Game 2
| September 25 |
Ateneo Blue Eagles | 62–51 | De La Salle Green Archers | Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City Attendance: 22,955 |
Studio 23 | ||
| Pts: Chris Tiu 16 Rebs: Nonoy Baclao 10 Blks: Nonoy Baclao 5 |
Pts: JV Casio 18 Rebs: PJ Walsham 11 TO: JV Casio 5 |
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| Ateneo wins series, 2–0 | |||||||
La Salle started the game with an 8–3 scoreline, capped by a Simon Atkins three-pointer. Ateneo came back with their own 24–9 run to hold the lead 27–17 despite Al-Hussaini riding the bench with two personal fouls. Ateneo closed out the first half with another 8-0 run to lead 41-26. JV Casio cut the lead to three points in a 21-9 run that included six three-pointers by the third quarter. However, Rico Maierhofer was ejected from the game for incurring a second technical for flashing the dirty finger, but he claimed he was instructing a teammate to defend using the index finger. La Salle wasn't able to hold on, and Al-Hussaini scored all of his seven points in the third quarter to lead the Ateneo counter-attack. Things got exacerbated when Casio fouled out with 2:48 remaining. Ateneo had a 10-4 run in the final minutes, capped by a three-point play by Jai Reyes to clinch their fourth UAAP title.
La Salle coach Franz Pumaren lambasted the officials saying "It's like a script, you know the ending. They should have just given the trophy right away." He further said that the officiating was "the worst" he has ever seen "in the Finals". Maierhofer was in tears as he walked towards the dugout; La Salle was called for 29 fouls, awarding Ateneo 28 free-throws of which they converted 18.
Ateneo's Nonoy Baclao was named Most Valuable Player of the finals after being the anchor of the Ateneo defense. Baclao scored eight points, grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked five shots in game 2 after scoring seven points, grabbing 7 rebounds and blocking 7 shots, including a crucial block to Maierhofer, in game 1.
Read more about this topic: UAAP Season 71 Men's Basketball Tournament, Finals
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