Blue Eagles secure 4- peat

Four the record:

The Ateneo Blue Eagles win their 4th straight title

After an emotional win against the rebuilding De La Salle University team in the 2003 UAAP Final Four, Wesley Gonzalez recounts that they were all spent when they met the Far Eastern University Tamaraws for the Men’s Basketball Title of the 66th UAAP Season. The Blue Eagles then bannered by Gonzales, 2 Time UAAP MVP Rich Alvarez, Paolo Bugia, Larry Fonacier, LA Tenorio and a freshman named Chris Tiu were all physically and emotionally spent after winning over the De La Salle Green Archers after two close games in the final four. After that Tuesday game, the Blue Eagles needed some rest and were asking for a reset of the finals from the host school since Game 1 will immediately start two days after their final four win. Unfortunately, the host school did not grant them their request so the original schedule was followed and the finals went on with the Blue Eagles losing to the FEU Tamaraws in what is known as the most lopsided finals meltdown in the final four era. The host that season was the Ateneo.

The Finals MVP: Nico Salva

Eight seasons from that monumental meltdown, the Ateneo Blue Eagles finally exacted revenge as the favored team in Blue waylaid the mighty Far Eastern University Tamaraws 82 – 69 to win game 2 of the 74th UAAP Basketball Senior’s division finals and capture their fourth straight UAAP championship. Standing tall in their twin victories is fourth year forward Nico Salva who scored 24 points in the first game and followed it up with a 15 point five rebounds and two assists effort in this game. Leading the team in scoring is the phenomenal super rookie Kiefer Ravena who topscored with 18 points and also had six rebounds and two assists as the Season 74 Rookie of the year ran rings around his defenders.

Captain Kirk challenges Aldrech

The first quarter was another show me what you got stage which is reminiscent of every Ateneo-FEU game. Both teams were fighting toe to toe with neither team giving some leeway with Kiefer Ravena and Nico Salva making things happen for the Blue Eagles while Aldrech Ramos was carrying the fight for the Tamaraws. Unfortunately for the Tamaraws the Ateneo second unit caught fire as they closed out the first quarter with great defense and precise shooting to end the first quarter on top 23 – 18.

The Phenom scores

The second quarter continued with Juami Tiongson scoring five straight points on a three pointer and a tear drop to give the Eagles a 28 - 18 lead with still 8:14 to go in the quarter. That spurt awakened the Tamaraws as they went on a defensive rampage that limited the Blue Eagles to taking jumpshots and missing. Aldrech Ramos carried the Tamaraws on his shoulders and brought them back as he teamed up with RR Garcia to close the half on top 36 -35.

Kiefer scores on a fade away

Coach Norman Black said in his post game interview that he was holding back in the first half so that when he comes out with guns blazing in the second half it will take the Tamaraws a harder time to react. The Blue Eagles tigthened their defense once again and started out a 14 – 2 run to control the third quarter and the game as the Blue Eagles opened up a 49 – 38 lead with 3: 54 left in the quarter after Tonino Gonzaga raced down the court to score on a three point play.

Justin Chua on the lay up

That play signalled the end for the Tamaraws as the surge of the Blue Eagles was so hard to contain and their defense too hard to breach. Because of that the fourth quarter became moot and academic as the Tamaraws never really got closer. The lead even ballooned to 19 points with two minutes left as the Blue Eagle faithfuls were celebrating with the Eagles on top 76 - 57. Playing his last year in the UAAP, Pipo Nondou made a brief appearance with less than two minutes left as he played for the first time this season, but his appearance hardly mattered for there was nothing that was going to deny the Blue Eagles of their impending victory.

Kirk scores on the lay in

The four-peat made the Blue Eagles join the UE Red Warriors (1965 – 71) UST Growling Tigers (1993 - 1996) and DLSU Green Archers (1998 - 2001) as the only teams that won four straight. At the same time their seven titles over-all ties them with the De La Salle Green Archers and trails the UE Warriors who has 18 titles, the FEU Tamaraws that has won 17 and the UST Tigers with 16 titles. Adding the 14 titles that the Blue Eagles won in the NCAA, the Blue Eagles have now won a combined 24 league titles – the most in Philippine Collegiate basketball.

