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IN yet another heartstopping 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 Caracut that sandwiched a three-point play by twotime 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, 8883, rendering Caracut's sensational buzzerbeating heave near the time line immaterial for the final 88-86 count.

While the win snapped La Salle's ninegame 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.