Battles for the rebound between Ravena of Ateneo Manila and
Jeth Rosario of NU Bulldogs
Battles for the rebound between Kiefer
Ravena of Ateneo de Manila and Jeth Rosario of NU Bulldogs
Until the end MANILA Philippines National University
The Bulldogs—the only team Ateneo hasn’t
firmed in six games since last season—surprised the No. 1 Blue Eagles until now
again, salvaging a 65-63 decision in a huge Final
For the first time in 44 year Four
shocker to go forward to the UAAP men’s basketball championship on
Wednesday at the packed Smart Araneta Coliseum
while you look back two weeks ago, this
was incredible Eric Altamirano ,NU coach said after his No. 4 Bulldogs
overcame the Eagles’ twice-to-beat semifinal benefit.
I have to give it to the boys. They
refused to lose, they refused to resign. There were times in the game when we
were already down, but they stay alert. He also added that they kept on
fighting and stayed together.
Far Eastern University made sure there
will be no upset in their own Final Four series as the No. 2 Tamaraws dethroned
the La Salle Green Archers in another heart-stopping duel, 67-64, to nail the
last title berth.
Stellar all season, Mac Belo again emerged
as the idol for the Tamaraws , knocking in the game-winning triple at the
buzzer to lead back to Far Eastern University the finals after three years.
Only 24 seconds left to
execute the game-winner, Far Eastern University ace guard Mike Tolomia ran out
the game clock before dishing out the ball at the just right time to Belo, who
was waiting at the right corner.
Far Eastern University coach Nash Racela
admitted it was actually a broken play for the Tamaraw, who nearly blew their
twice-to-beat incentive after the Archers forged a knockout game with a 94-73
beat last Saturday.
Racela said that last play was designed
for Tolomia, but in the end, he made the most essential decision of his career.
Far Eastern University and NU will battle in
Game 1 of the best-of-three championship showdown at 3:30 p.m. this Saturday at
Mall of Asia Arena.
Since the league modified the Final Four
format in 1994, it will be the first time Ateneo and La
Salle
Either one of them has reached the title
series in the last 20 years.
The Bulldogs also turned to their leader
in the end-game as Gelo Alolino, who fetched a foul from Ateneo’s Nico Elorde,
was sent to the free throw line with just 9.3 seconds and coolly sank the pressure-packed
baskets that driven out to be the game-winner.
Alolino also knocked in a clutch triple
that knotted the contest, 63-63, at the two-minute mark after the Eagles
rallied behind season Most Valuable Player Ravena and Chris Newsome to capture
the lead one last time, 63-60.
The Bulldogs lived up, as well, to their
billing as this season’s best self-protective team as NU’s Cameroonian center
Alfred Aroga blocked Ravena’s potential-game tying layup to seal NU’s historic
success.
Altamirano said,we knew where they were
going and I thank Alfred Aroga for bailing us out again on defense with his
blocked shot.
Belo worn out a game-high 23 points,
including 10 of the Tamaraws’ last 12 points inside the last four minutes.
It was clearly far from luck, though, as
the Tamaraws showed sheer toughness behind Belo, who also had a notable 8-of-14
shooting clip to the side from posting eight rebounds and two assists.
Tolomia done with 14 points and 6 assists,
while Roger Pogoy chipped in eight points and 11 boards for the Tamaraws.
Adding suspense to the thrilling Ateneo-NU
match was the nearly 30-minute lull right after Alolino’s go-ahead free throws
with. just 9.3 seconds left.
Power variation:
since the Eagles set their final play to win
the game, or to at least forge overtime, power fluctuated at the Big Dome and
the lights inside the court suddenly turned diffuse.
Both teams waited it out for the lights to
get restored, which got the mass restless as fans on the NU side even derisively
trained the flashlights in their mobile phones on court to egg on officials to
start again play.
In a statement Araneta Coliseum said, the
power fluctuation during the game was due to severe weather conditions outside.
The whole Cubao and Kamuning areas
Circuits were affected.
