Martinez's treys cap UE's upset of champs Eagles

In what has already been a disappointing campaign, University of the East kept its slim Final Four hopes alive by catching another big fish.

This time, UE’s next victim was no other than defending two-time champion Ateneo. With James Martinez catching fire from long range, the Red Warriors overcame a back-and-forth tussle to score a stunning 62-60 win over the three-peat seeking Blue Eagles on Thursday in the 73rd UAAP men’s basketball tournament at the Araneta Coliseum. Playing in his final year, Martinez erupted for 6-of-10 treys, including four in the fourth period, to finish with 22 points that helped the cagers from Recto win back-to-back games for the first time this season. "Yeah, you can say that," said coach Lawrence Chongson, when asked if this was the team's biggest win this season. UE improved to a 4-7 record and kept its slim chances of making the Final Four. The team is 2 1/2 games behind La Salle (6-4), in the race for the last semis spot. Ateneo fell to 8-3 and wound up tied for second to third places with Adamson. Like the Eagles, the Falcons also became a victim of the Warriors, who pulled off a stunning 71-63 triumph. "The plan was to treat this game as if there's no tomorrow. I'm sure everybody is aware that mathematically, we have a chance to make it to the Final Four depending on La Salle," said Chongson. It was somehow a personal redemption for Chongson, who faced criticisms all season long from several quarters a year after reaching the finals. "Even the university has shown its disgust (with our performance), so I thought I would exit after the season. I will at least try to go out with a bang. Beating Ateneo for the last time would be a nice present," said Chongson. Martinez put the Warriors ahead for good when he unveiled consecutive triples to put his squad up, 56-50 with 4:55 remaining. Ateneo later answered with a 7-0 spurt to get back on the driver's seat (57-56), but UE, behind Martinez' fourth triple, regained the lead at 61-57 with 1:51 to go in the game. The Eagles tried for a final push with Eman Monfort's split free throws moving Ateneo within one, 61-60, 42.4 seconds left. A Paul Lee missed shot in UE's next possession set up the cardiac finish. Kirk Long drove hard to the basket, but missed his lay up, but teammate Frank Golla grabbed the offensive rebound and went for a putback. But Lee came at the perfect place at the perfect time, stripping the ball from the hands of Golla. Lee was fouled with only four tenths of a second left. He made the first, then missed the second intentionally and the Warriors celebrated their escape act. Center Ezer Rosopa came up with yet another strong game, finishing with 12 points, eight rebounds and four blocks, while Lee had nine points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals. Eric Salamat had 16 points, including a triple that gave Ateneo its final lead, 57-56, with 2:40 left. Jason Escueta added 10 points while Justin Chua came up with nine points and 13 rebounds. After scoring 22 points in a masterful 74-57 demolition of rivals La Salle last Sunday, Long only made four markers on a paltry 1-of-9 shooting from the field. – RCJ/JVP, GMANews.TV