Nico Salva scores on a runner

The Ateneo community clearly outnumberd the FEU faithfuls as 70% of the 18,423 fans that filled the Smart Araneta Coliseum were all clad in Blue and White to witness this monumental beat up that Blue Eagle fans have been waiting for years. This win can be dedicated by the Blue Eagles to their brothers who got beaten up in 2003. Year in and year out, the captains of the Blue Eagles would lead by example and pass on the tradition that has been what being a Blue Eagle is all about. The Ateneo community will surely miss the three captains, Emman Monfort, Kirk Long and Bacon Austria for they are the living example that defense wins championships. This marks the second time the Blue Eagles copped the Seniors title as hosts with the last coming in 1987 and another one would have been won in 2003 had the schedule been nicer to the host school like this this year. Congratulations to the Ateneo Blue Eagles, stay tune for our drive for five!

Greg Slaughter for two

The scores:

Ateneo de Manila (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

Far Eastern University (69)

Ramos 20, 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 scoring: 23-18, 35-36, 57-45, 82-69

Holding on to the

7th UAAP Trophy of the Blue Eagles

Dejavu: Eagles rout Tams anew

No this is not the patintero -

this is the pick and roll of the Blue Eagles

In 2009 FEU Center Aldrech Ramos put up numbers that almost gave him the UAAP MVP of that Season, his exemplary season earned him a spot for the SMART Gilas team. The following year it was his team mate RR Garcia who pocketed the MVP as he led the Tams to the finals. Both players led the Tamaraws to the much needed wins to get another finals berth and were tasked to put up good numbers for the Tamaraws to overcome the three time defending champion Ateneo Blue Eagles.

The Phenom glides to the basket

The Blue Eagles had no stars who could match up to their numbers but only had one thing going for them which is no secret to the whole league – their team defense. The Blue Eagles limited the high scoring pair as Ramos scored 9 points and pulled down only three rebounds while Garcia missed all seven of his three point attempts to settle for six points. This is the signature defensive game that the Blue Eagles have employed in all its finals games since 2008 as the Blue Eagles swoop down on the hapless FEU Tamaraws enroute to a convincing 82 – 64 win in Game 1 of the Best of three series for the 74th UAAP Basketball Tournament.

Nico Salva three pointer

The Blue Eagles started hot by scoring six straight points in the opening two minutes as Greg Slaughter scored on an inside feed, Nico Salva on a runner and Kiefer Ravena on a baseline jumper to give the Blue Eagles an early 6 – 0 lead that led to the first ceasefire called by the Tamaraws. The Tams regrouped and countered with their own 6 – 0 run with RR Garcia scoring off a jumper and Sophomore Guard Terrence Romeo canning two jumpers that tied the count at 6 – 6 with six minutes left.

One of three Greg Slaughter dunks

The reason the Tams sued time as early as the first two minutes is to make sure that the first quarter meltdown of the Tams last year won’t happen again and that is is hard to play catch up with the Blue Eagles. The Tams pounced on the Blue Eagles once more to end the quarter on top 19 -14. Terrence Romeo scored 10 first quarter points to pace the Morayta based Tamaraws that weathered the early Ateneo avalanche on points.

Nico dunks the ball as well

The second quarter controlled the game early as the tandem of Chris Tolomia and Rusell Escoto provided additional scoring to the Tamaraws as Ramos, Garcia and Exciminiano combined to give the Tams their biggest lead 28 – 18 with four minutes left in the half. In came the game changer – Mr. Jepoy Erram. Erram’s intimidating presence was felt after he blocked the shot of Tolomia that sent a message to the Tamaraws. The Blue Eagles finally got their game going as as their defense forced the Tamaraws to turnovers which Nico Salva and Kiefer Ravena took advantage by scoring on avalanche of points to preside over a crippling 12 – 0 run to give the Blue Eagles the upperhand 30 – 28. Chris Tolomia scored on a three pointer to give back the lead to the Tams and the half ended with both teams tied 33 – all.

