UAAP: Fiery Blue Eagles clobber Green Archers; Growling Tigers roar

MANILA—Ateneo easily brushed fierce rival La Salle out of the way Sunday to move within three wins of a two-round UAAP sweep and an automatic title berth.

The defending champion Blue Eagles dumped the skidding Green Archers, 79-62, and clinched the twice-to-beat Final Four bonus with their 11th straight victory in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament at the jampacked Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Although seven-foot rookie Greg Slaughter rode the bench almost the entire first half due to early foul trouble, the Eagles remained in complete control with superb efforts from Nico Salva, Kiefer Ravena and Emman Monfort.

“We have a very balanced team,” said Ateneo coach Norman Black. “Even with Greg out of the game, we can still manage to at least play well.”

Salva led the Eagles with 19 points, including back-to-back buckets that gave the defending champions their first double-digit edge, 42-29, midway in the third quarter.

Freshman star Ravena added 13 points and six rebounds and Monfort, who shot a perfect 8-of-8 from the foul line, also had 13 points on top of seven boards, six assists and two steals.

University of Santo Tomas also boosted its own Final Four drive with a 54-45 triumph over University of the East in the first game.

The Tigers bucked a woeful 28 percent shooting—the lowest by a winning team in two seasons—in clinching their sixth victory in 11 games.

Ateneo’s bench also delivered with Tonino Gonzaga getting away with a fine all-around performance of 12 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals in the blockbuster match that drew a crowd of 14,229.

“This was an easy week to get focused on because it’s La Salle,” said Black, who also picked up his 90th victory since taking over as Ateneo mentor in 2005.

“You don’t really have to motivate them much when we’re playing the La Salle team. They are our archrivals. We understood the situation coming into this game. They (Archers) really needed this game to be able to survive in this league and have a chance at the Final Four. And we just want to come out and beat them,” he added.

Asked about the sweep, Black said the team talked about it and  “we just decided that we’ll take it one game at a time.”

“If it’s there, it’s there,” added Salva.

Karim Abdul, a rookie center from Cameroon, helped the Tigers get back from a 24-30 halftime deficit before finishing with 16 points, 13 rebounds, two steals and a couple of blocks.

“We only got our rhythm in the second half,” said UST coach Pido Jarencio. “We played poor defense in the first half, we were too lazy to run, and we weren’t boxing out.”

Jeric Fortuna chipped in 11 markers, including a triple that sparked the Tigers’ run going into the final eight minutes.

The victory gave the Tigers a two-game buffer over La Salle and National University, the two teams tied for fifth place at 4-7.

“This is the momentum we were looking for,” said Jarencio.

The Tigers’ poor shooting (21 of 75 attempts) was the worst clip for a winning team since La Salle shot 27.6 percent (21-of-76) in its 64-62 overtime triumph over UST on July 26, 2009.

The Warriors bowed out of Final Four contention, along with idle University of the Philippines, with similar 2-9 records.

Ateneo held La Salle scoreless during a three-minute stretch to pull away, 42-29.

Although rookie center Arnold Van Opstal and Almond Vosotros delivered, the Archers couldn’t get any closer than seven points, 46-53, early in the fourth period.

The Archers, who have yet to win in the second round, skidded to a fourth straight loss that put their semifinal chances in peril.

“We know we’re in a tough position, so we just have to win our remaining games” said La Salle coach Dindo Pumaren.

The scores:
First Game

UST 54—Abdul 16, Fortuna 11, Pe 6, Teng 6, Camus 6, Lo 4, Ferrer 3, Afuang 2, Vigil 0, Tan 0, Sheriff 0.
UE 45—Sumido 10, Zosa 7, De Leon 5, Zamar 5, Javier 4, Sumang 2, Santos 2, Casajeros 2, Tagarda 2, Noble 2, Flores 2, Duran 2, Enguio 0.
Quarters: 13-12, 24-30, 36-37, 54-45

Second Game
ATENEO 79—Salva 19, Ravena 13, Monfort 13, Gonzaga 12, Slaughter 8, Chua 7, Long 6, Tiongson 1, Erram 0, Sumalinog 0, Golla 0, Austria 0.
LA SALLE 62—Van Opstal 13, Vosotros 9, Tampus 9, Torres 8, Revilla 6, Villanueva 6, Atkins 4, Dela Paz 3, Paredes 2, Webb 2, Gotladera 0, Mendoza 0, Marata 0.
Quarters: 14-11, 31-26, 53-42, 79-62