High-flying Eagles land in Final 4

MANILA, Philippines - Defensive stopper Jeffrey Long worked on the offensive end given the opportunity yesterday as Ateneo hacked out an 80-70 win over Santo Tomas and gained a Final Four entry in the 72nd UAAP basketball tournament at the Araneta Coliseum.

Long, playing extended minutes with Rabeh Al-Hussaini hobbled by fouls, came through with a career-best 21 points, including a triple clinching the Eagles’ ninth win in 10 outings.

The 6-foot-2 forward knocked in five triples, none bigger than the last one he converted, making it 74-66 for the Eagles with time down to 56.3 seconds.

“I just wanted to help the team with Rabeh out on fouls. I’m happy I did,” said Long, son of an American missionary couple based in the country since 1991.

Al-Hussaini, getting into foul-trouble as early as the first quarter, nonetheless chipped in 10 of his 14 points in the payoff period. He wound up with a double-double job as he also got 10 rebounds.

Nico Salva, Jai Reyes and Nonoy Baclao contributed at least 10 points each for the Eagles, who with a ninth win, assured themselves of a slot in the semifinals.

“The goal is to make the top two from the beginning. We’re happy to be in the Final Four but we still want to make the top two,” said Ateneo coach Norman Black.

The Tigers suffered a fifth loss against five wins as they were unable to sustain a solid stand in the first three quarters of play.

UST was ahead by four at 62-58 before going on a long dry spell in the payoff period, allowing Ateneo to seize control at 69-62.

In the second game, University of the East denied Far Eastern U an outright semis passage as the Warriors downed the Tamaraws, 87-72.

The Warriors outhustled and outmaneuvered the Tams, enhancing their own semis bid on a sixth win against four losses.

UE broke free from a deadlock with UST (5-5) at third place and relegated FEU (8-2) to second place, leaving Ateneo alone in the lead.

“It’s all about the team being intense,” said UE coach Lawrence Tiongson.

“All we talked about going into this game was self-respect. We’ve been swept by Ateneo and we don’t want that to happen against FEU,” Tiongson added.

Nerciso Llagas, Elmer Espiritu and Paul Lee, UE’s big three, all scored 18 points or more, leading the Warriors to a vengeful win over the Tams.