(UPDATE) Ateneo defeats La Salle, 65-57
By Cedelf P. Tupas
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 18:07:00 09/06/2008
MANILA, Philippines -- Ateneo forced De La Salle into an awful shooting night as the Eagles hammered out a gutsy 65-57 win over the Archers that completed a regular season sweep of their blockbuster rival before another sellout crowd at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
Big men Rabeh Al-Hussaini and Nonoy Baclao delivered the impact points in the second half and the Eagles shutout the Archers in the final 3:34 to finish the elimination-round at 13-1, a feat highlighted by a sweep in the second round.
The 6-foot-4 Baclao, who grabbed eight rebounds and had four blocks, hit 11 points, including a nifty lay-up off Rico Maierhofer with 2:22 left to push Ateneo's lead, 64-57.
The Eagles made some key defensive stops from there with Baclao swatting away a late Maierhofer effort, before Jai Reyes wrapped up the win with a split from the free throw line with 20.9 ticks remaining.
"Our defense won this one," said Ateneo coach Norman Black, whose team will have a twice-to-beat edge when it plays University of the East in the Final Four starting next Sunday.
The 6-foot-7 Al-Hussaini, one of the leading MVP candidates, also drained 10 of his game-high 18 points in the second half. He also had 11 rebounds.
The Eagles dictated the pace early on, building several 14-point leads early in the second period. Eric Salamat's drive made it 28-14, before Bader Malabes hit two triples that trimmed the lead, 31-25.
Simon Atkins shot five straight points to open the third period to cut the lead, 33-36, but Baclao unleashed his own 7-0 blast, capped by a triple to swing the momentum back to the Eagles.
The Archers, who were way below their average of 78 points per game, hit just 34 percent of their 71 shots as the Eagles held them to their worst shooting night this season.
Typifying the Archers' struggle was main man JV Casio, who was limited to five points on 2-of-16 shooting.
"Things like that happen," coach Franz Pumaren said of Casio's performance.
Despite the loss that dropped them into a playoff against Far Eastern U for the twice-to-beat edge in the Final Four, Pumaren said he is confident that the Archers will make it to the finals.
The blockbuster duel was witnessed by a crowd of 22,136. The demand for tickets was so high that a patron seat fetched P7,000 in the black market on Saturday morning.
The National Bureau of Investigation reported the arrest of 15 "scalpers" outside the Araneta Coliseum.
The Scores:
Ateneo 65 -- Al-Hussaini 18, Baclao 11, Reyes 10, Tiu 9, Salamat 8, Baldos 4, Escueta 3, Buenafe 2, Salva 0, Burke 0, Austria 0.
La Salle 57 -- Maierhofer 16, Atkins 9, Barua 8, Malabes 7, Casio 5, Villanueva 4, Mangahas 4, Walsham 2, Ferdinand 2, Webb 0, Revilla 0, Hyram 0.
Quarters: 21-12, 36-28, 54-41, 65-57.
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