Ateneo back in the finals after escaping UST

Ateneo’s Kirk Long gives UST’s Jeric Fortuna a pat on the head after the Blue Eagles defeated the Growling Tigers, 69-66, for a Finals’ berth in the 74th season of the UAAP. Meanwhile, Coach Pido Jarencio could only cover his face in despair after the loss Thursday, Sept. 15, 2011. AUGUST DELA CRUZ

MANILA, Philippines – Ateneo barged back into the finals of the 74th UAAP men’s basketball tournament after carving out a taut 69-66 victory over a resilient University of Santo Tomas Thursday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

The Blue Eagles, though, played far from impeccable, committing 17 turnovers, and even allowing the Growling Tigers to nearly snatch the game away in the winding seconds.

Nico Salva, one of Ateneo’s more consistent offensive threats, nailed two from the stripe with 2.7 seconds left which gave them a three-point refuge from UST’s last heave.

Star guard Jeric Fortuna did have the last shot for the Tigers but missed a contested triple from way out which could have sent the game into overtime.

“We came out to play today [Thursday],” said Ateneo coach Norman Black, who carried his squad to the finals five times in the last six.

UST trailed Ateneo for most part of the game, with the defending champions leading by as much as15 points.

Seven-foot center Greg Slaughter and Salva uncorked back-to-back buckets with 3:09 to play and pushed Ateneo to a seemingly-comfortable 65-55 buffer.

But UST, which has been missing shots all night, finally connected from beyond the arc with Chris Camus, Jeric Teng and Fortuna unleashing three straight treys.

Teng’s trey put UST within a point, 67-66, with 5.5 ticks left, after Justin Chua’s split from the charity line broke Ateneo’s scoring drought in the last three minutes.

“Luckily, our transition defense held up. UST is a tough team to be in the final four,” added Black.

Slaughter, runner-up in the MVP race, was pulled out in the last minute due to cramps but still finished with a game-best 17 points along with eight rebounds and three swats.

Kiefer Ravena, who helped repel any of UST’s spurts early in the fourth quarter, added 13 points while Salva had 12 points and four assists.

The Growling Tigers, who never overcame the Blue Eagles the entire season, put on a tough fight behind Karim Abdul’s 16 points and 16 boards, but still not enough to bring them to the finals, which they last played in in 2006.

Camus, the veteran forward, had 13 points on 3-of-4 shooting from three point area, while rookie Kevin Ferrer, who was tasked to guard Ravena all game, added 11 points.

Teng finished with 11 points while Fortuna had eight.