NU hangs on to defeat Ateneo and extend Final 4 series

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Just enough offense and superb defense did the trick.

The fourth seed National University Bulldogs forced sudden death in their Final Four series after shutting down the top seed Ateneo Blue Eagles, 78-74, in the men’s basketball tournament of UAAP Season 77 on Wednesday, September 24 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

NU escaped a hard-fighting Ateneo with a twice-to-beat advantage who rallied from 15 points down in the fourth, taking the lead for the first time, 72-71, on a cold-blooded Nico Elorde triple with 1:14 to go.

But NU’s defense held up and they shrugged off pressure and nerves to make crucial endgame free throws. A key defensive play with under 30 seconds remaining forced Kiefer Ravena to miss a long three-pointer that sealed the win for NU.

“In the Final Four you throw away the stats and numbers. It’s really about heart and who wants to really win,” NU head coach Eric Altamirano said. “Tonight the boys gave everything.”

It was a historic win for NU who won its first Final Four game since the format was installed. They are also one victory away from making their first Finals appearance in 44 years.

NU is trying to achieve what the UST Growling Tigers did to them last season, which is usurping the top-seeded team despite the twice-to-beat disadvantage.

“Malaki talaga yung pressure pag number 1 ka compared to number 4 ka,” Altamirano admitted, recalling their fate last season. “Pero hindi namin inisip yun. Inisip lang namin talaga we just want to give our best for this game.” (The pressure is much greater when you’re number 1 compared to when you’re number 4. But we didn’t think of that. We thought we just want to give our best for this game.)

JJ Alejandro topscored for NU scattering 20 points on 3-of-4 three-pointers which came exactly when his team needed to halt Ateneo’s momentum. He also shot 3-of-3 two-point field goals and dished out 4 assists.

“Inisip ko lang no pressure sa amin,” the second year Alejandro out of Mapua said. “Ginawa ko lang sinabi ni coach sa amin na gawin yung best and no regrets.” (I was just thinking that there was no pressure on us. I just did what coach told us which is to give our best and play with no regrets.)

The Bulldogs, who are now 3-0 against the Blue Eagles this season, put the clamps on Ateneo right from the get go. They had an answer – whether it was a defensive stop or a deflating three-pointer – to every Ateneo spurt all game long.

Starting the game strong at 19-9, the Bulldogs quickly set the tone and pace, clogging passing lanes and forcing their opponents to settle for outside shots.

By halftime, they had limited the offensive-minded Eagles to a paltry 32% shooting and only 5 assists, while shooting 68% and registering 12 assists themselves, which led to a 44-32 NU edge.

Playing catch-up once again, the Eagles came to within 46-40 midway in the third but the Bulldogs countered right away with a 9-2 blitz to bring their lead back up to double digits.

The team-oriented Bulldogs erected their biggest lead of the ballgame at 68-53 two minutes into the payoff period after a Gelo Alolino basket.

But Ateneo would not be stopped so easily.

“To put it in my own words, the breaks didn’t go our way,” Altamirano said of NU’s fourth quarter meltdown.

The Katipunan-based crew leaned on Ravena who drilled a trey to slice the deficit to 70-69 with under two minutes remaining by way of a huge 16-2 run before getting a taste of the lead, 72-71, with over a minute left.

However, NU proved exactly how defense can win games.

Before a huge Bulldogs crowd, perhaps the largest this season for a basketball game, NU refused to disappoint and made 7 of their last 8 free throws within the final minute, highlighted by a crucial defensive set that, although failed to get the leather off the hands of a hot-shooting Ravena, forced him way out of the arc for a difficult heave that bounced off the rim.

NU managed to hang on despite big man Alfred Aroga (11 points, 13 rebounds) and team captain Glenn Khobuntin (12 points, 4 rebounds) fouling out in the fourth.

“They (NU) showed a lot of character today,” Altamirano said. “We said before this game to play with no fear and play with no regrets. Leave it all on the floor.”

Overall, NU’s suffocating defense shackled Ateneo to just a 35% shooting clip as Altamirano’s wards also out-rebounded their foes, 48-33.

NU complemented that with sufficient offensive firepower from the likes of Alejandro and Alolino (16 points, 3 rebounds, two assists). They received balanced scoring from their starters (49 points) and bench (29 points) as only one Bulldog remained scoreless in this contest.

The Bulldogs won this game despite having to deal with Ateneo’s pesky pressure defense that forced 26 turnovers on NU, which translated to 14 points for the Eagles. Bo Perasol’s squad had only 7 miscues all throughout.

Ravena, while finishing with 24 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists, was kept in check by NU for the first 3 quarters. He broke free only in the fourth where he dropped 15 points to spark Ateneo’s rally.

Despite his double figures, Ravena shot just 9-of-35 in total and hit his first field goal only in the second frame. NU has proven they have Ravena’s number as they also limited him to just 17 points a game during their previous two encounters in the eliminations. In that first round match, Ravena shot just 3-of-20.

Chris Newsome added 14 points and 7 rebounds while Elorde came up with 12 markers.

The victory for Altamirano, although sweet and definitely a morale-booster, is not cause for celebration just yet. They look to finish the job by next Wednesday, October 1, and become only the second fourth seed team to oust a top seed in the Final Four era.

“We have one more game to go. Our goal is to make the Finals so it’s anybody’s ballgame on Wednesday. We’re going to prepare hard for the game,” Altamirano said.

“If history repeats itself, so be it.”

Scores:

NU (78): Alejandro 20, Alolino 16, Khobuntin 12, Aroga 11, Rosario 6, Diputado 5, Javelona 4, Betayene 2, Neypes 2, Perez 0.

Ateneo (74): K. Ravena 24, Newsome 14, Elorde 12, Pessumal 7, Capacio 6, Tolentino 6, Gotladera 3, T. Ravena 2, Babilonia 0, Doliguez 0, Porter 0.

Quarter scores: 24-14, 44-32, 60-50, 78-74.

– Rappler.com