Captain Kirk

" Beam me up Scottie"

The third quarter started with Captain Kirk Long coming alive by finally showing the chink in Terrence Romeo’s defense. Kirk exploited that match up that made the Tams adjust right away. Long scored 6 points to counter the hot shooting Romeo as both teams fought nail to nail until the final stand still at 45 – all. Just when the Tams thought they had the Blue Eagles covered the three time champions made a decisive run in the last five minutes and the proud fighting Tamaraws never knew what hit them. Nico Salva sank four free throws, scored on a runner and capped it out with a dunk shot to preside over a remarkable 20 – 4 run that the Blue Eagles used to end the third quarter on top 60 – 49 and in more importantly was in full control of the game.

Exciminiano Kieferized!

There was no more looking back for the Eagles in the fourth quarter as the Salva put the icing on the cake by scoring six points, Monfort finally hitting a three pointer and Greg Slaughter dunking the ball twice on two great feeds from Ravena and an alley-oop from Long. The biggest lead of the game was established at the 1:43 mark with the Blue Eagles opening a 78 – 58 lead. Dejavu. The Blue Eagles blew out the Tamaraws just like in 2010 with good defense and great teamwork.

Another Kiefer Basket

The gorgeous 80’s beauty Bo Derek once came out with the number 10 as the perfect number. But today, the perfect game was dished out by the Blue Eagles’ number eight as he went eight for eight for both on field goals and on free throws which is the first perfect game in a championship by an Atenean as the fourth year forward never missed a shot which is just shows that he has taken the lead role for the Blue Eagles in the finals.

A floater by Juami Tiongson

Game two is on Tuesday, the only time that the finals will be held on a Tuesday. This a chance for the Blue Eagles to avenge the losses of the Blue Eaglets that lost out in the final 4 to the Baby Tamaraws and to the Grade School SBP team which lost out to Lourdes in the SBP semifinals. The past three years, all three teams won in their respective divisions, now it will only be the Blue Eagles who is on the brink of setting a school record. Go Ateneo One Big Fight!

Justin Chua for two

The scores:

Ateneo de Manila (82)

Salva 24, Ravena 17, Slaughter 12, Monfort 11, Long 8, Erram 4, Tiongson 4, Chua 2, Gonzaga 0, Golla 0, Austria 0

Far Eastern University (64)

Romeo 23, Escoto 12, Ramos 9, Garcia 6, Exciminiano 6, Tolomia 5, Pogoy 2, Cruz 1, Sentcheu 0, Bringas 0

Quarter scoring: 14-19, 33-33, 60-49, 82-64

The look on the FEU Bench - Priceless

Adamson spoils Ateneo's sweep

The Adamson Crowd came in droves

There has been a lot that has happened in the past fourteen years in the UAAP. Ateneo has won 4 championships in that span while UST has gone from a final four team to a not so good team and then a champion team. UE has gone up and down a lot of times while DLSU got their share of the player scandals and you can also say the same with FEU, NU has risen from the bottom to become a darkhorse team while UP has gotten two 0 -14 seasons. For the Adamson Falcons, they had their own share of ups and downs and one of their priorities is to end a streak that has been hounding them the past 14 years, their 14 game losing streak agains the Ateneo Blue Eagles. Today, Coach Leo Austria finally found the right formula to will his team to a convincing 62 – 46 win against the sweep seeking Blue Eagles.

