Southwestern U edge finals-bound Tigers in OT
A sensational third quarter surge towed Ateneo de Manila University into the finals, as they oust former NCAA rivals San Beda College in the last Philippine Collegiate Champions League Final Four round robin game on Sunday at The Arena in San Juan City.
The five-time defending UAAP men’s basketball titlist went on a 20-5 blast following the halftime break in their 66-49 whipping of the Red Lions in the battle of Metro Manila’s top two collegiate cage champions.
Season 75 Finals MVP Nico Salva posted 16 points, while Greg Slaughter and Juami Tiongson each pulled together 11 apiece in the ballgame.
Following the intermission, the Red Lions could not buy a basket for a little over 8 minutes and mustered only a miserable 2-for-17 shooting from the field – a three-pointer by Baser Amer, and Kyle Pascual’s jumper that broke the ice at the 1:39 mark.
Slaughter proved to be imposing, forcing SBC’s two Pascuals to almost always double team on the former Sinag Pilipinas standout to contain him with no avail.
“The whole game we were near-perfect in our defense. Almost all of their shots had challenges. They gave the extra effort to challenge all the shots and we cleaned it up with the rebounds,” said acting Blue Eagles head coach Gabby Severino, who is guaranteed to coach the team until the end of the tournament despite rumors of a new head coach to be named by Monday.
Baser Amer finished with 15 points, including a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc. Kyle Pascual, who was mostly on the receiving end of numerous pick-and-pop plays for open mid-range jumpers, ended up with 8 points on a miserable 4-for-19 shooting afternoon. Outgoing big man Jake Pascual tallied 10 points and 8 rebounds.
In the first game, Benoit M’bala once again steamrolled his way to an impressive statline in Southwestern University’s 93-91 squeaker over a shorthanded University of Santo Tomas in overtime.
The Cameroonian reinforcement tallied 41 points, including 10 points in the five-minute extension. He also had 16 rebounds and 4 blocks in the game to complete a double-double outing. Monbert Arong had 17, while forwards Bonifacio Guillena and Bernie Bregondo each had 11.
The finals-bound Growling Tigers missed the services of Kevin Ferrer (back spasms) and Karim Abdul (knees), who were rested by coach Pido Jarencio for the rematch of this year’s UAAP finals series which will start on Tuesday.
BOX SCORES
First game
SOUTHWESTERN (93): M’bala 41, Arong 17, Guillena 11, Bregondo 11, Nalos 6, Aboude 5, Dedace 2, Goloran 0, Ortuyo 0
SANTO TOMAS (91): Teng 20, Mariano 20, Bautista 14, Afuang 10, Pe 8, Fortuna 7, Lo 4, Vigil 3, Garrido 3, Hainga 2, Villar 0, Daquioag 0
Quarters: 22-16, 39-40, 56-57, 77-77, 91-93 (OT)
Second game
ATENEO (66): Salva 16, Slaughter 11, Tiongson 11, Gonzaga 9, Ravena 8, Sumalinog 3, Elorde 3, Pessumal 2, Chua 2, Capacio 1, Golla 0, Porter 0, Lim 0
SAN BEDA (49): Amer 15, J. Pascual 10, K. Pascual 8, Caram 8, Dela Rosa 3, Abarcar 3, Koga 2, Bonsubre 0, Moralde 0, Villaruz 0, Mendoza 0, Ludovice 0
Quarters: 15-12, 28-26, 48-31, 66-49
