Martin San Diego | FCF

University of Santo Tomas nails the coffin on Ateneo’s five-year dynasty, following a rousing 82-74 victory in Wednesday’s UAAP Season 76 elimination round ender at the Smart Araneta Coliseum to secure the last Final Four spot.

Karim Abdul manned the lane with 25 points and nine rebounds, while Jeric Teng scored 13 of his 17 points during the second half to stop the Blue Eagles’ resurgence.

Down by 13 at the break, the Blue Eagles made their comeback and got a momentary taste of the lead in the third period, thanks to the Herculean effort of Kiefer Ravena.

Despite being blanked from the field since the 2:34 mark, the Growling Tigers locked down on defense to stop Ateneo’s desperation push.

Ravena finished with 20 points, six rebounds, and five assists to lead the Blue Eagles.

Ateneo ends their five-year title run, and misses their first Final Four since 1998.

In the first game, University of the East barely survived University of the Philippines’ fourth quarter comeback, 76-73.

This is the third time in seven seasons that the Fighting Maroons have finished winless, with the two previous occurences being in 2007 and 2010.

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