Mission Accomplished

The Ateneo Blue Eaglets demolished the UST Tiger Cubs, 76-59, to win their third straight UAAP Juniors championship. The Eaglets have entered the finals 5 straight years (they missed to enter the finals in 2005 thanks to UPIS) since 2006 and have won 4 out of 5 championships. It was clear from the very start that Ateneo was banking on that winning tradition to finally put the Tiger Cubs away for good.

UST started festivities with a put back by Kevin Ferrer. This was however the last time that UST would ever have a taste of the lead. The RP Youth trio of Kiefer Ravena, Von Pessumal and Paolo Romero immediately went to work as they answered back with a 10-3, Ateneo 10 UST 5. It was obvious that Jaypee Sarcia was sorely missed in the last game as he proved to be another option in UST's offense. Sarcia together with Kevin Ferrer and Ejay Corre kept the Tiger cubs close all through out the quarter. The periood ended with Chuck Dumrique a buzzer beating three pointer to push Ateneo ahead, 23-14.

Kiefer Ravena splits the Tiger Cub defense. Kiefer scored 24 points to lead all scorers.
(Blue Eaglets vs UST, Finals Game 3 - Araneta Coliseum, September 19, 2010)

The second quarter saw Sarcia and company continually attack the Blue Eaglet defense. Jaypee opened the quarter with a three pointer to cut the lead to 6. The Eaglets however would score a 6-0 run that increased their lead to 12, 29-17. UST would trade baskets with Ateneo, but they could only cut the lead down to 10 by half time, Ateneo 35-UST 25.

Von Pessumal was hot from the outside today scoring a lot of his points off jump shots. Von scored 15 points for the Blue Eaglets.
(Blue Eaglets vs UST, Finals Game 3 - Araneta Coliseum, September 19, 2010)

The third and fourth quarter were critical to the Eaglet campaign as no lead was safe against an offense minded team like UST. In any critical stage, one would rely on the veterans of their team to deliver. UST was able to cut the lead to 7 by the end of the third by scoring 22 points. However reliable veterans Kiefer, Von and Paolo scored a combined 19 points to keep the Tiger Cubs from gaining any kind of momentum entering the final quarter.

Paolo Romero with a lay-up off a pass. Paolo's inside presence was felt as he scored 14, mostly from inside the painted area.

(Blue Eaglets vs UST, Finals Game 3 - Araneta Coliseum, September 19, 2010)

UST would threaten again in the fourth by cutting the lead down to 5 early in the period. However Kiefer Ravena showed why he was the leader of the Eaglets and Finals MVP. Kiefer would only score 4 more points in the period (he had already scored 20 points and would eventually lead all scorers with 24), however his nifty passes to Ateneo's big men in Paolo Romero and Jay Javelosa kept the Ateneo's offense going. Kiefer's assists produced a combined 7 points for Paolo and Jay to give the Eaglets a commanding 15 point lead midway through the fourth. Another scoring hero rose in the form of Chuck Dumrique. His fearless drives (some even against the much taller Keven Ferrer) kept the momentum on Ateneo's side. With the game out of reach, Lambert Tenorio finally put the proverbial nail in the coffin with a big three pointer to settle the final score at 76-59.

Chuck Dumrique drives and scores against MVP Kevin Ferrer. Chuck scored his highest output in the finals with 14 points.
(Blue Eaglets vs UST, Finals Game 3 - Araneta Coliseum, September 19, 2010)

Ateneo played a masterful game from the start to finish. They played a great offensive game with 4 Ateneo seniors scoring in double digits (Ravena 24, Pessumal 15, Romero 14, Dumrique 14). Aside from that, they played solid defense as they also limited UST's big guns to score lower than their average output (Sarcia 17, Ferrer 13, Corre 9). The game was proof of how great this Eaglet team really is as they finally dominated a UST team that has been giving them headaches in the past. It was a perfect end to a near perfect season for the Blue Eaglets. 16 wins, 16 hearts, 3 championships, 1 Big Fight!

*For Kiefer, Paolo, Chuck and Von. Thank you for the three years (four for Kiefer) that you have played for the Ateneo. Good luck to you and the other Seniors in your careers after the Blue Eaglets and the AHS.