TRIPLE overtimes, as expected, are rare.
So rare that upon checking with UAAP statistician Pong Ducanes, there seems to be no record of a men's basketball game going to three overtimes until Saturday.
That means that University of Santo Tomas' thrilling 98-89 triple overtime victory over Ateneo at the Blue Eagle Gym was the first in the men's division - at least in the Final Four era.
READ: UST raids Jared's house, ruins Ateneo homecoming in 3OT classic
Initially billed as Forthsky Padrigao's homecoming to Katipunan, the UST-Ateneo duel actually offered more - from the late-game takeover of Collins Akowe and Nic Cabañero and this season's coming-out party for Gelo Crisostomo to Jared Bahay giving his all to protect homecourt.
Easily, this was the best game of Season 88 to date.
It was a true battle of attrition between two elite sides which refused to give up until one team just had no gas left in its tank.
Fight for-e-ver!
Research conducted by SPIN.ph also showed that since 2010, there were only three games across all basketball divisions that went as long as 55 minutes - with this tiff being the latest, of course.
The last time it happened was Oct. 6, 2018 in the women's division when Far Eastern University, behind Valerie Mamaril and Camille Taguiam, got the better of Grace Irebu-led UST, 91-87, after three extensions back in Season 81.
But that was an elimination match.
The highest stakes happened exactly 13 years ago, back in Oct. 11, 2012 in Game Three of the Season 75 juniors finals where FEU earned the 113-109 3OT triumph over National U.
JJ Domingo stole the show for the Jerie Pingoy-led Baby Tamaraws, as he hit the crucial treys in the clutch to finally subdue the Bullpups bannered by Hubert Cani, Ralph Atangan, and Exi Biteng.
The same research also showed that in those 15 years, there have only been six double overtime games in the men's division.
The last was in Season 78 when Kiefer Ravena came to Ateneo's rescue in a 74-70 escape against the NU side of Alfred Aroga and Gelo Alolino back in Sept. 16, 2015.
Curiously, Season 76 in 2013 had the most OT games for the men, with eight matches needing extra time.
Of those eight, two were double overtime games: a 98-94 FEU win over University of the East highlighted by Terrence Romeo's 30-point explosion in Aug. 25, 2013 then UST's 79-78 victory vs. FEU behind Karim Abdul's might in Sept. 1, 2013.
And that tournament also had to end in overtime, as La Salle emerged victorious over UST, 71-69, in Game Three of their championship series.
As for the year with most additional time in the seniors division, it was in Season 86 in 2023 when there were a total of 11 - seven men's and four women's games which all needed extra frames.
Ateneo and FEU played the most overtime games that season in the men's side with three each, while La Salle and UST had two apiece in the women's division.
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