7, Bautista 6, Mariano 4, Afuang 0, Pe 0, Vigil 0
Quarter scores: 13-14, 29-29, 47-46, 65-62
