Photo by Roehl Nino Bautista

GAMES TUESDAY (September 27, 2011)
ARANETA COLISEUM
9:00am – Adamson vs. Far Eastern (WOMEN’S – ADU leads series 1-0)
11:00am – National vs. FEU-FERN (JUNIORS – FEU-FERN leads series 1-0)
3:00pm – Ateneo de Manila vs. Far Eastern (MEN’S – ADM leads series 1-0)

Ateneo de Manila University broke open their best-of-three finals series on Saturday with a resounding 82-64 victory over Far Eastern University in the 74th University Athletic Association of the Philippines men’s basketball tournament.

Led by Nico Salva, who just couldn’t miss and wound up with 24 points on a perfect 8-for-8 shooting from both the field and on the free throw line respectively, the Blue Eagles are a win away from capturing their fourth consecutive crown and become just the third team in history during the Final Four era to achieve the feat.

The two other squads who managed to complete this rare quartet of titles were University of Santo Tomas (1993 to 1996) and De La Salle University (1998 to 2001).

Kiefer Ravena managed to squeeze out 16 points to go along 4 assists, while Greg Slaugher did his damage in the paint with 12 points and a team-high total of 8 rebounds.
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Ateneo took advantage of a sluggish and jittery start from FEU, scoring six straight points off the bat and forced Bert Flores to call for an early timeout. Soon after, a 19-8 rampage led by Terrence Romeo’s 10 points in the last seven minutes of the period shook the Blue Eagle faithful in their boots to gain a slim five point advantage after one.

The Tamaraws attempted to break away in the second, extending their lead to 10 on Exciminiano’s basket with 7:42 remaining. But the Blue Eagles fought back as Salva and Ravena combined for 12 points in the period to aid them in knotting the game at 33 by the break.

Finally, the Katipunan squad broke away past the halfway mark of the third period, aided by Salva who knocked down eight points in a three minute span to end the quarter with an 11 point advantage that eventually settled the match.

Romeo wound up with a team-high 23 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. Russel Escoto added 12 points and 6 rebounds, while Aldrech Ramos and RR Garcia struggled to put up points on the board to end up with 9 and 6 points apiece.

Game 2 is set on Tuesday at 3:00pm, following the UAAP basketball awards ceremony at 2:00pm.

BOX SCORES
ATENEO (82): Salva 24, Ravena 17, Slaughter 12, Monfort 11, Long 8, Erram 4, Tiongson 4, Chua 2, Gonzaga 0, Golla 0, Austria 0
FAR EASTERN (64): Romeo 23, Escoto 12, Ramos 9, Garcia 6, Exciminiano 6, Tolomia 5, Pogoy 2, Cruz 1, Sentcheu 0, Bringas 0
Quarters: 14-19, 33-33, 60-49, 82-64