Ateneo completes revenge tour as they clinch the UAAP title from UP in the winner-takes-all Game 3.
The University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons’ seven-month reign as the top basketball team in the UAAP ended on Monday night in the hands of their rivals, the Ateneo Blue Eagles.
In a dramatic fashion, the UAAP Men’s Basketball Tournament had to be decided with a Game 3 winner-takes-all match in front of a sold out crowd in Smart Araneta Coliseum and the Ateneo proved to still have the championship mentality as they clobbered the Fighting Maroon, 75-68, to reclaim their spot on the top.
For the Blue Eagles, it was none other than the heart and soul of the team, Ange Kouame, who carried the team on his back and made one of the best exit games that the UAAP has seen in recent history.
Eventually awarded as the Finals MVP, Kouame capped off his legendary collegiate career with Ateneo with an all-around spectacular game of 19 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks.
“I’m so far from the forefront of this championship. It’s about these players. I’m just so grateful for their effort. I’m the lucky guy,” said Ateneo coach Tab Baldwin in an interview, reported Rappler.
Aside from the Ateneo center, Gab Gomez also put one of his best showing this season with 12 markers on top of two rebounds, while graduating guard BJ Andrade contributed with 10 points, three rebounds and two assists.
On the other side of the court, it was a hard-fought battle that boiled down to having less championship experience and not having one of their strongest pieces as they lost Zavier Lucero to an ACL injury which he sustained in the Game 2 of the finals.
Other players stepped up to have a crack at the title including James Spencer with a team-high 14 points and two rebounds, Carl Tamayo with 11 points and nine boards, and Henry Galinato and Harold Alarcon with 12 points apiece.
However, as another team was crowned as the champion, expectations will be on another level again next season, not just for the reigning winners, but to everyone who is looking to up their playing level for next year.
As Rep. Bernadette Herrera of Bagong Henerasyon Party-list stated, she hopes that the governing bodies of UAAP would take another look at the current policies, procedures and protocols on safety and security during games, training, and off-campus travel for the benefit of the players and spectators alike.
She added that due to the toll of the pandemic on the mental health of the players, it would not hurt to assess the well-being of the players as unsportsmanlike conduct has been an area of discussion and unfortunately some of the incidents have escalated and were quick to turn violent.
Tags: #UAAP, #Basketball, #Ateneo