Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — The Ateneo Blue Eagles sealed a twice-to-beat advantage with a win against the Adamson Falcons, 73-67, in the final game of the elimination round of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Thirdy Ravena registered a double-double for the Eagles with 14 markers and 13 boards, while Mike Nieto and Adrian Wong chipped in with 12 points apiece.
The Falcons started out the game with a hot hand, going on a 10-1 run to open the contest.
But the Katipunan-based squad refused to bow down to the Falcons, and trailed only by 53-52 before the payoff period.
The Blue Eagles hit another gear in the fourth quarter, going on a scintillating 10-4 rally to lead 68-59 right before the last-two-minute warning.
Robbie Manalang kept the Falcons in with a triple to trim the lead down to 70-65 with 24 ticks left on the clock.
But it was too late for Adamson, as Ateneo went on to secure the second seed.
Papi Sarr paced the Falcons with 17 points and 23 rebounds.
After the game, Ateneo coach Sandy Arespacochaga hailed his team’s grit to come out on top of a hard-fought contest.
“It’s a tough game, tough win for us, it is a hard earned win,” Arespacochaga admitted. “We had to grind it out. We got a lot of rebounds and we are very happy with that.”
FEU ekes out past UE
“Ganito pala ang feeling manalo,” FEU coach Nash Racela said after they snapped a three-game losing streak to end the elimination round.
The Tamaraws eked out past the Red Warriors, 64-61, in the first game after a clutch Axel Iñigo trey put the defending champions in control in the dying moments of the game.
With the teams separated by a single point, Iñigo converted the long range jumper after Raymar Jose’s offensive rebound to keep the play alive with 25 ticks left on the clock to make it 63-59.
Despite not gaining the twice-to-beat advantage after the elimination round, Racela was happy to end the elimination round on a winning note.
“We just wanted to get a win before we go to the playoffs,” Racela admitted. “It was a struggle, it was really hard especially mentally for the players.”
The UAAP returns to the hardcourt for the Final Four stage with top seeds La Salle and Ateneo taking on Adamson and FEU, respectively.
