Ateneo clinches 10th win, Final Four berth

In a battle of teams that occupy the opposite ends of the standings, league-leading Ateneo got a surprisingly tough challenge against University of the East. But in the end, the Blue Eagles went to Greg Slaughter to pull them through over the Red Warriors for a 74-70 win Thursday in the 74th UAAP men's basketball tournament at the Araneta Coliseum. Slaughter had 19 points including seven in the fourth period as Ateneo foiled UE's chances of claiming what could have been the biggest upset of the season. Instead, the Blue Eagles took their 10th win of the season and clinched a spot in the Final Four for the 13th straight time. UE was looking to ride on the momentum of its 74-69 win over Final Four contender La Salle last Saturday but Ateneo was just too much. “You have to give a lot of credit to UE. They played tough and physical against us and were able to disrupt our on offense. Like in their game against La Salle, they sent the message from the opening team that they want to win the game," said Ateneo coach Norman Black. “We really had to utilize Greg's talents. We had dumped the ball inside and try to break them down inside because we couldn't get our perimeter game going," Black added. Black admitted that the Blue Eagles need to refocus after their near loss to the Red Warriors. “We need to have better practices. Our practices are average at best. I warned the players that if you have an average practice, you probably going to have an average game." Led by JM Noble and Erwin Duran's combined 16 points in the first half, UE took a 37-33 lead at the turn but Ateneo made some adjustments and started the third with back-to-back baskets to tie the game. Ateneo rookie Kiefer Ravena broke the deadlock with eight straight points and the Eagles never relinquished the lead. Slaughter pounded it inside in the fourth scoring on low post moves that upped Ateneo's lead to 68-60 with less than three minutes left in the game. UE, however, was able to cut the deficit to two on consecutive three-pointers by Noble and Paul Zamar, 72-70, with 19.3 seconds to go. But Emman Monfort converted two free throws at the other end for a 74-70 cushion with 17.2 ticks left. That turned out to be the final tally as Ateneo clamped down on defense to secure the win. Noble had a game-high 21 points while Zamar had 15 markers, behind a 3-of-7 shooting from three-point range, and six assists for UE, which dropped to 2-8. — JVP, GMA News