UE ties count, sets date with destiny
Sunday, 4 October 2009 6,934 Views / 269 Comments
UNIVERSITY of the East bounced back in style as it demolished a hapless Ateneo de Manila University five, 88-68 to claim Game 2 and force a rubber match for the UAAP Season 72 championship last October 4, 2009 at the Araneta Coliseum.
Both teams exchanged runs during the first ten minutes of the action, but an Elmer Espiritu triple handed UE its first lead, 11-9 midway through the quarter. Ateneo’s Eman Monfort canned a basket to open the second quarter, but UE kept the game close as Pari Llagas, along with shock troopers Erwin Duran and Lucas Tagarda, kept the Recto unit in good stead. Nonoy Baclao and Jai Reyes combined for five markers to end the half, 40-38, in favor of the Blue and White.
The third quarter, though, saw a more vigorous Red Warrior squad as they took hold of the momentum and attacked a porous Ateneo defense. Paul Lee scored on two consecutive baskets to open the quarter and the team blitzed its way to a 7-0 run in a three-minute stretch that resulted in a 10-point bulge, 63-53, to end the period. UE rolled through the final quarter, with Espiritu punctuating the Warriors’ dominance with an alley-oop slam off a lob by Lee.
Espiritu, recipient of the Defensive Player of the Season award, registered a game-high 22 points, with Llagas tallying 19. Rabeh Al-Hussaini, with 19 points, was the leading scorer for the Blue Eagles. Coach Lawrence Chongson’s squad registered 12 fastbreak points and 17 turnover points, a far cry from Ateneo’s eight and five in those two departments, respectively.
“They [Llagas and Espiritu] delivered big time ever since yung second round. Aalis na lang kayo, what will differentiate you guys from the previous team? Don’t you have the fervor? Ito yung lagi kong pinupush sa nga utak nila, to make a difference. [We wanted to] reduce yung output ni Rabeh against us, we tried to contain that. Val Acuna helped, pati si Erwin Duran tumulong pa. Lahat ng klaseng tulong kailangan namin. Finals na ito. 20 years na, kelan pa? [referring to the championship title]“, commented Chongson after the game.
The deciding Game 3 will be this Thursday, October 8 at 3:30 p.m., also at the Big Dome. UE last won a UAAP championship in 1985. All in all, the Red Warriors have won three playoff games this year. Before Season 72, they had won only one game postseason game since the inception of the Final Four format in 1994.
Ateneo, meanwhile, lost for just the third time in 34 UAAP games dating back to last year. Its 20-point defeat was the second most lopsided in Finals history since the Final Four format, trailing only the 72-47 De La Salle University victory over Far Eastern University in Game 1 of the 1998 championship.
The scores:
UE 88 – Espiritu 22, Llagas 19, Lee 13, Acuna 12, Lingganay 7, Reyes 6, Zamar 5, Duran 4, Tagarda 0, Bandaying 0
Ateneo 68 – Al-Hussaini 18, Monfort 12, Reyes 11, Baclao 10, Austria 6, Salamat 4, Long 3, Chua 2, Buenafe 2, Sumalinog 0, Salva 0
Quarter scores: 18-15, 38-40, 63-53, 88-68.
(8 votes, average: 3.88 out of 5)
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