MANILA, Philippines – Fourth-seed National University knocked off No. 1 Ateneo, 65-63, to barge into the Finals for the first time in 44 years in the UAAP Season 77 men’s basketball tournament Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Gelo Alolino scored the Bulldogs’ last five points, a game-tying three-pointer with 2:01 left and two pressure-packed free throws with 9.3 ticks remaining.
Alfred Aroga preserved NU’s win after a block on a layup attempt by Season MVP Kiefer Ravena as time ran out.
NU, which became just the second fourth seed to make the championship since the Final Four format was introduced in 1994, will face either No. 2 Far Eastern University or defending champion De La Salle in a best-of-three championship duel which starts on Saturday.
The end game took a bizarre turn when at 9.3 seconds the lights dimmed at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, forcing the officials to stop play. It took about 20 minutes before the lights were restored to normal.
In a statement, the Araneta Group said: “The power fluctuation during the game was due to severe weather conditions outside. Circuits of the whole Cubao and Kamuning area were affected.”
The Bulldogs, who were ousted last year by the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers as the top seed, forced a rubber match following a 78-74 win last Saturday.
The Blue Eagles dropped to 0-6 against the Bulldogs since last season.
The last time NU played in the finals was back in 1970 when it lost to University of the East.
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