The University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers clawed their way back to regain the UAAP men's basketball title after 10 years, beating the Ateneo Blue Eagles in overtime, 76-74. The finals of the 69th season of the UAAP was held Monday afternoon in a jampacked Araneta Coliseum. Jojo Duncil made sure that UST will earn its 19th title by delivering in the extra period of the best-of-three final's Game 3 and assuring rookie head coach Alfredo Jarencio of a Cinderella finish. Ironically, it was the Blue Eagles who lorded it over the first half, setting a fast pace that got them the lead in the first two quarters, 17-15 and 37-31.
The Tigers never even got as close to within a point of the leading Eagles. But early in the third quarter, they managed to slip a point past the Eagles, breaking a 37-all tie — and all it took was two-for-two freethrow by Allan Evangelista. From then on, the match settled down to a slightly slower but more intense see-saw affair, with the contenders taking brief, but wildly cheered, turns at the lead.
Close fight But neither team managed to get ahead in double digits. Ateneo took a 37-31 advantage after the first half, but UST recovered, and even set a nine-point spread in the third canto before the Eagles regained their composure and entered the fourth quarter trailing by a mere point, 50-51. The Eagles had a chance to wrap up the game with the score tied at 64-all. Ateneo coach Norman Black called a time out with 16 seconds remaning in the regulation, but his Eagles failed to convert on a set play, sending the match into overtime. Jojo Duncil, who was named Most Valuable Player of the Finals, scored eight points in the extra period. "This one's for all the Thomasians," said Jarencio, who took over the coaching job only last December. "My mission was to restore the pride of the Thomasians.
Salamat sa inyong lahat!" In the regulation period, Ateneo had the last possession, but JC Intal failed in his shot, resulting in a 64-all stalemate and an overtime.
Ateneo misses In overtime, after the Tigers posted a 75-76 edge with 12 seconds to play, Intal again failed to convert on an opportunity to become Ateneo's hero. Intal missed on a banked shot with four ticks to go, and the battle for the rebound resulted in a jumpball between point guard UST's Japs Cuan and Ateneo's Doug Kramer. However, the possession arrow was in favor for a UST possession. Ateneo's Eric Salamat gave a quick foul on Jun Cortez with 3.7 seconds remaining. Cortez made the first shot but missed on the second. A scramble for the ball ensued before Ateneo could heave the leather that fell short as the time expired.
Stunning comeback It was a stunning comeback for the Tigers who bagged their last UAAP crown in 1996. For four years straight since 1993, the Tigers had dominated the UAAP. Until Monday's finals game, UST had played second fiddle to the Ateneo Blue Eagles, and the De La Salle Green Archers, that had been banned from playing this year after school officials were accused of faking the age of one player. Alternately, the Eagles, the Archers, and FEU's Tamaraws, had bagged the UAAP crown since 1993, while UST failed for a decade to repeat its four-peat feat in the '90s. Huge crowds of fans, students, and school officials cheered the teams lustily on, and separately brandished balloons, penants and banners in the the Tigers' golden yellow coat, and the Eagles' royal blue. The game closed at 64-all and went into overtime play, punctuated at each turn by cheers and jeers from rival columns of fans. Others chose to support their teams quietly. A number of women and men, both young and old, clasped rosaries and closed their eyes in earnest prayer, many times during the heart-thumping game. Dominican friars run the UST, and the Jesuit fathers, the Ateneo. The finals game was held at the huge Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, Quezon City, that accommodates up to over 18,000 persons. On Monday, its bleachers and ringside seats burst with fans to the seams. United States Ambassador Kristie Kenney was among quite a number of celebrities who watched the teams play. "I just love basketball. I just love this sport. Great players, great teams, great fans," she told a television reporter. Kenney gave away the championship trophy to the Tigers, as the UST school anthem played. Perhaps more than politics, Filipinos take to basketball with zeal and dedication.
- GMANews.TV 
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