CEBU, Philippines — The University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers again fell short of their target, bowing to a superbly dominant Ateneo Blue Eagles, 95-71, in a lopsided National Finals of the 2018 Philippine Collegiate Champions League (PCCL) President’s Cup last night at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan, Metro Manila.
The Eagles made a vicious opening statement behind 6-foot-8 center Isaac Go, who broke the ice of the match with a rare four-point play then banked a crisp 3-pointer in a seven-point swing that set the stage for Ateneo’s wire-to-wire victory.
Go finished with 15 points, 12 in the first half, before fouling out at the final 4:08 mark of the contest.
BJ Andrara piled up 13 points, four rebounds and three assists while All-Star guard Thirdy Ravena scored a silent 12 points for the reigning UAAP titleholders, who earned the bragging rights as the best collegiate ballclub in the country with their 24-point obliteration of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) grandslam champions.
The Blue Eagles were never seriously threatened since taking a 19-8 edge at the end of the first period.
Comfortably ahead at halftime, 52-34, the Blue Eagles further ripped the game apart in the third quarter, mounting an imposing 75-45 lead that sent the Lancers wobbling the rest of the last 10 minutes of play.
The Lancers couldn’t get any closer than 20 points, 69-89, with a little over two minutes remaining in the one-sided contest.
RV Berjay chipped in 12 points, while SJ Belangel scored 10 as the Blue Eagles collected their fourth PCCL crown, the most in the league’s 16-year history. They were previously tied with the Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws with three championship trophies each.
Two-time CESAFI MVP Rey Anthony Suerte dropped 26 points on top of six rebounds, three steals and two assists in a spectacular farewell show for the Lancers, albeit for a losing cause.
Liberian forward Bassieru Sackor posted a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds, while Josue Segumpan nailed 14 markers for the Lancers, who got beaten to the pulp by the Blue Eagles for the second time in the PCCL National Championships.
The first time they made it to the national finals in 2007, the Lancers, then led by Greg Slaughter, were crushed by the Blue Eagles, 54-71.
Interestingly, it was Ateneo’s first taste of the PCCL glory. (FREEMAN)