Ateneo escapes FEU in OT,
faces La Salle in UAAP Finals
Basketball
Host Far Eastern University
blew a huge chance in regulation
last night and paid the price
against powerhouse Ateneo in
overtime.
Guard Matt Nieto and big
man Isaac Go delivered the killer
blows down the stretch as the Blue
Eagles got back at the Tamaraws,
88-84, to book a return trip to the
UAAP Season 80 basketball finals
at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Nieto banged in six of his 16
points in the decisive push in the
extra five-minute period while the
6-foot-7 Go drilled in a game-
tying triple with 8.5 seconds left in
regulation to help Ateneo recover
its bearing and withstand a gallant
stand by FEU.
The victory enabled the Blue
Eagles to bounce back from an
80-67 loss to the Tams in the
series opener Sunday and set
the stage for a much-awaited
finals rematch with the defending
champion La Salle Green Archers
starting Saturday.
“We’ve been through much
and we worked very hard for this.
Hindi kami pwedeng matalo,”
23
Philippine Showbiz Today
November 22 - December 7, 2017
said Nieto, who went for a pair of
isolation plays against FEU big
man Arvin Tolentino, first hitting a
pull-up jumper before draining a
dagger of a triple from the top of
the key that gave Ateneo an 85-80
lead with 46.9 seco