(UPDATE) MANILA, Philippines – The Eagles have landed.
Using the same script, Ateneo swarmed Far Eastern U in the second half in a virtual repeat of Game 1 en route to a sweet 82-69 victory and a 2-0 Finals sweep as the Blue Eagles essayed a historic four-peat championship in the UAAP before an 18,817 crowd today at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
The Eagles switched their defense to turbo mode beginning in the third quarter where they embarked on a 14-2 run to transform a 35-36 deficit to a commanding 49-38 lead.
So tight was the Eagles’ defensive stance in the second half that the lead ballooned to as many as 19 points in the fourth canto, sending the Tamaraws to their second consecutive crushing Finals defeat.
The Eagles similarly romped off to an 82-64 blowout win in Game 1 after trailing in the first half.
Norman Black and his mighty Eagles joined Baby Dalupan’s UE Red Warriors (1965-71), Aric del Rosario’s UST Tigers (1993-1996) and Franz Pumaren’s De La Salle Green Archers (1998-2001) in an elite circle of multi-titled teams which have achieved the rare four-peat.
"It's a good feeling to be in the company of those guys. It's not only winning one championship and then falter after that but it's stringing championships wherein you have to convince the same group of guys to continue to give their best every game, every year," Black said afterwards.
Since day one, the Eagles were tipped to win this one with the arrival of blue-chip rookies Greg Slaughter and Kiefer Ravena joining an intact championship core.
Despite struggling in the last two games prior to the Finals, the Eagles resoundingly bounced back and destroyed the Tamaraws with their unselfish play and unrelented defense.
Nico Salva, who was part of the 2008 rookie class that jumpstarted Ateneo's four-peat program, emerged from the shadows of Slaughter and Ravena to win the Finals MVP plum.
The fourth year forward averaged 19.5 points, including 15 in this game, on a whopping 78 percent field goal shooting in the two-game sweep of the Tamaraws.
But it was not only Salva who rose to the occassion even as the Eagles' second unit came to play in this series. Second stringers Juami Tiongson, Tonino Gonzaga and Justin Chua combined for 21 points that kept the Tamaraws at bay when Black rested his starters.
Ravena led them with 18 points while Slaughter had a quiet game of 11 points and six rebounds.
"It's just a combination of having good young players and veterans. These guys want to be known as the best college basketball team in the country," Black said.
While the Eagles played collectively as a team, the Tamaraws failed miserably, relying on their individual talents for most stretches of the game.
In his last game in the UAAP, Aldrech Ramos gave his all as the former Gilas forward erupted for 20 points and 13 rebounds for FEU to no avail. RR Garcia fired 16 but his two other backcourt partners -- sophomore Terrence Romeo and rookie Cris Tolomia -- combined for only 14 points on a miserable 4-of-23 shooting.
The Scores:
ADMU 82 - Ravena 18, Salva 15, Slaughter 11, Tiongson 11, Monfort 9, Gonzaga 6, Long 5, Chua 5, Erram 2, Pessumal 0, Sumalinog 0, Golla 0, Austria 0.
FEU 69 - Ramos 20, Garcia 16, Tolomia 7, Romeo 7, Escoto 4, Bringas 4, Exciminiano 4, Foronda 3, Cruz 2, Noundou 2, Pogoy 0, Mendoza 0, Knuttel 0.
Quarters: 23-18, 35-36, 57-45, 82-69.