Hot Eagles pull off ‘three-peat’

MANILA—A PERFECT ENDING to an imperfect start to the season. Despite treading a less dominant path to the championship this year, Ateneo romped to a historic third straight crown after sweeping Far Eastern University, 65-62, in Game 2 of the 73rd UAAP men’s basketball Finals yesterday at the jampacked Araneta Coliseum. Ryan Buenafe carried the Blue Eagles on his shoulders in the last seven minutes against an FEU squad that came out fighting this time, despite the absence of coach Glenn Capacio for the entire second half due to health reasons. “Definitely this is the most difficult championship we’ve won in the last three years,” said Ateneo coach Norman Black. “There were doubters and there were critics, but luckily for me, my players have big hearts.” Buenafe—criticized for most of the season for the extra pounds he gained this year— shattered a 54-all tie by drilling 10 straight points, capped by a triple that gave the Eagles a 64-59 advantage with 22.1 seconds left. “Ryan was shooting five percent from three-point land,” said Black. “I didn’t stop him, but I didn’t encourage it either. He had a lot of confidence that he can take that shot.” The Tamaraws, the top seeds who were surprisingly blown away in Game 1, 72-49, earlier had a chance to tie the game after veteran swingman Paul Sanga drew a foul from Ateneo’s Frank Golla at the three-point area with 43.6 seconds left.  But with the Eagles leading at 61-58, Sanga nailed only one of three free throws, before Buenafe buried the dagger trey in front of a star-studded crowd of 17,215. Buenafe, a junior forward who also won a three-peat with the San Sebastian Staglets in the NCAA, wound up with a personal season-best 23 points and six rebounds to capture the Finals Most Valuable Player award.  Capacio’s blood pressure shot up late in the second period and his assistants had to take over for the rest of the game. “In the last few minutes of the second quarter, when he complained to the referee, he suddenly felt dizzy,” FEU athletic director Mark Molina said of Capacio, who was rushed to Medical City in Pasig. “At halftime at the dugout, he already told his assistants to talk to the team. He said he’ll try to recover, but his blood pressure was too high. It was his decision to remain in the dugout in the second half.” The Eagles had no turnovers in the first three quarters, before finishing with just a total of five. It was the Blue Eagles’ first three-peat and also sixth overall title since joining the league in 1978. “I don’t want to insult my former players but this is by far the most gratifying championship we’ve had here in Ateneo,” said Black of his Eagles, who had more elimination losses this year than the last two seasons combined. “In the biggest stages, our team really came together and our team pulled it off,” said American guard Kirk Long, who starred in the Eagles’ surprise  whipping of the Tamaraws in Game 1 last Saturday. The Tamaraws, though, came out with a fiery start this time, opening with a 12-4 run and building the lead to 22-13 by the end of the first quarter. Emman Monfort added 10 points and three assists, while Nico Salva added nine markers.  Earlier, Adamson survived FEU’s gritty stand to hack out a 56-54 Game 2 triumph and capture its second straight championship. Anna Buendia  drilled 21 points, including two buffer free throws with 24.7 seconds left that lifted the Lady Falcons, 56-52, after Karen Columna’s triple pushed the Lady Tamaraws within a bucket, 54-52. Amby Almazan, the season and Finals MVP, capped her stint with the Lady Falcons with 18 points, 14 rebounds and three steals. She averaged 13.5 points, 12 boards and 2.5 steals in the Lady Falcons’ series sweep of the top-seeded Lady Tamaraws. FEU’s Terrence Romeo, who fired  83 points in one game as a Baby Tam last year, also bagged the Rookie of the Year plum. The 5-foot-10 Garcia was also named to the Mythical Team along with teammate  Aldrech Ramos (11.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.1 blocks), National U’s Emmanuel Mbe (13.4 points, 11.7 boards, 1.2 blocks) and the University of the East duo of Paul Lee (14.4 markers, 6.7 boards,  4.6 assists, 2.0 steals) and Ken Acibar (11.6 points, third rebounds 9.0, 1.4 blocks).  Photo by Celest Flores
The scores:
First Game (Women’s)
ADAMSON 56—Buendia 21, Almazan 18, Sandel 8, Bernardo 4, Mangahas 3, Roque 2, Penaranda 0, Ortega 0.
FEU 54—Lim 18, Palmera 16, Columna 7, Supnet 5, Positos 4, Soriano 2, Borja 2, Tiu 0, Sicat 0, Astrero 0.
Quarters: 10-14, 26-24, 39-36, 56-54
Second Game (Srs)
ATENEO 65—Buenafe 23, Monfort 10, Salva 9, Long 7, Chua 7, Salamat 3, Golla 3, Escueta 2, Austria 1, Erram 0, Gonzaga 0, De Chavez 0. 
FEU 62—Cervantes 15, Sanga 13, Ramos 9, Cawaling 8, Noundou 6, Garcia 6, Romeo 2, Exciminiano 2, Bringas 1, Cruz 0, Guerrero 0.

Quarters: 13-22, 30-31, 52-50, 65-62