ATENEO’S historic UAAP winning streak is history.
University of the Philippines stood its ground in the clutch on Sunday to put an end to Ateneo’s 39-game winning streak with a pulsating 84-83 victory before a full house crowd at the Mall of Asia Arena.
James Spencer hit a clutch three-pointer, Ricci Rivero drained the marginal free throw with 22.2 seconds left before Malick Diouf grabbed the crucial rebound after a miss by Gian Mamuyac to deny Ateneo another shot at a winner.
Fouled with 1.5 seconds left, Diouf missed the two free throws but grabbed the rebound of his his own miss to complete the victory that denied the three-time champions a second successive sweep of the eliminations.
UP’s win marked the Blue Eagles’ first defeat in the UAAP since October 10, 2018 when it was beaten, 63-60, by Far Eastern University.
By denying Ateneo a sweep of the two-round eliminations, UP set the stage for a Final Four battle that will see the top-seeded Blue Eagles taking on No. 4 FEU and the Maroons taking on No. 3 seed La Salle.
UP and Ateneo will enjoy twice-to-beat advantage in the semifinal round.
Diouf steps up
Diouf had a monster game in his match-up against Ange Kouame, finishing with 18 points and 16 rebounds, while Carl Tamayo added 16 points.
James Spencer finished with 12 points, capping his performance with a three-pointer in the final 43.2 seconds to give UP the upper hand, 82-81. That set the stage for a thrilling finish as both teams swapped clutch shots in the dying moments.
Dave Ildefonso responded with a putback with 32.1 seconds to give Ateneo back the lead, before Rivero drew a foul on a side-stepping drive to the basket to earn a trip to the line for the marginal free-throws.
Rivero atoned for a couple of misses and turnovers in the final minutes with the big free throws. He finished with eight points but was a perfect 4-of-4 from the line.
UP finished the eliminations with a 12-2 record as it avenged a 90-81 loss to Ateneo in the first round. The Maroons set the tone with a 27-13 lead at the end of the first, and led by as many as 18 in the contest.
Kouame finished with 21 points, 17 rebounds, and three blocks including a slam that got the Ateneo crowd alive after giving his team a 77-75 lead.
Ildefonso and SJ Belangel scored 18 and 11 respectively including back-to-back baskets to extend the gap to four, 81-77, with 4:15 remaining, only for the Fighting Maroons to keep their poise in the endgame.
The scores:
UP 84 – Diouf 18, Tamayo 16, Spencer 12, Cansino 11, Lucero 9, Rivero 8, Cagulangan 7, Fortea 3, Alarcon 0, Webb 0, Lina 0.
Ateneo 83 – Kouame 21, Ildefonso 18, Belangel 11, Andrade 10, Verano 7, Tio 6, Koon 5, Lazaro 2, Mendoza 2, Chiu 1, Mamuyac 0.
Quarters: 27-13; 50-44; 70-67; 84-83.
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