Slaughter was double teamed relentlessly

“I noticed that during the round robin that the Blue Eagles were quite tight, different and there was no fire in their eyes!” That was a good observation of the Falcons mentor as the all-business Falcons pounded on the Blue Eagles from the opening minute until the final horn as they led from start to finish to carve out their historic win. Lester Alvarez paced the Falcons in the opening quarter as he was virtually unstoppable as every defense the Blue Eagles threw on him did not work as Alvarez burned the Eagles for 10 first quarter point, as a matter of fact he had more points than the Ateneo team as the Falcons seized control of the first quarter by getting a 14 - 8 lead.

The Phenom was shadowed by bigger guards

Right when the Blue Eagles were about to take the lead after Bacon Austria was awarded two free throws on a foul with the Falcons on top 16 – 15, the Eagles were denied once again as Austria missed his two free throws and the Falcons starring Alex Nuyles surged ahead once again to take a precarious 27 – 24 lead at the half. At the start of the third quarter, the Blue Eagles hopefuls were waiting for a run that would give the Ateneo team control of the game. Unfortunately for them it was the Falcons that came out more determined and relentless on their defense in the third quarter. The Falcons limited the Eagles to 7 third quarter points while soaring to 23 themselves. Their defense and the offensive onslaught led by Alex Nuyles catapulted the Falcons to an insurmountable 50 – 31 lead.

Kirk Long scores

In the fourth quarter, the Eagles were still waiting for the Falcons fourth quarter meltdown but unfortunately for them that never came. Lester Alvarez was cramped out in the fourth quarter but the rest of the Falcons stayed focus as the Blue Eagles were shooting blanks and in the end the Falcons just clearly outhustled the Blue Eagles. Today, the Falcon soared higher than the Eagle. With this win, the final four will be set with the Eagles still at #1, the Falcons solidified their claim at # 2 while FEU and UST will fight it out for # 3 and 4.

A dunk by Slaughter

THE SCORES:

ADAMSON (62)

Nuyles 21, Alvarez 14, Camson 6, Manyara 4, Brondial 4, Lozada 4, Colina 4, Etrone 3, Cañada 2, Cabrera 0

ATENEO (46)

Slaughter 10, Ravena 9, Long 9, Gonzaga 7, Salva 5, Monfort 4, Chua 2, Tiongson 0, Golla 0, Austria 0,

Quarterscores:

14 – 8, 27 – 24, 50 – 31, 62 - 46

Blue Eagles win #11 in the bag

Former Juniors campaigners

Frank Golla & Norberto Torres jockey for position

Greg Slaughter has been the big difference for the Ateneo Blue Eagles this season as the 7 foot wonder has been unstoppable inside and his defense quite remarkable. The De La Salle University Green Archers obviously knows this advantage and their game plan was to take out that advantage by going aggressively and strongly to the hoop to bait Slaughter to get into foul trouble. The Green Archer’s plan succeeded with Slaughter gettting two early fouls in the first quarter which prompted Coach Norman Black to sit the bigman for the rest of the first half. Unfortunately though, the Green Archers did not capitalize on that as their arch nemesis worked their way to a 79 – 62 win , the 11th straight of the Blue Eagles in the 74th Season of the UAAP.

Emman Monfort's playmaking was the key to the win

Slaughter went to the bench early and the Green Archers went inside the paint. Unfortunately, the inexplainable happened as every Green Archer offensive was either thwarted, rimmed out and just simply did not go in as the only lead the Archers had was at 5 – 4 early in the first quarter . The Blue Eagles also forced the Green Archers to turnovers that allowed them to build on an early 14-11 lead at the end of 10 minutes.

Undergoal stab by Nico

The second quarter was again another defensive game as both teams struggled on every possession given them. The Green Archers opened up the quarter with their vaunted pressure defense which the Blue Eagles easily dismantled and eventually resulted in two Tonino Gonzaga lay ups. Fourth year forward Nico Salva on the other hand awoke from the slumber that had him miss all his field goals in the game agains the Red Warriors. Salva scored six points and that was enough to stem the tide as the Green Archers had a hard time erupting or getting their smooth offensive game going. The half eventually ended with the Blue Eagles just a notch ahead 31 – 26.

