Eagles sweep FEU for three-peat

During last year’s bonfire, Ryan Buenafe took the microphone and said “Basta ang alam ko, next year, three-peat.”

In Game 2 of the UAAP Finals, he made sure that he kept his promise.

The Ateneo Blue Eagles swept the Far Eastern University Tamaraws in the Finals, 65-62, behind Buenafe’s offensive explosion. The third year forward took over in the fourth quarter, scoring 10 of Ateneo’s 13 points. His biggest shot came with only 22 seconds left: a booming triple off an isolation play. It was only his third three pointer of the season.

“He said he would step up when he was really needed,” said Coach Norman Black. “He actually predicted that this would be a break-out game for him. He’s a winner.”

Former Rookie of the Year Buenafe was named Finals MVP.
[Know the numbers of Game 2 of the Finals here]

It was the Blue Eagles’ third straight championship–the second in the school’s history. The first came when the Ateneo was still in the NCAA in the 1930′s. Only four other teams had achieved the three-peat: De La Salle University, University of Santo Tomas, University of the East, and FEU.

Coach Norman said that this championship was the “most gratifying” because, “this is the most difficult. We weren’t the favorites, but I knew I had a good team.”

The Blue Eagles needed all of Buenafe’s 23 points. Unlike the first game, Game 2 of the Finals was a see-saw affair that saw four deadlocks and five lead changes.

The Blue Eagles got off to a slow start, allowing FEU to build a 22-13 advantage in the first quarter. The game was physical from the very beginning, and the Tamaraws got into foul trouble, allowing the Blue Eagles to keep themselves in the game via free throws.

The second quarter saw the Ateneo cut into FEU’s lead. A big triple by Emman Monfort brought the team within one, 26-25, and Frank Golla’s two free throws gave Ateneo its first lead at 27-26. FEU would strike back, however, and the first half would end 31-30 for the Tamaraws.

In the third canto, the Tamaraws struck with a 5-0 blast that brought the lead back to six, 38-32. The Blue Eagles were relentless in attacking the basket, however. Lay-ups from Buenafe and Nico Salva as well as free throws from Kirk Long allowed the Blue Eagles to cut into the Tamaraw’s lead. Finally, a floater by Monfort off a Buenafe feed gave the Blue Eagles a 43-42 advantage. The quarter would end 52-50 for Ateneo.

FEU would not go down easily, however. They scored four quick points and tied the game 54-54 in the fourth quarter. At that point, Buenafe took over for Ateneo. His short jumper gave the Blue Eagles a 57-56 lead. A few possessions later, he faked FEU guard JR Cawaling off his shoes and hit a lay-up that gave the Blue Eagles a 61-56 advantage, prompting a timeout from the FEU bench.

The Tamaraws tried to get back in the game by attacking the basket, bringing the Ateneo lead down to three, 61-58 with a little over a minute remaining. FEU had a chance to tie the game when sharpshooter Paul Sanga was fouled on a three pointer, but he made only one of three charities. A few possessions later, Buenafe would connect on his three point dagger.

“We have a lot of players with championship experience, and once we qualified for the twice-to-beat advantage in the semi-finals, we knew what it would take to take it to the next level,” said Coach Norman.

Defense was still the name of the game for the Ateneo. They held FEU to only 39% shooting from the field and limited Season 73 league MVP RR Garcia to only 6 points on a horrible 3-of-13 clip. Rookie of the Year Terrence Romeo had only two points and fouled out after 14 minutes.

“One major ingredient has been the defense. We didn’t have a particularly dominant offensive player this year,” added the champion coach. Indeed, during the Thanksgiving Mass, he joked that this was a team that had different scoring leaders after every game.

Buenafe was all smiles after his finest game of the season. The third year star had endured criticism all season long due to his conditioning, but came up big when he was needed most. “My mindset was that we needed to win. The points were just a bonus. I told Coach that I would give everything in this game. I haven’t been playing very well this season, and this was my chance to make it up to Coach Norman.”

The Blue Eagles and the Ateneo community will celebrate the three-peat with a bonfire on Sunday, October 3. A mass will be held at the Henry Lee Irwin Theater at 4:00 pm.

By Camille Eugenia B. Naredo