UE brings Ateneo down to earth, forces winner-take-all

(Update) There’s no champagne to be opened for Ateneo de Manila U, no heartbreak to be endured for University of the East. The Red Warriors shot down the mighty Blue Eagles, 88-68, to force a deciding Game 3 in their UAAP Season 72 men’s basketball championship series Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum. Their backs against the wall after Ateneo took Game 1, 78-71, the cagers from Recto played with a lot of fire and unleashed a gutsy stand anchored on hustle plays from their small men and good outside shooting from their big men to break the game wide open in the second half. After taking a 63-53 lead at the end of the third, the Red Warriors sustained their fiery attack in the final canto and put the icing on the cake with a highlight reel from Elmer Espiritu, a two-handed alley-oop dunk from a Paul Lee assist that gave them a 79-60 cushion. With the win, the Warriors – the heartbreak kids of the UAAP – kept alive their hopes for their first title since 1985. The Warriors, bridesmaids only in 2007 despite sweeping the eliminations that year, and the Eagles, looking for their first back-to-back titles since 1988, will dispute the crown in a “you-or-me" match on Thursday also at the Big Dome. UE coach Lawrence Chongson underscored the heads-up performances of Espiritu and another member of his “undersized frontline", Pari Llagas, in beating Ateneo for the first time since 2007. The Warriors also snapped the Eagles’ 12-game win run entering Sunday's Game 2. “They delivered big time," Chongson said of Espiritu (22 points on an 8-of-13 shooting from the field and 4-of-5 from the three-point line) and Llagas (19 points and five assists). “Ever since the second round, I’ve always said to them ‘What will differentiate you from the previous UE greats? Which do they have that you don’t? Hopefully they are immortalized in the 21st century." And of course, the best way to do this is to win the elusive hardware. On Sunday, Espiritu and Llagas moved a step closer to that “immortality" by giving UE its first finals win since Allan Caidic and Jerry Codiñera led the Red Warriors to the crown in 1985. “We’re playing the game of our lives. I told the boys what are we going to do tomorrow? If we lose, what are we going to do? Some will do their normal routines, tayo ano ang gagawin natin? Matagal na titigan sa kisame ‘yun so we’re basically fighting for our lives today (Sunday)," said Chongson, whose wards posted the biggest winning margin against Ateneo since FEU’s 83-65 disposal of the Eagles on October 2, 2003 and dealt Ateneo coach Norman Black his worst loss in his four-year UAAP career. Rookie mentor Chongson is now looking to duplicate the 2006 feat of University of Sto. Tomas, which bounced back from a 0-1 deficit to win the title, interestingly against Ateneo. While the Warriors were scorching on offense (36-of-69 or 52.2 percent), Chongson credited their defense as their key to victory. The Warriors limited Ateneo to 28-of-67 shooting from the field (41.8 percent). “We had better games in terms of offense. We have really been known as a defensive team. Now we are an offensive team but we are still a defensive team. We put premium on defense but we don’t stop them from shooting. Basta open at hindi pilit, it’s fine," Chongson said. – GMANews.TV