Lipa-less Eagles rip Tams, enter Final Four

Ateneo bucked the absence of coach Joe Lipa and ace slotman Enrico Villanueva as it scuttled a listless Far Eastern University side, 85-72, to clinch the second slot in the UAAP Final Four at the Araneta Coliseum yesterday.

Paul Tanchi sizzled with 10 of his 18 points in the final quarter while Rainier Sison scattered nine points in the same period as the Blue Eagles assured themselves of a spot in the next round on their ninth win in 11 outings.

"Somebody unknowingly motivated the boys to play this big and that somebody are the people who suspended coach Joe (Lipa) and Enrico (Villanueva)," said Ateneo assistant coach Ricky Dandan.

Lipa was suspended by Asian Basketball Academy-Philippines head Chot Reyes for throwing a chair on the court in Ateneo’s game versus Adamson last Thursday. Villanueva was also suspended as he was caught on the game tape throwing a punch on Adamson rookie Steve Rolan.

The Tamaraws actually led by as many as 16 points early on but slowed down in the last quarter and went on to fall down to their sixth loss against five wins.

University of Santo Tomas unleashed a barrage of three-pointers in the third quarter and went to Emerson Oreta in the homestretch as it eked out a 58-56 win over University of the Philippines in the first game.

Mark Jomalesa had a chance to steal the win but his heave at midcourt bounced off the ring as time expired, allowing the Tigers to escape with their fifth triumph in 11 outings.

Derrick Hubalde started it all for UST as he buried three straight triples to spark a 19-2 windup in the third quarter that turned a 31-42 deficit to a 50-44 lead.

The Maroons slowly clawed back to cut UST‘s lead to two points, 54-56, but a turnover apiece by Michael Bravo and Patrick Madarang and a crucial conversion by Oreta on the other end gave the Tigers a 58-54 cushion. — Joey Villar