The occasion, though, hardly mattered for
the Bulldogs as the former league whipping boys marched to the finals for the
first time since bowing to University of the East in the 1970 championship.
Altamirano said, I just told
Bulldogsto relax, don’t try to exert energy while you’re on the bench, stay
alert and wait until it’s time for us to return in the court.
In that last play I think it was positive
for us because we were on defense.
It was hard for Eagles because they
had to rest. It was like you’re starting from scratch.
Aroga posted a double-double of 14 points
and 12 rebounds to power the Bulldogs, who led by as many as 12 points in the
first half, 25-13, before surviving the Eagles’ late fightback.
Alolino sank four clutch free throws
inside the last 31 seconds of the Bulldogs’ first semifinal trouble win over
the Eagles, 78-74, on Wednesday—finished with 12 markers, five rebounds and a
couple of assists.
Alolino said,I’m just happy to lead this
team .
Glenn Khobuntin, who helped the Bulldogs
keep on afloat during the Eagles’ second-half rally, added 11 points and eight
rebounds.
Ateneo coach said,It could have really
gone either way. It’s just a shame that we were not able to finish it and put
it into overtime.
It was the Bulldogs, however, who suffered
the shame just last season of becoming the first top-ranked team to
embarrassingly fail to reach the title round when they blew their twice-to-beat
advantage against then No. 4 University of Santo Tomas.
Altamirano said ,thank God for
giving us another opportunity to redeem ourselves. Who would have thought we
would get into the finals,
The gung-ho Bulldogs extremely survived
their third do-or-die game since fighting for the last Final Four slot against
University of the East in a final tournament match.
Altamirano said of his Bulldogs ,It was
really hard.
We had to go through the playoffs to
the Final Four.
Perasol said,we fell short, that’s the
bottom line of that. Everybody knows we’ll go to Kiefer whether it was a
three-point shot or a two-point shot.
They were just too quick to block it.
Newsome, the Filipino-American hotshot who
played his final year, paced the Eagles with 22 points and six rebounds.
This season Ravena came through the clutch
many times over for the Eagles, just couldn’t muster the same magic against the
Bulldogs and finished with 18 points on a woeful 25 shooting clip percentage.
Ravena had always struggled on the floor
against the Bulldogs, who raised their head-to-head record against the Eagles
to 6-0 since last year.
NU also emerged successful in women’s
action as the Lady Bulldogs moved within a win of a perfect season after
trampling on the Lady Tamaraws, 80-58, at the start of their title series.
The Archers grabbed the lead one last time
at 59-55 after an Arnold Van Opstal three-point play and a Julian Sargent
triple.
But Belo responded with back-to-back
baskets to tie the game, 59-59, and later covered another clutch three-pointer
that shattered a deadlock at 61 for a 64-61 Far Eastern University
“,” After his Tamaraws and the Bulldogs
eliminated glamour teams Ateneo and La Salle Racela said At least it’s
different this time.
Second Game
NU 65—Aroga 14, Alolino 12, Khobuntin 11,
Rosario 9, Javelona 8, Neypes 4, Diputado 3, Alejandro 2, Perez 2, Betayene 0,
Atangan 0.
ATENEO 63—Newsome 22, Ravena 18, Elorde 8,
Pessumal 8, Babilonia 4, V. Tolentino 2, Gotladera 1, Apacible 0, Capacio 0, A.
Tolentino 0.
Quarters: 12-8, 32-27, 46-47, 65-63
Third Game
FEU 67—Belo 23, Tolomia 14, Pogoy 8,
Hargrove 6, Iñigo 5, Cruz 3, Tamsi 3, Jose 3, Ru. Escoto 2, Dennison 0, Lee Yu
0, Ugsang 0, Ri. Escoto 0.
LA SALLE 64—Teng 13, Perkins 12, Van
Opstal 11, Sargent 8, Rivero 7, N. Torres 7, Vosotros 6, Bolick 0, Montalbo 0,
T. Torres 0.
