The “Atin to” mantra works for State U yet again.

The University of the Philippines (UP) got the better end of the possessions and won its first UAAP men’s basketball Final Four game since 1997 by slaying the twice-to-beat Adamson University, 73-71, Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Exchanging shots after shots in the fourth quarter, Juan Gomez de Llano issued the inbound pass of the season, finding a wide-open Bright Akhuetie for an easy lay-in at the last second to win the match.

Prior to that, Paul Desiderio, one of the best clutch shooters in recent UAAP history, swished his patented step-back jumper against the stingy defense of Jerom Lastimosa for a 71-69 edge with five seconds left. Sean Manganti though sank two free throws after absorbing a soft foul from JanJan Jaboneta in just less than two seconds, tying the score at 71.

But the Maroons, overcoming its defeatist tradition that hounded them for the past two decades, has had enough of the heartbreaks, not before a predominant UP crowd. Bo Perasol drew the play of his stellar coaching career with a catch-and-shoot play off the inbound pass reminiscent of Doug Kramer’s shot for Ateneo in the 2006 finals.

“This is not a walk in a park. It is a very difficult game. We are fortunate to win this game,” Perasol, who has won his first UAAP Final Four game after three tries with Ateneo, said after the game. “In the end it was a team play for everybody,” he added.

Desiderio led the Maroons with 19 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists. He also shot a season best 8 out of 11 from the field for the graduating guard hounded by bad shooting percentage this season.

The teams will play their do-or-die match for the Finals on Wednesday. Interestingly, Adamson lost the last time they had the twice-to-beat edge during the 2011 season, when they lost to eventual runner-up Far Eastern University (FEU). On the other hand, after UP’s last Final Four win in 1997, they had eventually lost the rubber match against the then twice-to-beat FEU.

Photo by Summer Padilla