Eagles halt Tigers, gain twice-to-beat

FEU’s Terrence Romeo (right) and Joshua Saret of UP chase down the loose ball during their UAAP men’s basketball encounter. JUN MENDOZA



MANILA
, Philippines - Ateneo sustained its long-standing mastery of University of Santo Tomas, 81-77, to boost its drive for the top seeding in the Final Four yesterday in the UAAP Season 73 seniors basketball tourney at the Araneta Coliseum.

With the triumph, the Blue Eagles improved to 10-3 behind pacesetting Far Eastern (11-2) and secured a twice-to-beat incentive in the semis.

“That (getting the semis bonus) is our second goal after making the Final Four. It’s not always a guarantee (for a championship) but it’s an easier road than if you’re on the other side, having to beat the top seeds twice,” said Ateneo coach Norman Black, whose wards could steal the No. 1 position by beating the Tams by at least four points on Saturday in the final elims playdate.

The Tamaraws kept their one-game lead against closest pursuer AdMU after smothering University of the Philippines, 70-48, in the first game.

The Eagles built a 19-point lead (68-49) but allowed the hot-shooting Tigers to threaten to within 77-80 behind a 21-7 salvo built on three treys by Clark Bautista and one by Jeric Teng.

Kirk Long made a split in the last 10.6 seconds to seal the win, Ateneo’s ninth straight over UST since 2007. The Tigers slipped to 4-9.

“They (Tigers) started bombing us with three-pointers. It’s very difficult to defend a team that shoots like that. But we won, which is the most important,” Black said.

Erik Salamat fired 18 points and dished off five assists for AdMU, which also gained from seldom-used Christian de Chavez (12) and Justin Chua (11 points, nine rebs).

Teng (23) and Bautista (16) led the way for UST, shooting four triples apiece.

The Tamaraws had a virtual workout in hiking their record to 11-2 and sending the Fighting Maroons (0-13) to the brink of another winless season.

FEU coach Glen Capacio, whose wards got a free ride to the Top 2 and the semis bonus the other day when Adamson and La Salle fell to ousted rivals, said the Tams practically deviated from their system yesterday.

“It’s hard to play this kind of game, which was no-bearing and then you have four guys in the running for Mythical 5 slots and Rookie of the Year,” said Capacio, referring to MVP contenders RR Garcia, Reil Cervantes and Aldrech Ramos and freshman Terrence Romeo.

“They were tight. They’re looking to score (via individual plays), which is different from our system focused on ball movement. I accommodated them in this game but I stressed that we can’t play like this against Ateneo (on Saturday),” he added.

The Tams fell behind by 0-6 at the start of the match and entered the second canto facing a 7-8 deficit. The team from Morayta got their bearing in the second, outscoring UP, 21-10, for a 28-18 halftime lead.

From there, the Tams posted leads as many as 23 at 68-45, on Garcia’s triple late in the fourth.

Garcia, the leading MVP candidate, finished with 12 points, three rebounds and three assists to pace FEU while Cervantes had nine markers, three boards, three feeds, one steal, and one block.

The Tams also drew huge contributions from bench players led by Gryann Mendoza ( and Mark Bringas (6).

Alvin Padilla (17) and Magi Sison (14) led the way for UP, which is trying to avoid a repeat of its 0-14 woes in 2007.

In juniors play, University of Santo Tomas nosed out National U in a KO match, 65-58, to clinch the No. 2 spot and the twice-to-beat advantage in the stepladder ladder phase.

The Bullpups wound up third and will play fourth-ranked De La Salle-Zobel next for the right to play second-ranked UST.

The Junior Archers advanced to the stepladder after edging FEU-FERN, 66-60, in a rubber match for the No. 4 berth.

Defending champion Ateneo is already waiting in the finals after sweeping the 14-game elims.