The Ateneo Blue Eagles capped with euphoria a season filled with drama.
Amid a familiar boisterous sea of blue, Ateneo overcame a gritty
University of Santo Tomas squad with a 65-62 Game 2 victory yesterday to
capture a historic fifth straight UAAP men’s basketball championship.
The Ateneo veterans starred in one strong final push as the
Tigers fumbled with three crucial turnovers in the last 96 seconds and
allowed the Blue Eagles to seal a 2-0 sweep of the best-of-three series
in front of an electric crowd of 20,186 at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“It hasn’t quite sunk in yet. I don’t know when it will, but it’s
something that I’m really proud of,” said Ateneo coach Norman Black.
“I’m proud of the players, they’re the ones who worked really hard.”
With their latest conquest, the Blue Eagles earned a spot in league history as the second longest reigning basketball team.
For 40 years, no other team had been this dominant since
University of the East strung up a remarkable seven straight
championships from 1965 to 1971.
“Big players come in big games,” said Black, who called the shots
for one last time for the Eagles before heading back to the pro league
next week. “But it’s also our defense that really stood out in this
game.”
Kiefer Ravena pumped in 22 points capped by a jumper that gave the Blue Eagles a 65-59 buffer with 30.4 seconds left.
“UST really gave us a hard time, but we stuck together as a team.
We just wanted to end it,” said Ravena, who also nailed a dagger shot
in the dying moments of Game 1.
Greg Slaughter came through the stretch, burying eight of his 15
points in the final quarter while Juami Tiongson had all of his 10
points in the second half on top of a key steal in the Tigers’ final
possession.
Finals MVP Nico Salva also chipped in eight points and six
rebounds after starring with a career-high 30 points in the Blue Eagles’
83-78 Game 1 triumph last Saturday.
“I think this one is the sweetest,” said Salva, who figured in
all of the Blue Eagles’ five-year title romp. “There’s nothing like
leaving your school with a win. I never imagined winning five
championships in five years with Ateneo.”
One of the season’s dramas also came to an end as UST coach Pido
Jarencio hugged Black at the buzzer following their heated word war the
past days.
“I just congratulated him and told him it was a good game,” said
Jarencio. “Whatever that was said, in the end it’s just basketball. But
I’m proud of my team and thankful to the UST community for their
support. It was just the breaks of the game. Hats off to coach Norman.”
Jeric Fortuna paced the Tigers with 20 points, the last on a
triple with 21 seconds left that gave the Tigers a final ray of hope.
Earlier, Far Eastern University also bagged a title double as the
Lady Tamaraws completed a historic season sweep while the Baby Tams
clinched their first juniors crown in 25 years.
The Lady Tamaraws slipped past La Salle, 70-66, in Game 2 of the
women’s Finals to become the first team to complete a 16-0 season since
1994, when the league adopted the Final Four format.
Camille Sambile (16 points and 16 rebounds) and Allana Lim (15
and 12) delivered double-double efforts to power the Lady Tamaraws to
back-to-back titles.
“One at a time, that’s what we were thinking,” said Finals MVP
Soc Borja, who starred with 14 points, five rebounds, seven assists,
four steals and one block. “We never throught that it’s going to be
16-0.”
The Baby Tamaraws outlasted a pesky National University side in a
thrilling triple overtime, 113-109, for a 2-0 junior series sweep.
Jerie Pingoy and Roger Domingo teamed up for all of the Baby
Tams’ 13 points in the third extra period as the Baby Tams dethroned the
Bullpups.
Pingoy, this season’s back-to-back MVP, virtually figured in
every clutch situation before finishing with a game-high 32 points, 11
rebounds and seven assists.
The scores:
First Game (Women)
FEU 70—Sambile 16, Lim 15, Borja 14, Soriano 12, Siat 4, Columna 3, Valenzona 2, Gesalan 2, Tanaman 2.
LA SALLE 66—Piatos 16, Abaca 12, Wilson 10, Ong 9, Viterbo 6, Santos 6, Corcuera 4, Garcia 3, Ong 0, Melendres 0.
Quarters: 16-21, 33-33, 55-49, 70-66
Second Game (Jrs)
FEU 113—Pingoy 32, R. Domingo 23, Aguilon 15, Delfinado 14, J.
Domingo 11, Lee Yu 9, Lumba 6, Completo 3, You 0, Magbuhos 0, Hassan 0,
Escoto 0.
NU 109—Atangan 26, Cani 19, Biteng 17, Cauilan 13, Morido 10,
Battad 9, Canynay 7, Lopena 3, Busa 3, Dela Cruz 2, Mosqueda 0, Lapiz 0,
Castillo 0, Banawan 0.
Quarters: 26-21, 46-41, 59-59, 78-78 (reg), 89-89 (1OT), 100-100 (2OT), 113-109 (3OT)
Third Game (Srs)
ATENEO 65—Ravena 22, Slaughter 15, Tiongson 10, Salva 8, Chua 6, Gonzaga 3, Sumalinog 1, Golla 0, Elorde 0, Buenafe 0.
UST 62—Fortuna 20, Teng 9, Lo 8, Abdul 8, Ferrer 7, Bautista 6, Mariano 4, Vigil 0, Pe 0, Afuang 0.
Quarters: 13-14, 29-29, 47-46, 65-62
“As for carrying the Philippine flag, Filipinos are very proud people and we are very passionate people. I am proud of my heritage and proud to be living in Baguio now. Fighting in Manila is a dream of mine,” Striegl told 
