Reigning titlist Ateneo put behind a stunning defeat to University of the Philippines and downed Far Eastern University, 85-72, to advance to the UAAP Finals for a fifth straight time Wednesday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
With nothing but redemption in their eyes, the Eagles produced one big scoring run in the second quarter and that was all they needed to pull away for good and claim the first finals berth.
La Salle, meantime, forced a do-or-die with No. 2 UP after pulling off an 83-80 win in their own semis series. The Maroons, like the Eagles, came into the game enjoying a twice-to-beat advantage for finishing No. 2 at the end of the elims.
“We honestly put things behind us,” said Ateneo coach Tab Baldwin. “We put it behind us because FEU is the only game that matters.”
Ateneo will await the winner of the UP-La Salle matchup. The best-of-three Finals will start on Sunday.
The Tamaraws were able to keep point-for-point in the first quarter, forcing the Blue Eagles to a 16-16 deadlock.
But it was all Ateneo in the second frame as it drained six triples en route to a hot shooting 33-point performance while holding FEU to 17 to build a 16-point cushion at halftime, 49-33.
That run was something the Tamaraws could not recover from with 13 the closest they could get multiple times in the fourth period.
BJ Andrade was hyper-efficient for the Blue Eagles with 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field, good for 77.8 percent, to go with three rebounds.
SJ Belangel added 14 points on 14 shots, while Gian Mamuyac had 12 points after being scoreless in their previous games.
Dave Ildefonso did it all with 11 points, six rebounds, and five assists, while Ange Kouame flirted with a triple-double, dropping nine points, 18 rebounds, and eight assists to go along with five blocks.
RJ Abarrientos paced FEU with 16 points while Emman Ojuola was the double-double monster he is with 13 points and 14 rebounds.
The scores:
ATENEO 85 Ë—Andrade 16, Belangel 14, Mamuyac 12, Ildefonso 11, Kouame 9, Daves 9, Lazaro 4, Verano 3, Koon 3, Chiu 2, Tio 2, Padrigao 0.
FEU 72 Ë— Abarrientos 16, Ojuola 13, Bienes 13, Gonzales 9, Sleat 6, Alforque 5, Tempra 4, Torres 3, Celzo 2, Sajonia 1, Coquia 0.
Quarters: 16-16, 49-33, 65-48, 85-72.