UE keeps semis chances going, ends Ateneo’s ‘twice-to-beat’ bid

Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

University of the East kept its slim Final Four hopes alive after beating Ateneo, 74-69, in the UAAP Season 78 men’s basketball tournament Saturday at Mall of Asia Arena.

Clark Derige scored all of his six fourth quarter points in the last 45.2 seconds for the Red Warriors, who will be rooting for Far Eastern University to beat National University. A win by the Bulldogs later will boot the Warriors out of semis contention.

“We’re fighting for survival. Even though we have a slim chance, we just came out and got ready against Ateneo and that’s what happened,” said UE head coach Derrick Pumaren, whose team lost a 14-point lead it built early in the third quarter. “We kept our poise in the end when we weren’t making baskets in the fourth quarter.”

A reverse layup by Derige off a broken play gave UE a five-point cushion, 67-62, with 45.2 ticks remaining. The Red Warriors sealed their fifth victory at the free throw line where they sank seven out of eight freebies in the final 32.8 seconds.

“The chance that we have, we hope we continue that in our next game. It doesn’t matter if we make it or not. We’re going all out on Wednesday,” said Pumaren.

Ateneo’s loss awarded the last twice-to-beat bonus to Far Eastern University. The Eagles settled for the No.3 spot and will head into the semifinals with a 9-5 card. University of Santo Tomas nailed the first twice-to-beat incentive last Wednesday.

The Blue Eagles went on a 28-10 run to erase the Red Warriors 14-point lead and take a 57-53 buffer going into the last four minutes. UE answered back with a 12-3 spurt led by Chris Javier to regain the lead for good, 65-60, with 1:36.

Javier, who is in his last playing year, scored 13 points and grabbed five rebounds. 

Kiefer Ravena, who leads the stats-based MVP race, shot 15 of his game-high 28 points in the fourth period to pace the Eagles, who had their five-game winning steak stopped.

The scores:

UE 74 – Derige 17, Javier 13, De Leon 10, Batiller 9, Yu 8, P. Varilla 7, Palma 6, Charcos 4, Cudal 0, Sta. Ana 0, J. Varilla 0.

ATENEO 69 – Ravena 28, Pessumal 10, Black 8, Wong 5, Capacio 4, Ikeh 4, Mi. Nieto 4, Babilonia 2, A. Tolentino 2, V. Tolentino 2, Cani 0, Gotladera 0, Pingoy 0, Go 0.

Quarters: 16-21, 35-26, 53-51, 74-69.