UAAP: Green Archers stump Blue Eagles, 70-69, in Final 4

The La Salle Green Archers won by a hairline over the Ateneo Blue Eagles, 70-69, in their scramble for second spot of the 70th UAAP basketball Final Four on Tuesday. The Eagles had possession of the ball with 9.3 seconds left, with the Archers in the lead, 70-67 – still enough time for a 3-point play to get a tie and push the game into overtime. In the scramble around the Ateneo back court, the ball zipped through Chris Tiu and Jai Reyes, both in the 3-point zone, and either could have made a shot. But in the last few seconds, Reyes chucked the ball to Zion Laterre who had no choice but to make a jump shot – which he did, successfully. Unfortunately, he was within the 2-point zone and only managed to shave the lead down to a single point as the buzzer sounded. The long-time arch rivals played to the usual capacity crowd of students, alumni, and supporters at the Araneta Coliseum. The Archers, who were tied with the Eagles with a 9-5 win-loss card, improved their standing to 10-5, good for the second spot. The Archers have the National University to thank because the Bulldogs beat the Eagles, 96-88, in overtime Saturday, thus paving the way for Tuesday's playoff for the second spot. The Eagles had been aiming for a victory that would automatically have given them the second slot and a twice-to-beat advantage, but the Bulldogs frustrated them. On Monday, the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers crushed the hopes of the Far Eastern University Tamaraws for a shot at the basketball title, which they held in 2005. The Tigers beat the Tamaraws, 80-69. The Blue Eagles will next battle it out with the Growling Tigers, while the University of the East Red Warriors await their next opponents, having entered the finals outright with their 14-0 sweep of the two-round eliminations. - GMANews.TV