Ateneo clinches twice-to-beat bonus

Games Thursday (Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City)

2 p.m. – University of Santo Tomas vs National University
4 p.m. – La Salle vs Adamson

ATENEO de Manila grabbed the twice-to-beat advantage following an 81-77 victory against University of Santo Tomas while the Far Eastern University (FEU) trampled the University of the Philippines, 70-48.

With complacency finally catching up on the Blue Eagles, the Growling Tigers went on a shooting rampage in the middle of the payoff period to nearly erased Ateneo‘s 19-point advantage, 68-49, at the end of the third canto to a four-point game, 76-72, with 1:42 left.

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But the Ateneans proved they were hungry for the win as diminutive guard Eman Monfort bombed a trey to inch ahead at 79-72 and underscore the seesaw ride between 2006 rivals in the La Salle-less championship match.

“It’s good that we get the twice-to-beat bonus but it’s not a guarantee for us to make it to the championship. We have to try our best to enter the Finals by winning one of the two games in the semifinal round,” said Ateneo coach Norman Black.

Clark Bautista fired his fourth and UST’s 13th triple to make a scare at 80-77, coupled by Nico Salva’s turnover to change the tide in favor the Tigers in a little bit.

However, things went bitter for UST when Melo Afuang missed a shot while Fortuna was sent out of the game due to foul troubles.

American Kirk Long split his charities to list the game’s final score, a sad 46th birthday gift for one-time UAAP champion mentor Pido Jarencio, whose wards dropped their ninth game in thirteen starts.

FEU routs UP

At the Araneta Coliseum on Sunday, the Tamaraws also wasted no time to deal the Maroons’ 13th straight loss in the tournament by posting a 17-0 spurt in the last minutes of the first half, 24-8.

FEU’s star line-up overcame a sluggish first canto with top Most Valuable Player contender RR Garcia, Smart Gilas member JR Cawaling, Mark Bringas and Cameroonian discovery Pippou Noundou tallied 17 of the Tamaraws’ 28 markers.

It was all FEU down the stretch with Garcia burying a triple with 50 ticks left in the payoff period to pull away at 68-43, with UP managing to wrest the lead only in the first quarter, 8-7.

In a game that seemed a warm-up for FEU’s anticipated tiff against Ateneo on September 11, sixth year mentor Glenn Capacio however scored his players for a sub-par performance in terms of ball movement.

“I realized that it’s actually hard to win a non-bearing game because I have players who are candidates for MVP and rookie of the year. There’s a tendency for them to just score for themselves," the coach said.

"I told them that we should play as a team because individualism will only ruin our game against Ateneo next week,” he added as FEU enjoys a twice-to-beat bonus going into the Final Four.

But even with the slight error, Capacio still credited his wards for a job well-done.

“I am glad that the second stringers stepped up for this game. It’s a good reminder to all members that we always have to play as a team,” he said.

UP solely relied on the efforts of its five players, led by Alvin Padilla with 17 points, three rebounds plus a pair of assists and steals while bigman Magi Sison and co-skipper Martin Reyes contributed 14 and nine markers, respectively.

Garcia topscored with 12 points in 25 minutes of play. Reil Cervantes chipped in nine while rookie Gryann Mendoza had a career-high eight points.

FEU improved to league-best 11-2 (win-loss) card.

The Scores:

First Game:

FEU (70)- Garcia 12, Cervantes 9, Mendoza 8, Noundou 8, Romeo 7, Bringas 6, Ramos 6, Knuttel 6, Cawaling 5, Guerrero 2, Exciminiano 1, Cruz 0, Sanga 0.

UP (48)- Padilla 17, Sison 14, Reyes 9, Pascual 4, Juruena 4, Silungan 0, Saret 0, Manuel 0, Evangelista 0, Reyes 0, Hipolito 0, Gingerich 0.

Quarters: 7-8, 28-18, 47-36, 70-48.

Second Game:

Ateneo (81)- Salamat 18, De Chavez 12, Chua 11, Long 10, Dela Cruz 6, Monfort 6, Buenafe 6, Golla 5, Salva 3, Tiongson 2, Austria 2, Escueta 0.

UST (77)- Teng 23, Bautista 16, Daquioag 10, Afuang 10, Mariano 8, Fortuna 6, Pe 4, Wong 0, Tinte 0, Marata 0, Mamaril 0, Lo 0, Marquez 0, Camus 0, Aytona 0.

Quarters: 17-13, 40-23, 60-45, 81-77.

(Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)