Nico Salva topscored with 19 points

After the first half, the towering presence of Slaughter was again back but the Blue Eagles offense came through good defense and great transition play. The Blue Eagles capitalized on four consecutive Green Archer turnovers to erect a 42 – 29 lead. At the same time, the Green Archers missed their shots and botched their offensive plays as everyone from the Green side wanted to cut down the lead by shooting three pointers that never really got close to going in. The Blue Eagles once again spread out their offense with Emman Monfort scoring six points with four of those coming from the stripe as the team from Katipunan finally found the separation they needed to take a 53 – 42 lead with 10 minutes left to play.

Kiefer scores off Atkins

Green Archer point guard Almond Vosotros has become the comeback kid for the Green Archers as he fueled another DLSU run to start the fourth quarter. Vosotros scored on a runner off a fastbreak and then followed it up with a three pointer to cut the Ateneo lead to six 53 – 47. Tonino Gonzaga came off the screen to sink a three pointer and after a joshua Marata and Vosotros miss Slaughter and Gonzaga would score again to give the Blue Eagles more breathing room on a 60 – 46 lead and after that the Blue Eagles would never look back to chalk up win number 11 and if ever the top seeding while the Green Archers went tumbling down with their 4th consecutive loss and a 4 – 7 slate. The Green Archers are on the brink of being eliminated as their next opponents propose imminent danger. Next stop for the Blue Eagles, the UP Maroons, the NU Bulldogs and the Adamson Falcons and as they say the plot thickens! Five more wins for crown number seven.

Tonino Gonzaga was the sparkplug off the bench

This is the first time that the Blue Eagles are 11- 0 in the UAAP with a chance to sweep the league. In the 1976 NCAA the Blue Eagles went 13 - 0 and lost their last game to San Beda. The Blue Eagles eventually regained their composure then to win their 14th Title. This time, the Blue Eagles are poised to do what no Blue Eagle team has done in the past 87 years to sweep the league. Five more wins and its history for the Ateneo.

The scores:

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

De La Salle (62)

Van Opstal 13, Vosotros 9, Tampus 9, Torres 8, Revilla 6, Villanueva 6, Atkins 4, de la Paz 3, Paredes 2, Webb 2, Gotladera 0, Mendoza 0, Marata 0

Quarter scoring: 14-11, 31-26, 53-42, 79-62

Thanks Aly Yap for the pictures

Blue Eagles survive Tamaraws in overtime

The new look Kirk Long

2010 UAAP MVP Ryan Roose “RR” Garcia sank a cold blooded three pointer with 1:16 to go to give the Far Eastern University Tamaraws a 63 – 57 lead over the Ateneo Blue Eagles and was on the verge of giving the three time defending champions their first defeat in season 74 of the UAAP. In seasons 72 and 73 it can be remembered that it was the Tamaraws that inflicted the first loss of the Blue Eagles and they were banking on their depleted all hustle line up to do the trick once more as the Tamaraws controlled most of the game until the final 76 seconds of the game.

Emman defends RR

After an FEU time out and with 1:02 to play, the morayta based Tams were ready to chalk up win # 5 but unfortunately the Blue Eagles were not yet finished. The Blue Eagles showed what they can do when faced with tremendous odds and when faced with adversity. Emman Monfort stole the ball from the reigning MVP and was off to the races to convert an unmolested lay up. The Blue Eagles then forced the Tamaraws to a bad shot and in the ensuing play found rookie sensation Kiefer Ravena scoring on a drive. Then after another good defensive stop, Kiefer Ravena tied the ball game. Ravena was finding the open man but decided to drive to the basket and scored on another lay up. The Tamaraw’s final heave was met by a storm of Blue Eagles patrolling the air as their final shot, a pass by Terrence Romeo to Carl Cruz was blocked by both Salva and Slaughter as the Eagles forced the game into overtime. In overtime, the Blue Eagles got their game going and unleashed an 11 – 4 run to chalk up their 8th consecutive win 74 - 67.

