UAAP: Blue Eagles thwart late UST rally, earn second straight victory

In a rematch of last season's Finals, the Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles out-lasted the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers in a 61-57 thriller on Saturday, to end the first elimination round for both teams in the UAAP Season 76 men's basketball tournament at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.

Ateneo's tight defense rewarded them with a 19-6 lead in the first, stretching their advantage to as much as 15 points in the second period. But UST hung around, entering the fourth down by eight as Ed Daquioag led a late charge. Taking advantage of Ateneo's spotty free throw shooting down the stretch, the Tigers took Ateneo to the brink, 59-57, on a clutch three-pointer by Clark Bautista with around 20 seconds left.

UST intentionally fouled Chris Newsome, who split from the line with 18 ticks to go. The Tigers had two chances to equalize, but attempts from Daquioag and Kevin Ferrer from deep didn't go down, allowing Kiefer Ravena to grab the rebound and put the finishing touches on the game.

Ravena led the Eagles in scoring with 13 points and eight rebounds. Newsome added 10 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Juami Tiongson and Ryan Buenafe chipped in nine points each and handed out four assists apiece.

"It was a tough, grind it out win for us," said Kiefer Ravena. "Coach told us we were going to play UST eventually, and even if they only used seven or eight players, kaya nila yung isang buong team."

"It was really tough going up against UST knowing we needed to get a win before the long break," added Ateneo head coach Bo Perasol. "You can just imagine what's going on in our hearts and our minds if we had lost that game. But I know deep inside me that if we can just get our acts together. It was their willingness to defend a tough team like UST that made the difference there."

Perasol is looking forward to the two-week break to get his players in better  fighting shape. "I know we can always give anybody a tough fight if everyone can be healthy," he said. "We're going to use the long break to polish some things we need to do."

The Eagles won consecutive games for the first time this season, 3-4, but currently remain seventh in the standings. Where Ateneo ends up after the first round is out of their hands. The Eagles move up to sixth should the Adamson Falcons (3-3) overcome the unbeaten FEU Tamaraws, but can climb to fifth should the Tamaraws prevail. In both scenarios it will share the spot with the loser of the DLSU Green Archers-NU Bulldogs (both at 3-3) match-up.

On the other hand, it was a huge loss for the Tigers, as a 4-3 card allows the rest of the field to catch up. They remain in second place, but share the spot with the UE Red Warriors. The winner of the DLSU-NU match-up tomorrow will join them, and if the Falcons defeat the Tams, Adamson will force themselves up there too for a four-way tie.

Kevin Ferrer drew first blood immediately after tip-off, but the Eagles countered by seizing the momentum. Ateneo got out in transition for easy buckets, while moving the ball well for perimeter shots in the halfcourt. The Eagles notched four layups in the open court in an ensuing 19-4 blast, overpowering two makes by Aljon Mariano inside in the last six minutes. Kiefer Ravena tallied seven points as Ateneo claimed a 19-6 lead after the first period.

Vince Tolentino cut to the rim to kick off the second period, 21-6, but Tigers clawed their way back into the game. UST actively crashed the offensive glass and packed the paint to keep Ateneo from building on what was once a 15-point lead. Led by Mariano's eight points, the Tigers scored either from the line or at the rim against the undersized Eagles, allowing only two more field goals in the last five minutes.

As the quarter wound down, Ferrer swiped an Ateneo inbounds and drew contact, adding two charities, capping a 15-6 run to end the half with the Tigers just down by six, 27-21.

Ateneo shot 11-of-31 (35.5 percent) while making just 1-of-10 from long-range during the first two periods. At the same time, UST went 8-of-25 (32 percent) from the floor, missing all their five three-point tries. The Eagles held an 11-2 advantage in turnover points off an 8-12 advantage in miscues.


Ateneo widened their lead in the third quarter off triples by Ravena and Tiongson, sandwiching inside makes by Chris Newsome, 37-28, prompting UST to call timeout with just under six minutes remaining.

This time, the Tigers slowed the pace, as Ferrer converted on a driving and-one moments later. Despite getting several stops, UST's inability to convert on offense allowed Ateneo to lead by 12, 43-31, on split charities by Newsome with under two minutes to play.

Undaunted, the Tigers wrestled the lead back to single digits, buoyed by triples courtesy of Clark Bautista and Ed Daquioag in the final minute. Daquioag scored at the buzzer to match a Von Pessumal triple, to enter the fourth quarter trailing 47-39.

Daquioag led the charge for UST in the final frame, scoring on a baseline jam and a corner triple in quick succession to cap a 7-2 rally, 49-46, with five and a half minutes to play.

The Eagles converted only their second basket on the next possession, a Ryan Buenafe trey, battling makes by Bautista as the opposing sides matched each basket made. As the last-two-minutes warning rung in, Ravena drove hard for a layup, bumping Ateneo's lead back to five, 58-53.

After a missed three-ball by Ravena, Abdul was fouled and split from the line, giving the Eagles a chance to call timeout with under a minute to play. UST recovered the ball but Ravena made amends, swatting a Daquioag three-point attempt out of bounds, with 38.4 seconds left and 16 ticks on UST's shot clock.

Bautista tried again from deep for the Tigers, but his attempt did not find its mark. Daquioag stepped out of bounds while recovering the loose ball, and then hit Ateneo's Nico Elorde with 29 seconds left. Daquioag was given a warning for a second motion while Elorde split, 59-54.

This time, Bautista drained a three-pointer for UST, and Ateneo called for time. During the dead-ball situation, however, the officials downgraded the basket to a two-pointer, but further review upheld the original three-point call, 59-57.

Newsome was fouled after their inbounds and split his charities with 18 seconds remaining. The Tigers, out of timeouts, pushed the ball upcourt but came up short, as Daquioag and Ferrer couldn't find their mark from deep. Ravena secured the board and was fouled with 5.7 seconds and made just his second charity, 61-57, putting the game out of UST's reach.

Ateneo finished the game shooting 22-of-66 (33.3 percent) against UST's 20-of-59 (33.9 percent) mark. The Eagles, however, were just 11-of-20 (55 percent) from the charity stripe while the Tigers went 11-of-14 (78.6 percent).

The Eagles led 14-5 in fast break points.

Aljon Mariano notched a game-high 16 points and nine rebounds. Ed Daquioag added 12 points, including seven in the final period, and seven rebounds. Clark Bautista scored eight of his 11 points in the fourth to go with eight rebounds as well. Karim Abdul hauled in 15 boards but was limited to six points on 2-of-5 shooting from the floor in 35 minutes of action. - RAF, GMA NewsQuarterscores: 19-6, 27-21, 47-39, 61-57