Why Ateneo won

IN yet another heart-stopping game, Ateneo tripped La Salle 88-86 on Sunday to win the 80th UAAP Men’s Basketball crown.

Their winner-take-all clash lived up to its billing as another classic, a tired adjective habitually used to describe almost every battle that pits them through time.

Gosh, this Sunday, Ateneo almost allowed La Salle to reprise its comefrom-behind win in Game 2 that saw it erase a 21-point margin to prevail, 92-83.

The Green Archers erased the Blue Eagles’ early double-digit leads and forced a 66-all deadlock at the end of the third quarter.

But finally, Ateneo threw away the stigma of its second-half collapse in Game 2 with a blistering fourth quarter assault, leaning on crucial treys by Matt Nieto and Anton Asistio for an 80-70 Eagle bubble.

Just when Ateneo was about ready to rain down the confetti on the 22,012 spectators that packed the Cubao Big Dome, La Salle countered with a 10-2 blast to storm to within 8082 at the 48.9 mark behind triples by Aljun Melecio and Andrei Caracut that sandwiched a three-point play by two-time MVP awardee Ben Mbala.

Then, as time was expiring on Ateneo’s next offense, Isaac Go, the gangling 6-foot-8 Eagle, nailed a tight three from a kick-out pass by a driving Thirdy Ravena from the paint to make it 85-80 for Ateneo, only 24.7 ticks left.

After Asistio’s charity pushed Ateneo to an 86-80 lead with only 12.5 seconds remaining, Aljun Melecion hit an improbable trey to cut the Eagle margin to 86-83, just 5.6 ticks left.

But Matt Nieto secured the Ateneo win at the 4.3-second mark with two charities, 88-83, rendering Caracut’s sensational buzzer-beating heave near the time line immaterial for the final 88-86 count.

While the win snapped La Salle’s nine-game winning run at the Araneta Coliseum this season, it likewise gave Ateneo the chest-beating pleasure of dethroning its tormentor last year.

Ravena won MVP Finals honors, but his limiting Kib Montalbo to only three points was also a key to Ateneo’s 9th overall victory since the Eagles’ last triumph in 2012 at the tail of their five straight title run from 2008. As to Mbala? Well, he didn’t disappoint with his 19 points and 14 rebounds. But he mostly unloaded them during inconsequential times, when they were least needed.

And did I not say here that Ateneo needed a miracle to win?

You need not go far. Go was it.