Golla and Ramos jockey for position

The Blue Eagles started the game flat while the Tams were firing on all cylinders. What was more amazing for the Tamaraws was that they were missing the services of 6’10 center Christian Sentchiu and forward JR Cawaling due to various problems, both of them joined Pipo Nondou in the sidelines. But that personnel problem did not deter the hard fighting Tamaraws to control the first half as RR Garcia, who was playing to his 2010 numbers, scored at will in the second quarter as he scored 12 first half points. His offense eventually rubbed on his team mates as Carl Cruz and Rusell Escoto combined with Garcia to erect the biggest lead of the tamaraws 36 -20 in the second quarter. The Blue Eagles were firing blanks and their inside game was not in sync while the fabulous rookies Greg Slaughter and Kiefer Ravena were both in check. The Tamaraws ended the half with a baker’s dozen lead 38 – 25.

Kirk was not his usual self

but the Eagles still won

The Blue Eagles did not win seven consecutive games for nothing, at the half the coaching staff deciphered the plays ran by the Tamaraws which were the ones they used last year and not the ones they used in the first round of the UAAP. After adjusting to the plays, the Blue Eagles defense was in full throttle in the third quarter as they limited the Tamaraws to only nine points. It was in this quarter that the kid named as the Blue Mamba and is known as The Phenom went to work as he scattered seven points to jumpstart the Blue Eagle comeback and awake the Ateneo gallery which has been very silent this whole season.

Nico Salva scores

The decibel level of Ateneo’s familiar “Get that ball” and “One Big Fight” cheer was so high that it pumped up the Blue Eagles to further play better defense. Greg Slaughter woke up in the fourth quarter as the Blue Eagles went exclusively to the sleeping giant who unfortunately went 3 for 6 on three trips to the free throw line and this went on until the last 1:16 before Garcia scored his triple with the Tams on top 60 - 57.

Bringas offensive rebound

The Blue Eagles who were playing catch up the whole game and for the first time a veteran topscored for them as Nico Salva was brilliant all game long. Salva, who scored only 8 points in the Adamson game, scored in double figures for the 7th consecutive game. While the Tamarawas clamped on the rookies in the first half it was Salva who kept them at bay. At the same time, Justin Chua and Tonino Gonzaga kept the Blue Eagles in the thick of the fight when the second unit came in by scoring 9 and 6 points respectively. Expect all teams to play the way the Tamaraws played in the second round. This will just make it all the more exciting for the Blue Eagles as in every game there are different challenge that arise. Luckily there are always different heroes that rise to the occasion that always put the Blue and White on top.

Blue Eagle defense

The scores:

Ateneo (74)

Salva 18, Ravena 15, Slaughter 14, Chua 9, Monfort 7, Gonzaga 6, Long 3, Austria 2, Tiongson 0, Golla 0

FEU (67)

Garcia 17, Romeo 11, Cruz 10, Ramos 8, Escoto 7, Bringas 6, Tolomia 5, Exciminiano 3, Pogoy 0, Mendoza 0, Knuttel 0

Quarter scoring: 13-21, 25-38, 42-47, 63-63, 74-67

Thanks to Diane Moraleda (Inboundpass) and Aly Yap (Fabilioh.com) for the pictures

Ateneo vs. FEU Highlights

Thanks to Mang Tony Gallano for this video

Blue Eagles sweep first round

Ramos and Exciminiano making life harder for Slaughter

Coach Norman Black was so excited when the Ateneo Blue Eagles won their third title last year as he said on television, “If you think two years ago we had a good recruiting class, wait till next year!” Today, those words were put into action as Rookie Sensation Kiefer Ravena and another rookie Greg Slaughter scored 19 and 15 respectively to lead the three time defending champion Ateneo Blue Eagles to a masterful 69 – 49 win over last year’s runner up the Far Eastern University Tamaraws. That win gave the Blue Eagles a sweep of the first round and a two game lead of its nearest pursuers.

