UST holds off Ateneo in UniGames, arranges semis tiff with NU

MANILA, Philippines—University of Santo Tomas fought off a furious fourth-quarter fightback by Ateneo—a fightback  to hang on to a 68-65 win and advance to the men’s basketball semifinals in the 18th Philippine UniGames at the USLS Coliseum in Bacolod City.

The Blue Eagles came back from 15 points down late but only to fall short in the waning seconds with star guard Kiefer Ravena turning the ball over before Growling Tigers’ forward Kevin Ferrer sank a free throw with 2.4 seconds left to push the Tigers’ lead to three.

Ateneo had the chance to tie and extend the game but rookie Fran Asuncion misfired on a three-point attempt as time ran out.

UST will face National University in the Final Four Monday sans Ferrer, who had to return to Manila due to prior commitments.

The Bulldogs scored an 84-69 rout of University of St. La Salle in the quarterfinals.

In the other men’s basketball results, University of Visayas beat University of San Carlos, 74-56, to setup a semis showdown with Ateneo-B, which repelled West Negros University, 79-71.

Meanwhile, UST bounced back from its five-set loss to Far Eastern University at the end of elimination round by ousting University of St. La Salle, 25-20, 25-21, 25-23, to clinch a spot in the semis.

The Lady Tamaraws also secured a Final Four berth with a 25-21, 21-25, 25-22, 25-18 victory over University of the Philippines.

FEU will face reigning three-time UAAP champion De La Salle, which handily beat NU, 25-21, 25-20, 25-18.

Earlier, the Green Archers swept the men’s and women’s chess titles while the Tamaraws ruled the men’s and women’s athletics events. College of Saint Benilde topped women’s taekwondo.