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Ateneo holds off UP to regain UAAP men's basketball crown

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Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="The Ateneo Blue Eagles celebrate winning the Season 85 men’s basketball title on Monday. UAAP Media" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/news/12/20/ateneo.jpg"/><figcaption>The Ateneo Blue Eagles celebrate winning the Season 85 men’s basketball title on Monday. UAAP Media</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA, Philippines -- (UPDATED) The UAAP men&#x27;s basketball championship is back in Loyola Heights.Ateneo de Manila University survived a second half fightback by the University of the Philippines to take a hard-fought 75-68 win in Game 3 of the UAAP Season 85 Finals, Monday night.In front of a massive crowd of nearly 22,000 fans at the Araneta Coliseum, the Blue Eagles built a 20-point lead in the third quarter but needed to hold off a stirring comeback by the Fighting Maroons to claim the UAAP championship.This is Ateneo&#x27;s fourth UAAP crown in the last five seasons, and their 12th overall. In his final game for the Blue and White, Ange Kouame was near-unstoppable. He poured in 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting, grabbed 12 rebounds, and blocked four shots while anchoring Ateneo&#x27;s defense as he has done throughout his UAAP career. Forthsky Padrigao made 5-of-16 shots for 12 points, and Gab Gomez came off the bench to fire 12 points as well. BJ Andrade, also playing his final game, was cool under pressure and knocked down four free throws in the final 12 seconds to seal the win -- and the crown -- for Ateneo.&quot;It’s been a wonderful competition and we’re really blessed to win it this time,&quot; said Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin, who had nothing but words of praise for the Fighting Maroons and their community at the end of their showdown.Ateneo appeared headed for a comfortable victory in Game 3, as they surged to a 9-0 start to the game and built a double-digit lead at the half, 47-32. Their advantage ballooned to 20 points, 52-32, with nine minutes left in the third quarter after Sean Quitevis converted a layup off a Kouame dime. But UP had established itself as a third quarter team throughout Season 85, and they displayed it anew in the most crucial game of the tournament. They out-scored Ateneo 20-13 in the period, and unleashed an 18-4 run that saw the Blue Eagles&#x27; lead cut down to six, 56-50, with still three minutes left.James Spencer and Henry Galinato were crucial in the run, with the former knocking down a pair of three-pointers and the latter muscling his way inside for layups. It was Spencer&#x27;s second triple that made it 56-50 and forced Baldwin to call a timeout, and send Kouame back in the contest despite his three fouls.Ateneo managed to end the third with a 60-52 lead, as an unsportsmanlike foul called on JD Cagulangan led to a four-point possession for Ateneo. They restored a double-digit advantage with eight minutes left in the game, off back-to-back buckets by Kouame and Kai Ballungay.The Blue Eagles were all set to celebrate when Kouame&#x27;s rejection of Carl Tamayo kept them in control, 70-62, with just 1:15 to play. Terrence Fortea&#x27;s missed triple with 42.6 seconds left looked to seal UP&#x27;s fate, but there was enough time for Harold Alarcon to play the hero for the Fighting Maroons.The guard drew a foul on Dave Ildefonso -- his fifth -- and made just the first of three free throws for a 70-64 count with 24.1 seconds left. But he got his own rebound, and knocked down a gutsy corner triple that made it a one-possession game, 70-67, with 20.1 seconds left. The Fighting Maroons would run out of time, however. Andrade coolly knocked down two free throws with 12.3 seconds left for a 72-67 lead, and after Quitevis&#x27; split at the line, the Blue Eagles rushed the court in celebration. There were still seven-tenths of a second left, however, leading to a technical foul on Ateneo. In an emotional moment, UP sent Zavier Lucero in the game to take the free throw; the Filipino-American forward had been ruled out of the do-or-die game after suffering a torn ACL in Game 2 last Wednesday. He knocked down the freebie, but Andrade nailed two more charities on the other end to wrap up the game.&quot;I think I could probably speak all day about the UP program and the UP faithful. You have an amazing team, you have a phenomenal coach and coaching staff. They don’t quit ever. We know we never expected them to quit. My words will always be insufficient about their performance. They were unbelievable,&quot; Baldwin said of UP.The Blue Eagles had taken a tough route to the Season 85 crown, as they lost Game 1 of the series, 72-66, before producing a defensive masterpiece in a 65-55 Game 2 triumph to force a decider. They gained a measure of revenge after falling short of a four-peat in Season 84, when Cagulangan&#x27;s buzzer-beating triple ended UP&#x27;s 36-year wait for a UAAP championship.There was no denying Ateneo this time around, however. Even with Ildefonso (2 points, 1-of-6 shooting) and Ballungay (4 points, 2-of-10 shooting) struggling, they got a big lift from their bench to make up for them. Ateneo shot 34.3% from the field, and got away with shooting just 18-of-33 from the free throw line.Spencer led UP with 14 points, while Alarcon and Galinato finished with 12 points each. Tamayo had 11 points, but made just 4-of-17 field goals; Season 85 MVP Malick Diouf grabbed 19 rebounds but scored just seven points. <div>The Scores:</div>ATENEO 75 -- Kouame 19, Padrigao 12, Gomez 12, Andrade 10, Ballungay 4, Koon 4, Daves 4, Chiu 4, Quitevis 4, Ildefonso 2, Lazaro 0.UP 68 -- Spencer 14, Alarcon 12, Galinato 12, Tamayo 11, Cagulangan 9, Diouf 7, Gonzales 2, Lucero 1, Abadiano 0, Fortea 0, Lina 0.Quarters: 30-14, 47-32, 60-52, 75-68.

The UAAP men's basketball championship is back in Loyola Heights.

Ateneo holds off UP to regain UAAP men's basketball crown

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Ateneo holds off UP to regain UAAP men's basketball crown

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

Published Dec 19, 2022 09:04 PM PHT

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Updated Dec 20, 2022 08:00 AM PHT

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