Eagles clip Falcons' wings, join Tams in UAAP semis

Ateneo has become the latest team to earn an early Final Four berth. But earning that feat wasn't an easy one, especially playing against a dangerous team like Adamson.

Behind Nico Salva's go-ahead basket, a number of defensive stops and a few breaks to boot, the Blue Eagles came away with a thrilling 55-52 victory over the Falcons in the 73rd men's UAAP basketball tournament on Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum. Salva put the Eagles on top, 53-52, by hitting a tough running hook shot against a pair of Adamson defenders with 1:26 remaining. Then, the Eagles made crucial the stops down the stretch to escape with the win. "What a game. It's a tough win for us," said a relieved Ateneo coach Norman Black. It was a morale-boosting victory for Ateneo, which came from a stunning 60-62 loss to University of the East on Thursday. The Warriors also snapped the Eagles' six-game winning streak. The Eagles improved their record to 9-3 to earn their 12th straight semis appearance. The victory likewise put the Eagles within striking distance of league-leading Far Eastern University Tamaraws, who lead a half-a-game edge over their closest pursuer. The Tamaraws gained the first Final Four slot, but suffered a stunning 66-80 setback at the hands of the La Salle Green Archers on Saturday. Salva finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds while Ryan Buenafe top scored with 14 points and 12 boards. American Kirk Long, who struggled against UE, came up with 10 points for Ateneo. The Eagles beat the Falcons for the 27th consecutive time - a streak that stretched for 13 years. "This is one of those games where I felt that they knew exactly anything that we wanted to do. Good thing we knew exactly what they wanted to do, too," added Black. The Blue Eagles led, 41-34, at the end of three periods, but the Falcons, behind the duo of Lester Alvarez and Alex Nuyles, stormed back to retake the lead. At one point, Alvarez uncorked a triple and Adamson went ahead, 48-44, with 4:09 remaining. But an Eman Monfort open triple put Ateneo back in front, 51-49, with 2:50 to go only for Alvarez to make the game interesting with a trey of his own for a 52-51 edge 22 seconds later. From there, it was all Ateneo. After Salva's basket, Nuyles tried to give the lead back to Adamson, but he was whistled for an offensive foul for elbowing Long with 18.6 ticks left. Monfort hit two crucial foul shots in the next play for a three-point Ateneo lead and Alvarez went for a hurried triple, but missed his bank shot. Monfort was again fouled in the next play for another trip at the foul line with 4.9 seconds to go. The 5-foot-6 guard, though, muffed both shots and Roider Cabrera hoisted a Hail Mary shot at the buzzer, but failed to hit the mark. Alvarez led Adamson with 22 points, four rebounds and two assists while Nuyles added 14 points and six boards. But Eric Camson, one of coach Leo Austria's reliable players, was held down to only three points and four rebounds due to foul trouble. A minor controversy occurred before the start of the third period after big man Jason Escueta was tossed out for technically wearing wrong shorts. Team manager Paolo Trillo said that one of the patches on Escueta's shorts fell off before tip-off, but was later sewed back. However, Adamson officials noticed it and reported it to commissioner Ato Badolato. Badolato talked with Black and Adamson counterpart Leo Austria at the scorer's table and cited league rules that the issue is not a ground for any protest although Escueta was ejected and the Falcons were awarded two free throws. "That was unfortunate, but it was difficult because we went down right away and next thing we knew, we were down, and luckily it happened at halftime and we had a lot of time to recover," said Black. - RCJ/JVP, GMANews.TV