San Sebastian edges Ateneo in thriller
Tuesday, 6 December 2011 114 Comments
LIGHTNING did not strike twice for Kirk Long.
The fifth-year clutch defensive stalwart buried a second triple from the exact same position that would have won the game for Ateneo de Manila University. Upon review, however, the referees ruled that the ball was still in his hands when the final buzzer sounded, allowing the San Sebastian College-Recoletos Stags to escape with a pulsating 70-69 win in the 2011 Philippine Collegiate Champions League round-robin Final Four phase last December 6 at the Arena in San Juan.
“I guess i just told them to take this opportunity to try our luck against the number one collegiate team in the country right now. I wasn’t expecting them to be a bit less aggressive on us,” said Stags head coach Topex Robinson. “Hopefully we can come up with the same intensity and aggressiveness against Ateneo if by chance we play them again in the Finals.”
Up by five at the start of the fourth quarter, baskets by reserves Bacon Austria and JP Erram sandwiched a transition layup from Long to give the four-time, reigning UAAP champions a 65-53 lead with 6:05 left in the game. In response, San Sebastian unleashed a massive 13-0 blast capped off by a banked-in shot by 2011 NCAA MVP Calvin Abueva that allowed his squad to take a slim, 66-65 lead with 1:58 left to play. On the next Ateneo possession, Austria missed a triple. But, in their haste to execute a transition play, the Stags found themselves turning the ball over, with Greg Slaughter completing the steal. Settling into their halfcourt scheme, the Blue Eagles got the ball to the seven-footer, drawing the fourth foul of Michael Miranda. The UAAP Mythical Five selection managed just a split but tied the game at 66-all.
The stalemate didn’t last long however, as Ian Sangalang hit a tough turnaround shot in the paint with 53 seconds left to put his squad up by two. Ateneo was unable to force another deadlock after Nico Salva’s hook shot went in and out. With less than two full possessions left on the clock, the Stags went to Sangalang again, who missed his shot. Luckily, teammate Jovit dela Cruz skied for the repossession with 23 seconds left. Forced to foul twice as they weren’t in the penalty yet, the Blue Eagles finally sent dela Cruz to the line, where the sophomore confidently nailed both charities.
But, the game wasn’t over yet, as Long dribbled quickly to his three-point line and launched a bomb that connected, making it just a one-point game. Another Blue Eagle foul sent Sangalang to the stripe with 4.6 seconds left, but the NCAA Defensive Player of the Year missed the first and then intentionally missed the second. The latter turned out to be the difference-maker as Ateneo burned precious time retrieving the loose ball before sending it to Long for the split-second late shot.
Asked if he made any special adjustments during their big run, Robinson told reporters after the game that his instruction was just to play every possession. “On defense, we have to make a stop, pagbaba doon, we have to convert. We didn’t force our shots during those last possessions down the stretch so na-value namin yung every possession given to us.”
Tied after the first quarter and at halftime, some hot shooting by Salva helped the Blue Eagles take a 47-38 advantage in the third, only to watch San Sebastian reel them back in as it got to within a deuce, 53-51, on an outlet play to Miranda. The Blue Eagle reserves responded in kind, as the duo of Erram and Austria dropped five straight to hike their lead to 58-53 before their defense surrendered a jumper on the inbounds play with 3.5 seconds remaining in the period.
Abueva led all scorers with 20 markers while also grabbing a game-best 11 boards. Sangalang added 18 and six, while graduating team captain Anthony del Rio played all but five minutes, orchestrating the offense to the tune of seven assists. The triumph was made even bigger by the fact that the Stags lost their best outside shooter, Ronald Pascual, to an ACL injury on his left knee in their previous game against the San Beda Red Lions. Though Robinson said that the team was still waiting for a second opinion, the first diagnosis indicated a complete ACL tear, Pascual’s second, after suffering one on the opposite knee when he was with Adamson University in the junior ranks.
Greg Slaughter’s 16 points and seven rebounds paced Ateneo, but the team seemed to forget about him as the game went on as he went from scoring eight points in the opening canto to just eight more, including a single point in the fourth quarter, from that point on. Salva added 13, nine in the third quarter and none also in the fourth, while Kiefer Ravena managed 12 markers on eight attempts from the field.
The Stags were able to quell the Blue Eagles’ formidable running game, holding them to just four transition points. They also managed to overcome their biggest enemy of the NCAA tournament, turnovers, committing just 10 mistakes in 40 minutes of play after averaging 21 in their mother league.
With their victory over San Beda and Ateneo and the defeat of the University of Cebu Webmasters at the hands of the Red Lions in the later game, the Stags are assured of a twice-to-beat advantage in the PCCL Finals, regardless of the result of their game on Thursday, December 8 against UC. “It’s exciting,” Robinson admitted. “I’m humbled by the experience to play in the PCCL in my first year as a coach. I want to take it as a learning thing to play against coach Norman Black. Everything is a blessing for me and I really appreciate it a lot.”
Ateneo, for its part, must win out against San Beda on December 9 to forge a rematch in the finals against San Sebastian. A loss means the back-to-back, defending PCCL champs must settle for a battle for third place with the Webmasters next week.
The scores:
San Sebastian 70 – Abueva 20, Sangalang 18, dela Cruz 11, Balucanag 8. del Rio 5, Miranda 4, Maiquez 2, Vitug 2, Ferrer 0
Ateneo 69 – Slaughter 16, Salva 13, Ravena 12, Long 9, Erram 8, Austria 6, Monfort 3, Chua 2, Golla 0, Sumalinog 0, Gonzaga 0, Tiongson 0
Quarter scoring: 17-17, 32-32, 53-58, 70-69
(3 votes, average: 2.33 out of 5)
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