Ateneo clinches historic 4-peat

Manila, Philippines – Mission accomplished.

Defending champion Ateneo de Manila University rewrote its basketball history on Satuday as the pumped up Eagles trounced a gutless Far Eastern University (FEU), 82-69, to claim a rare four-peat before a predominantly blue-and-white crowd in Game 2 of the 74th UAAP men’s basketball finals at the jampacked Araneta Coliseum.

“I feel great. This team has a lot of championship experience and it showed today. Beating FEU wasn’t easy but we made it happen,” said Ateneo coach Norman Black who became the fourth coach in league history to win four straight titles.

Black, Ateneo’s sixth-year mentor, joined that elite cast of four-peat winners led by the legendary Virgilio “Baby” Dalupan, Aric del Rosario, and Franz Pumaren.

Dalupan was the first to achieve a four-peat with University of the East from 1965-1968 before winning three more titles from 1969 to 1971 to complete a seven-peat. Del Rosario coached University of Santo Tomas to four consecutive titles from 1993 to 1996 while Pumaren became the first bench tactician to four-peat in the Final Four era with De La Salle University from 1998 to 2001.

More importantly, Ateneo became the first host to win a basketball championship in the Final Four era.

“We just wanted to be known as the best college program in the country and winning today perhaps is the best testament to that.”

Indeed, the Eagles proved this beyond question as they baffled the Tamaraws with fluid ball movement and a solid rotation that FEU’s big guns found hard to crack all game long.

Rookie of the Year Kiefer Ravena scored a game-high 18 points while Finals MVP Nico Salva added 15 to lead the starters’ onslaught for the Eagles.

Greg Slaughter, who sat majority of the second period due to foul trouble, also figured well for the Eagles with 11 points and six rebounds.

But it was Ateneo’s second unit that kept the Eagles above ground against the highly physical Tamaraws, who looked tentative and at times erratic on both cylinders.

“I told them to keep their heads up and to move quickly because FEU is playing them more physical,” Black said.

Efficient second unit
Juami Tingson, who subbed for the foul-plagued Emman Monfort deep into the second quarter, again typified Ateneo’s off-the-bench firepower as he racked up 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting in just 10 minutes of play.

Tonino Gonzaga also made his presence felt on the defensive end as he shadowed FEU hotshot RR Garcia’s path to the basket throughout the contest. His three-point play off a drive against Russell Escoto capped a 14-2 Ateneo run that restored the Eagles’ double-digit advantage, 49-38, with 3:54 left in the third period.

Gonzaga’s only triple for his sixth point of the day going into the final quarter propelled the Eagles to a commanding 57-43 margin that sent the Ateneo faithful among the 18, 817-strong crowd in uproar.

“Many are criticizing me for playing my second unit more often. It’s because I want them to develop and be more involved with the system and in some instances take charge along with the other starters.”

Monfort, Ateneo’s graduating playmaker, Salva and Greg Slaughter finished the job for the mighty Eagles, who conspired in a 10-2 wind-up to give the Eagles an insurmountable 75-55 lead with still 4:12 remaining that all but settled the final outcome.

“We did a much better job of moving without the ball, setting our pick-and-roll plays and getting the ball back to Greg in the post,” Black said. “We just shared the ball better.”

FEU, which played miserably in the second half like in Game 1, normed a woeful 31.6 percent (24 of 76) shooting, including a forgettable 2-of-20 (10 percent) clip from three-point range.

Aldrech Ramos and Garcia proved to be the only bright spots in FEU’s offense as the rest of the Tamaraws fumbled under the weight of Ateneo’s torrid assault.

Ramos highlighted his last UAAP game with 20 points, including 11 in the first half, on top of 13 rebounds and a block, while Garcia tallied 16 markers but shot 5-of-15 (33 percent) from the field.

Sophomore Terrence Romeo, who led FEU in Game 1 was hardly a factor for the Tamaraws as he shot an atrocious 2-of-17, including 0-of-4 from beyond the arc to wound up with only seven points.

Ateneo looked poised to blow FEU off the grid with a 28-18 lead to open the second quarter. But the Tamaraws, who negated their ball movement for wild individual plays back in the first period, slowly regained their cohesion and uncorked a fiery 18-7 run to grab the upperhand, 36-35, entering the halftime break.

The scores:
ADMU 82 – Ravena 18, Salva 15, Slaughter 11, Tiongson 11, Monfort 9, Gonzaga 6, Long 5, Chua 5, Erram 2, Pessumal 0, Sumalinog 0, Golla 0, Austria 0.

FEU 69 – Ramos 11, Garcia 16, Tolomia 7, Romeo 7, Escoto 4, Bringas 4, Exciminiano 4, Foronda 3, Cruz 2, Noundou 2, Pogoy 0, Mendoza 0, Knuttel 0.

Quarter scores: 23-18, 35-36, 57-45, 82-69.

SIDELIGHTS: FEU's Cameroonian import Pippo Noundou, who sat out  for the entire regular season due to an ACL injury, capped his final year with the Tamaraws by playing a minute and scoring two points on an open lay-up.

Kirk Long, who was one of two graduating Ateneo players (the other being Bacon Austria) to win four straight titles, was described by Black as "by far the best defensive player" for the Eagles in the last four years during the post-game interview.

Ateneo has only lost one Game 2 encounter in its last four championships, bowing to UE, 68-88, in the 2008 Finals. Its other Game 2 loss in a title match came at the hands of UST (71-87) back in the 2006 Finals.