MANILA—Ateneo achieved something it has not done in its past three championship seasons: Sweep the first round.
The Blue Eagles, finding their lethal form just as the Far Eastern U Tamaraws lost their composure, hammered out a 69-49 rout yesterday to cap a 7-0 romp in the 74th UAAP basketball tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Standout rookies Kiefer Ravena and Greg Slaughter pumped in 19 and 15 points, respectively, as Ateneo, seeking a fourth straight championship, ended the first round without a loss for the first time since the Final Four format was applied in 1994.
Earlier, University of Santo Tomas evened its card to 3-3 following a 68-49 dumping of University of the Philippines.
In their first game since meeting in last year’s finals which Ateneo swept, the Eagles seized control in the third quarter, before finally ending the Tamaraws’ resistance with a crippling 14-0 blitz in a two-and-a-half-minute stretch in the final period.
Leading 51-42, the Blue Eagles severely punished the Tamaraws when Terrence Romeo and FEU coach Bert Flores were called for technical fouls, time down to 6:40 in the fourth period.
Emman Monfort hit three free throws for the technical fouls and Kirk Long buried a triple to extend the advantage.
The bristling stretch continued as Slaughter sank two free throws off an unsportsmanlike foul by Russel Escoto, before Long nailed another triple on the next play.
The furious windup was capped by a three-point play by Ravena, who boosted the Eagles on top, 65-42, with 3:59 remaining.
“It’s very fulfilling,” Ravena said of the Eagles’ first-round sweep. “As coach Norman (Black) said, we really want to be in this position. It’s going to get tough in the second round. We can’t relax.”
Black attributed the win to their defense, which held the Tamaraws to just 27 percent shooting and 20 turnovers.
“We haven’t been shooting the ball well but our defense has been pretty solid,” said Black, whose wards shot 35 percent for the game.
Shadowed by Emman Monfort all game long, FEU main man RR Garcia struggled on 7-of-23 shooting. He still finished with 16 points, but it wasn’t enough as the Tamaraws lost for the second straight game and dropped to 4-3.
Facing a team that posted the biggest upset of the season three days ago, the UST Tigers produced a ferocious effort on both ends, ripping the game wide open in the third period.
Jeric Fortuna sparkled anew for UST, shooting 16 points, six in the third period to spark the breakaway that saw the Tigers enjoy leads of as many as 19 points at 48-29 with 7:10 remaining.
The scores:
First Game
UST 68—Fortuna 16, Afuang 13, Abdul 8, Camus 8, Teng 7, Sherif 5, Ferrer 5, Lo 4, Pe 2, Vigil 0, Tan 0, Lao 0.
UP 49—Montecastro 9, Silungan 8, Mbah 7, Maniego 6, Romero 4, Gamboa 4, Wong 2, Fortu 2, Gomez 2, Pascual 0, Juruena 0.
Quarters: 16-12, 25-17, 45-29, 68-49
Second Game
ATENEO 69—Ravena 19, Slaughter 15, Salva 10, Long 9, Gonzaga 4, Chua 4, Monfort 3, Sumalinog 2, Austria 2, Golla 1, Erram 0, Tiongson 0.
FEU 49—Garcia 15, Escoto 8, Romeo 8, Sentcheu 5, Ramos 5, Exciminiano 4, Tolomia 3, Cruz 1, Mendoza 0, Foronda 0, Knuttel 0, Cawaling 0.
Quarters: 15-15, 30-26, 47-35, 69-49