FilOil: San Beda stuns Ateneo late in battle of college champs

The San Beda College Red Lions nearly doubled Ateneo de Manila University's fourth quarter output, 24-13, on the way to pulling off a humongous rally late for a 63-61 win over the Blue Eagles to stay undefeated in the FilOil Flying V Pre-season Tournament Saturday at The Arena in San Juan City. Ateneo led by as much as 16 in the second quarter, after a Kiefer Ravena triple and Greg Slaughter's two charities, 36-20, 56.2 seconds remaining in the period, but San Beda methodically cut the deficit to 10, 43-33, in the third quarter after an Ola Adeogun put-back, and then into single digits after Baser Amer's bank shot with 42 seconds left, 39-47. Adeogun then took advantage of his defender, JP Erram, at the dawn of the final quarter, to score seven unanswered, making it a two-point game, 48-46, 7:22 left, drawing a timeout from the Ateneo coaching staff. Slaughter, Ravena and Tonino Gonzaga scored enough to maintain a three-point lead, 57-54, at the 2:19. But the Eagles' lead finally gave way when Julius Armon came up with a steal and turned it into a jumper at the 1:39 mark, 58-57. Adeogun added to the tally from the line, 59-57, but Juami Tiongson knotted things at 59 apiece with a minute remaining. But that was Ateneo's last bright spot, as the Red Lions capitalized on the Blue Eagles' errors to snatch the lead for good. Amer, off a Ravena foul, hit two go-ahead charities, 61-59. A bad backcourt pass by Nico Salva gave possession back to San Beda, but Ateneo's defense forced a 24-second violation. It didn't matter however, as off a timeout, Ravena turned the ball over again, forcing Slaughter to send Amer to the line once more, where he made both, 63-59. After Tiongson's attempt at a quick score got soundly rejected out of bounds, Ravena missed a fade-away triple with seconds left, and Slaughter's jumper merely made the final margin tighter. "I think it was all about the fighting heart of the kids," said SBC head coach Ronnie Magsanoc, who only recently took over the position. "As mentor para sa mga collegiate players, I think the question is 'how do I put them in the best position.' In the first half, I think I did not do a good job preparing their mindset. "The boys responded, especially the guards….It was a good test for everybody….It does not establish anything, but it proves that the boys do not give up." Early foul trouble by San Beda allowed the Eagles to seize the initiative in the first quarter, which they closed out with a dominant 12-0 run to go up 20-8, but it turned out to be not enough as San Beda had the firepower and the resolve to pull off the late comeback. It became the third double-digit lead the Eagles lost in the latter part of a game, as they had similar struggles versus the Letran Knights and the Perpetual Help Altas, their two previous FilOil assignments. But this time, they were unable to execute down the stretch, as back-to-back turnovers with under a minute left did them in. Adeogun, San Beda's Nigerian big man, led the reigning back-to-back NCAA titlists with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Amer scored 12 of his 14 in the fourth period, and added five rebounds, two assists and three steals in 22 minutes off the bench. Rome Dela Rosa and Armon tallied a total of 18 markers on eight made field goals. Seven-foot center Slaughter led all scorers with 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting, while also hauling down 13 boards and rejecting two shots. Ravena added 10 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals, but Salva was held to just six markers. Despite making none of their 14 three-point attempts, San Beda still managed to win, leaning on seven more second chance points than Ateneo, 17-10, and doubling their turnover points 12-6. Their defense also held the Ateneo fast break in check in the second half, as the Eagles, after making 11 on the run in the game's first 20 minutes, scored none in the second half. San Beda improved to 3-0 for a dominant first place position in Group A, while Ateneo slid down to 2-1 under assistant mentor Sandy Arespacochaga, who is in charge of the four-peat Blue Eagles while head coach Norman Black is in the U.S. for a coaching clinic. — JVP, GMA News Scores:   San Beda 63—Adeogun 16, Amer 14, Dela Rosa 10, Armon 8, J. Pascual 4, Koga 4, Caram 2, K. Pascual 2, Lim 2, Ludovice 1, Bonsubre 0, Mendoza 0.   Ateneo 61—Slaughter 24, Ravena 10, Salva 6, Chua 6, Gonzaga 6, Tiongson 3, Sumalinog 2, Elorde 2, Erram 2, Golla 0.   Quarter scoring: 8-20, 23-36, 39-48, 63-61.