Ateneo stops UE in the endgame, notches win no. 10
Friday, August 22nd, 2008ATENEO DE MANILA University seems to have University of the East’s number this season.
Chris Tiu buried a trey with 13 ticks left in regulation to send the game into overtime and had Rabeh Al-Hussaini and Ryan Buenafe finish the game for his squad as the Blue Eagles scored a come-from-behind, 61-57 win over the Red Warriors in the 71st UAAP men’s basketball competition last August 21, 2008 at the Araneta Coliseum.
With the victory, the Ateneo Blue Eagles improved to 10-1, strengthening their bid for a twice-to-beat bonus in the Final Four in the process. The Katipunan outfit also swept its season series with the boys from Recto.
“Definitely, this was a tough game against one of the toughest teams in the league,” said Ateneo mentor Norman Black. “We expected a tough game and good thing, Chris [Tiu] and Ryan [Buenafe] hit those big shots.”
Trailing by three at 47-50, Tiu, who scored 18 points to go along with nine rebounds and three assists, faked Marcy Arellano and nailed a clutch triple that evened the count at 50.
In overtime, Ateneo shattered a 57-57 deadlock thanks to Buenafe, who penetrated down the lane and scored on a difficult lay-up to steer the Blue and White to a two-point lead with 21.1 ticks left.
The Red Warriors tried to tie the count, but Elmer Espiritu failed to convert an undergoal stab after being tightly defended by Nonoy Baclao, who then hauled down the rebound and fished a foul from UE guard Paul Zamar to stop the clock.
Baclao, who registered a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds, calmly sank his two free throws with 6.5 seconds left to seal the deal for the Blue Eagles.
UE, which went a season-low 2-of-3 from the foul line, dropped to a 6-5 slate – just one-and-a-half games ahead of fifth-running University of Santo Tomas (4-6) for the last semifinals slot.
The vastly-improved Al-Hussaini paced Ateneo with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
Zamar, son of former UE coach Boysie, led UE with 13 points.
The Red Warriors took a 42-36 lead at the end of third quarter but squandered their advantage after the Blue Eagles went on a 9-0 rampage to trim the deficit to one, 47-48. UE forward Hans Thiele converted on an 18-foot bankshot that increased his squad’s lead to three, before Tiu sent the game into an extra five-minute period.
Ateneo made 19 of 25 attempts from the foul line. The Blue Eagles also surprisingly limited the quick Red Warriors to just four fastbreak points.
The scores:
Ateneo 61 – Al-Hussaini 19, Tiu 18, Baclao 10, Buenafe 6, Salamat 6, Baldos 2, Salva 0, Nkemakolam 0, Long 0, Escueta 0, Reyes 0.
UE 57 – Zamar 13, Martinez 11, Thiele 10, Espiritu 8, Arellano 8, Llagas 4, Lee 3, Noble 0, Lingganay 0, Bandaying 0, Reyes 0.
Quarter scores: 12-13; 21-22; 36-42; 50-50; 61-57
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Original article here.