Nico with a runner

In the seven wins of the Blue Eagles they were led by either Slaughter or Ravena as the rookies have led the veteran laden team to the top of season 74 of the UAAP. Greg Slaughter started hot in the first quarter as he scored 5 points to lead the Blue Eagles. Unfortunately, the Tamaraws found a way to limit the 7 foot center as they sent in 6’11 Christian Sentcheu to slow him down. The ploy actually succeeded as Slaughter found it hard to post up and eventually settled for jumpers that did not go in. Both teams went toe to toe with Terrence Romeo waxing hot to score six points to pace the Tamaraws who tied the Blue Eagles 15 – all at the end of the first quarter.

Kirk scores on a lay up

Come the second quarter it was Kiefer time! After a slow start by the Blue Eagles, the Phenom went to work as he scored eight second quarter points to lead all scorers at the half. Ravena scored on the break, on the drive and on the fifteen foot line as he ignited the offense of the slumping Blue Eagles in the second quarter. While Ravena was scoring for the Ateneo, the rest of the Blue Eagles started to tighten up their defense as they put the clamps on last year’s MVP Ryan Roose Garcia. Dimunitive point guard Eman Monfort stayed with Garcia and limited the MVP to four points in the first half. At the end of 20 minutes the Blue Eagles were on top by just two baskets but it was enough considering the Blue Eagles took the best shot of the Tamaraws.

Sentcheu frustrates Slaughter

The third quarter saw the Blue Eagles tighten their defense once more as the Tamaraws had offensive droughts which led to a measly nine point third quarter for the tamaraws. With the Blue Eagles ahead 32 - 30, the Blue Eagles forced the FEU squad to misses which they translated to baskets and before you know it the Hail Mary team was lalready up by nine 39 – 30 as Greg Slaughter capped the run with a three point play with the pass coming from hi co rookie!

A steal and a lay up for the Phenom

There was a crucial incident that happened in the fourth quarter that more than sealed the fate of the Tamaraws. Last year’s rookie of the year Terrence Romeo was whistled for a foul on Monfort which he resented. He eventually put an accusing finger on the referees who was agitated by it and called him a Technical Foul. Upon hearing the referress, FEU Coach Bert Flores followed suit and was whistled for a techincal foul while Rusell Escoto was called for an unsportsmanlike foul on Slaughter that gave the Blue team another two free throws. On the possession after five of the six free throws made, fifth year guard Kirk Long sank a three pointer and in the return play Long rifled another cold blooded three to give the Blue Eagles another 11 points that made their lead balloon to twenty points which sealed the outcome of the game.

Kiefer scores on the fastbreak

Topscoring for the Blue Eagles for the third straight game is Kiefer Ravena who also added 9 rebounds, two assists and a steal. Slaughter had 15 points, 11 rebounds and a blocked shot while Nico Salva had 10 points three rebounds and three assists. On the other side it was only RR Garcia who scored 15 points as the only Tamaraw who scored in double figures as he sank 7 fourth quarter points but still shot a horrible 6 of 17 from the field. This is the third that the Blue Eagles have swept the first round but unfortunately in those years that they swept the first round the Blue Eagles never got the to win the crown. Well there will always be a first time.

The Scores:

ATENEO (69)

Ravena 19, Slaughter 15, Salva 10, Long 9, Gonzaga 4, Chua 4, Monfort 3, Sumalinog 2, Austria 2, Golla 1, Tiongson 0, Erram 0

FEU (49)

Garcia 15, Escoto 8, Romeo 8, Sentcheu 5, Ramos 5, Exciminiano 4, Tolomia 3, Cruz 1, Mendoza 0, Foronda 0, Knuttel 0, Cawaling 0

Quarter scores: 15 -15, 30 – 26, 47 – 35, 69 - 49