Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Ateneo, the top-seeded team in the UAAP Season 80 men’s basketball tournament, displayed an unabashed confidence minutes before it faced Far Eastern University in the Final Four.
The Blue Eagles were loose as they ran and jumped around in the back area of Smart Araneta Coliseum, and they needed just one win to advance to the Finals and face off against defending champion De La Salle.
FEU, though, had other plans in mind as the fourth-seeded Tamaraws derailed the Blue Eagles’ march to the finals, 80-67.
READ: Tamaraws force deciding game, stun Blue Eagles
“We weren’t ourselves and FEU played great,” said Ateneo forward Thirdy Ravena.
“It was a different FEU and we have to prepare for that and it’s going to be the same on Wednesday. They’re going to play with more intensity so we have to prepare.”
FEU managed to limit Ateneo to a paltry 26-of-71 shooting while going 31-of-63.
The Tamaraws outplayed the Blue Eagles in the third quarter as they went on a 20-6 run that saw them take a 58-44 lead and never looked back.
“Of course, it’s sad that we lost,” said Ateneo’s Mike Nieto in Filipino. “That’s life, you just have to move on especially now we’re in a tough position. “I think we weren’t us who played in the game earlier and we weren’t in the moment. We didn’t enjoy the game a while back.”