By the Numbers Finals Game 2

After 2,435 basketball minutes, 92 days, 60 games, 30 playing dates, two elimination rounds, and one postseason, the 73rd UAAP Men’s Basketball Tournament has finally crowned a worthy champion. Ateneo de Manila University completed a highly prestigious three-peat after defeating Far Eastern University (FEU), 65-62, last Thursday at a filled-to-the-rafters Araneta Coliseum. The Blue Eagles couldn’t have peaked at a better time as they swept the top-seeded and heavily favored Tamaraws in their best-of-three series. The Men in Blue proved that their explosive Game 1 rout was no fluke as they played near-perfect basketball in the title-clincher to win their sixth overall crown.

9
The number of times a sweep has been accomplished in UAAP Finals history since the Final Four era began in 1994. The University of Santo Tomas (UST) did it first in 1996, followed by FEU in 1997, De La Salle University in 1998 and 2000, FEU again in 2003 and 2005, La Salle again in 2007, and most recently, Ateneo in 2008 and 2010. Before 1994, the top two teams automatically entered the finals with the first seed having a twice-to-beat incentive.

8.5
The scoring average of FEU’s R.R. Garcia in the finals. The season MVP and league scoring leader (16.8 PPG) saw his offensive production get cut in half in the championship as he struggled against the stingy defense of Emman Monfort. Garcia bled for 11 points in Game 1 and only tallied eight in Game 2 on a dreadful 3-of-13 shooting from the field, including 0-of-5 from three-point country. He averaged 16.5 points versus Ateneo during the eliminations.

2
The number of three-pointers made by Ateneo’s Ryan Buenafe prior to last Thursday’s match. The former Rookie of the Year wasn’t exactly a picture of rainbow perfection all season long as he only shot 2-of-30 (6.6%) from beyond the arc. But he made the three-pointer that counted the most as he made his third conversion of the season with 22.1 seconds left in the fourth quarter of Game 2 to give the Blue Eagles a 64-59 lead that eventually sealed the three-peat.

6
The number of consecutive titles Buenafe has won since high school. The bulky third-year forward won his first three-peat with the San Sebastian Staglets in the NCAA Juniors from 2005 to 2007 and three more consecutive crowns with Ateneo from 2008 to 2010. He also owns two Finals MVP plums—2007 and 2010—proving he's no stranger to cardiac games. No wonder he had no problems taking over during the waning moments of the title-clinching Game 2.

5
The number of turnovers committed by Ateneo the entire Game 2. The Blue Eagles took the phrase “taking care of the ball” to a whole new level as they protected the ball with impressive execution. In fact, all the five miscues only happened in the fourth quarter as FEU tightened up their defense and scrapped for every possession. It was the lowest turnover total of the back-to-back-to-back titlists this season after averaging 15.2 in the double-round eliminations.

Paolo Mariano, UAAP Home