Ateneo forces rubber
By: Zean Macamay
People's Journal
September 28, 2007
Game on Sunday:
(Araneta Coliseum)
3:00 p.m. -- De La Salle vs Ateneo
Always remember that there’s a Chris Tiu to save the day and the season for Ateneo.
The charismatic guard scored five of Ateneo’s last seven points and the Blue Eagles turned what looked like a lost game into an epic 65-64 victory over De La Salle, forcing a sudden-death match with the Archers on Sunday for the last Finals berth in the UAAP men’s basketball championships.
Struggling for most part of the stepladder semifinal game yesterday, Tiu finally hit form at the right moment, drilling in a triple that moved Ateneo within 61-64 before capping his brilliance with a squeezing lay-up for the final count with 7.3 seconds left.
In between those plays by Tiu, Ford Arao converted a basket as the shot-clock was winding down, before the Blue Eagles pulled through with a defensive stop.
The Archers had all the chance to get away with the win and set up once and for all a best-of-three titular showdown with University of the East in the last seven seconds.
After the timeout, TY Tang inbounded the ball, dished out the pass to JV Casio, who then dribbled towards the basket. But he was forced to pass it to Bader Malabes on the left corner after being hounded.
Malabes launched a three-point attempt, and the 16,000 that came to watch the game at the Araneta Coliseum froze as the ball sailed through the air. The ball hit the rim hard and bounced off, giving Ateneo the win that was totally unimaginable a few moments before.
“We get another chance to fight,” said Ateneo coach Norman Black. “As I’ve said, these teams are evenly matched. I don’t find any advantage going into Sunday’s game. Luckily for us, Chris was there for the big baskets, and our defense in the stretch was the key.”
On Sunday, the Eagles and the Archers will clash for the fifth time this season, the winner advancing to face the Red Warriors who had been on a long respite now after sweeping the 14-game elimination round.
Arao collected 19 points on 50 percent shooting (7-of-14) and Tiu added 14 points and 4 assists for the Eagles, who got away with the win despite having 25 errors.
Severino Baclao contributed 8 points and 9 rebounds for Ateneo, which shot better than the Archers from the field (46.9 percent to 34.9).
Birthday boy TY Tang led all scorers with 20 points and Casio added 11 for the Archers, who scored 20 turnover points.
It was a loss that certainly would cause so much pain for the Archers, who appeared to have sealed the outcome of the game with a 63-58 lead with a little over two minutes left in the match.
But Tiu finally hit Ateneo’s only triple for the night in the last 1:57, before PJ Walsham had a bad three-point shot miss for La Salle that led to Arao’s basket.
La Salle failed to handle the pressure of making a shot in the return play, with Malabes bungling a fall-away jumper that set up the game-winning shot from Tiu.
Meantime, the UAAP Board denied the appeal of De La Salle’s Bryan Ilad to reduce his six-game suspension to three games.
The scores:
Ateneo (65) - Arao 17, Tiu 14, Baclao 8, Salamat 8, Al-Hussaini 5, Baldos 5, Barracoso 4, Long 3, Austria 0, Escueta 0, Reyes 0, Laterre 0.
La Salle (64) - Tang 20, Casio 11, Malabes 7, Villanueva 7, Maierhofer 7, Cua 7, Walsham 5, Atkins 0, Ferdinand 0, Co 0, Barua 0.
Quarterscores: 15-16; 30-31; 47-52; 65-64.
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