Coach Norman Black post game interview:
When Ateneo and La Salle clash, the world will see only green and blue.
Ateneo de Manila University enjoyed probably its sweetest victory after denying its all-time archrival De La Salle for the second time this UAAP Season 70 at the Araneta Coliseum last September 9.
Chris Tiu and Ford Arao carried Ateneo scoring 19 and 18 points respectively. Yuri Escueta also stepped up for the Blue Eagles with 16 points including a perfect 3 out of 3 three-pointers.
Rico Maierhofer boosted the Archers with a hefty 24 points, and almost became La Salle’s superhero.
Both La Salle and Ateneo fought hard till time expired but Ateneo proved to be luckier this time.
“The boys showed guts tonight,” said Caoach Norman Black after the game. “We were down the entire game. The guys showed a lot of character. All the credit goes to the boys.”
The team from Katipunan started to heat up early after Tiu’s first two baskets secured a 5-point lead for the Blue Eagles, 5-0.
The Archers however, ignited an 11-0 run in the last two minute stretch of the first period to put them in control, 18-15.
In the second period, Maierhofer lit up for the Green Archers making 9 points in this quarter alone. With 3:50 seconds left in the clock, Arao nailed 2/2 FTs to send the game into its first deadlock at 30-all.
But La Salle gained the advantage in the last two minutes before the second half to enjoy a 6-point lead, 44-38.
Coming off the bench, Escueta produced 10 points for Ateneo including back to back 18-footers in the first three minutes of the third period.
La Salle took control of the game and led up to 8 points after a shot by Walsham, 61-53, with 3:17 minutes in the 3rd quarter.
Ateneo bounced back after two three-pointers from Tiu and Eric Salamat plus a basket from Jobe Nkemakolam to cut their deficit to a single point, 65-64, after three quarters.
The Green Archers maintained their single point lead at the start of the last quarter. But a three point shot from Salamat brought the game into its second deadlock at 75-all.
The Blue Eagles stole the lead from La Salle with 3:55 minutes left to play, 77-75. But the Green Archers ceased to surrender as a Ty Tang three-pointer tied the game at 79-all.
Maierhofer completed a three point play with 2:23 minutes left to play with La Salle again up by a single point, 82-81. Ford Arao gave an immediate response that changed the lead in favor of Ateneo, 83-82.
JV Casio’s first two points came in late to claim the lead back for La Salle with 1:19 minutes remaining. However, Escueta with his sizzling hands pinned another three-pointer for a rather unstable two-point lead, 86-84 for the Blue Eagles.
With 56.6 seconds to go, Casio fearlessly drove towards the basket and got a foul for a three-point play, 87-86 for La Salle.
But sharp-shooting Tiu once again wowed the crowd after nailing a three-pointer with 16.6 seconds left in the clock for a 2-point Blue Eagle advantage.
With less than 6 seconds to go, Casio’s last jumper fell short but Maierhofer was there to grab the board for a follow-up, however, Maierhofer was a split second short and his final and supposedly winning basket was denied by the officials.
“It was a tough game,” said Coach Norman. “We just made about every shot. The problem is, they also made every shot.”
La Salle lost to Ateneo by two points, 89-87. Both teams are now tied in 2nd place with 9-4.
While Ateneo next face National University for their final match of the elimination round, La Salle’s next game would be against University of the East on Thursday.
Individual Scores:
Ateneo-89
Tiu-19, Arao-18, Esqueta-16, Salamat-15, Nkemakolam-10, REyes-4, Long-3, Baclao-2, Al-Hussaini-2, Monfort-0, Laterre-0, Barracoso-0.
La Salle-87
Maiehofer-24, Villanueva-18, Tang-15, Malabes-11, Ilad-9, Casio-5, Walsham-3, Ferdinand-2, Atkins-0, Lee-0, Mangahas-0, Cua-0, Co-0.
Quarter Scores: 15-18, 38-44, 64-65, 89-87.
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nice game…CLASSIC…
It sure was a very nice game. Cheers to both La Salle and Ateneo!
YURI ESCUETA is finally showing what he can do.
in the inverview, Black said that “All we have to do is beat NU and we are number 2”. So if the season ends with ADMU and DLSU having the same record at 10-4 will there be a playoff game or not? The commentators said there will be and Black “implies” that there is none by his statement. Its hard when you can’t see the rule book 🙂 Playoff na lang para best of 3 and ADMU DLSU:) GO DLSU.
there will be no playoff..admu beat dlsu twice so even if they both end up at 10-4, ateneo still has the edge.
dhongski,taga saang skul kah?
The scenarios for play-off games between ADMU and DLSU are true only if both ADMU and DLSU win or they both lose their upcoming games.
In which case they both end up at #2 and will have a knock-out game.
If one wins and the other loses, the winner becomes #2 and the loser becomes #3.
The most interesting will be if both win their last games (i.e, UE does not sweep). ADMU and DLSU then have a knock-out game for 2nd (for twice to beat advantage) AND then have the usual #2 vs #3 playoff in a Final 4 format. Because if they both lose, UE will be in the finals, ADMU and DLSU knock-out each other for 2nd seed and the loser will play UST/FEU for the right to meet the 2nd seed.
So the likelihood of both teams meeting again are very high, unless the #3 (ADMU or DLSU) loses to UST/FEU…..
weeee…ateneo won!
congrats.
Vanna of ADMU vs. Sharon of DLSU… who’s more articulate, informative, lively, and cute? who’s the better reporter? cast your vote.
Complementing Vespa’s post, here’s another interesting and possible ending for the elimination round:
If DLSU loses to UE, DLSU will be 9-5.
If ADMU loses to NU, ADMU will also be at 9-5.
If UST wins over FEU, they will be at 9-5 also.
With positions #2 to #4 are all in a deadlock (at 9-5), the quotient system comes to the rescue. Right now, UST has the best quotient against Ateneo and La Salle, so they will end up at #2 and will have the twice-to-beat advantage (since UE will automatically enter the finals). This means that if the 3 teams end up at 9-5, Ateneo and La Salle will face in a knockout match to start the playoffs. The winner will face UST.
This is so exciting!
Straight from the UAAP:
If Ateneo and La Salle both winm then they play a best of 3 series. Thats the bottom line
tracy abad is the hottest of all the female reporters..
If ADMU and DLSU both win, then it will end up as a “best of three” because the winner of the first game gains the twice to beat advantage over the loser.
So the “best of three” scenario in effect is just following the current UAAP rules of a knock-out game between two tied teams, and the #2 having a twice to beat advantage over #3.