UAAP: Blue Eagles upset Growling Tigers, 72-71

Games on Saturday Cuneta Astrodome 2 p.m. - UP vs UE 4 p.m. - NU vs FEU The Ateneo Blue Eagles dumped a one-point upset victory on the Santo Tomas Growling Tigers, with rookie point guard Kirk Long, releasing the 17-foot winning jumper, with just 1.6 seconds left in the game. The victory – witnessed by wildly cheering spectators at the Araneta Coliseum on Thursday – kept the Eagles in the Final Four contention in the UAAP men's basketball tournament with their 6-4 win-loss card. The Tigers, however, still has a grip on fourth place, along with the Far Eastern University, with their 5-5 cards. Long, a 6'-1" recruit out of Faith Academy, drilled his shot before two defenders to ice the game for his team who were able to come back after being down by as much as 10 points in the third quarter. Before Long's game shot, the Tigers' rookie sensation Khasim Mirza scored on a hard drive to give his team a slim 70-69 lead with 19.3 seconds left. Ateneo head coach Norman Black immediately called a timeout to set up main man Chris Tui for a possible game-winning shot. But the ball went to Long, who managed to keep his nerve for that breathtaking beat-the-clock shot. "That was not exactly the play we drew up," Black said shortly after the game. "We did a good job of rotating the basketball and fortunately he (Long) made the shot." With the win, the Eagles climb to third spot with a 6-4 win-loss card. UST, meanwhile, dropped to fourth place in a tie with Far Eastern University (FEU) with a 6-5 mark. Ford Arao, the hulking 6'-7'' Blue Eagle center who will graduate after this season, finished with a team-high 20 points, eight rebounds, and four assists in 34 minutes of action. Unheralded back-up center Severino Baclao also played a decent game for Ateneo with his 11 points and five boards. Long, meanwhile, made 10 points and three steals. Meanwhile, MVP leading contender Jervy Cruz of the Growling Tigers was again a monster for the defending champs with his double-double performance of of 22 points and 18 rebounds on 8-of-11 field goals. He was also perfect from the charity stripe as he went 8 out of 8 from there. Mirza, who was instrumental in the Tigers' big-win over Ateneo during their first round matchup, finished with only 11 points on 5-of-17 shooting. The Tigers' 6'-4" guard Anthony Espiritu also scored 10 points. The Tigers, who led for most part of the game, enjoyed 10-point leads on several instances, the last at 55-45 after an Espiritu three-pointer from the corner with 2:09 left in the third quarter. The Eagles then suddenly came alive in the fourth period, unleashing an 8-0 run capped by Long's twisting layup to give his team its first taste of the lead at 63-61 with 5:12 left in the game. From there the two teams traded baskets until the game went into a tie at 69-all when Arao powered himself for lay-up with just 38.5 seconds remaining. The Tigers then fumbled the ball after an inbounds pass to give possession back to Ateneo with Long taking advantage of the situation as he fished a foul from Ababou to send him to the charity stripe. He then made the first of his two freebies to give his team a point advantage at 70-69. 70th UAAP Men's Basketball Standings UE: 11-0 DLSU: 8-3 ADMU: 6-4 UST: 6-5 FEU: 6-5 NU: 4-6 ADU: 1-9 UP: 0-10

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