MANILA, Philippines – Defending champion Ateneo de Manila University kept its mastery of Adamson University tucked in the books, as the Eagles nipped the gutsy Falcons, 55-52, to snare the No. 2 spot and the outright Final Four berth going into the playoff phase of the 73rd UAAP men’s basketball tournament at the Araneta Coliseum on Sunday.

In a game that dared Ateneo’s vaunted endgame poise once more, veterans Ryan Buenafe and Nico Salva emerged from the shadows of main man Eric Salamat to lead the Eagles against the unrelenting Falcons, who battled the defending champions on even terms before fading at the horn anew.

Ryan Buenafe logged in a rare double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds while Salva added 13 markers and the same number of boards.

“This is one of those games that they knew what we wanted to do but we also know what they will do. We couldn’t make much from the outside. It’s a real scramble to get points in this game,” Ateneo coach Norman Black said after the Eagles clinched their 14th straight Final Four appearance via a 9-3 record.

“The first thing was to get our focus.”

And staying focused the Eagles did, despite a halftime ruckus brought about by the ejection of big man Jumbo Escueta, who allegedly wore a different pair of shorts.

League rules charge an automatic technical foul to the team which fielded a player not wearing the approved set of uniform. It turned out, however, that the right side of Escueta’s shorts did not carry the A-shaped tri-colors representing the Philippine flag.

Adamson was awarded 2 freethrows plus possession for the said infraction before the start of the 3rd.

Lester Alvarez nailed both technical freebies to fuel a 10-5 spurt, darting the Falcons upfront, 31-27.

But the Eagles rode on Buenafe’s 8-point outburst midway in the 3rd to stage a 14-3 attack that pushed Ateneo back on top, 41-34, going into the pay-off period.

Adamson soared into the 4th with a 14-2 counter-salvo triggered by Alex Nuyles’ 7-point cluster to regain the lead, 48-44, with 4:47 remaining.

Back-to-back baskets by Buenafe knotted the count at the turn before Alvarez hit a freethrow to keep the Falcons ahead, 49-48, with under 3 minutes left.

Emman Monfort rifled in a wide-open triple off the switch to push Ateneo up by 2 before Alvarez answered with his own triple, giving Adamson a 52-51 margin. Salva  
capped the furious exchange at the turn, drilling in an off-balanced one-hander that gave the Eagles a 53-52 edge with 1:26 left in the final quarter.

Adamson had one last chance to take the driver’s seat but Jan Colina muffed a pair of charities and Nuyles was called for an offensive foul after elbowing Kirk Long with 18.6 seconds remaining.  

Monfort sank 2 of 4 insurance freethrows in the last 13 ticks of play to finalize the count.

Alvarez tallied 22 points while Nuyles chipped in 14 to lead the Falcons, who now dropped to 3rd with an 8-4 mark.

The scores:

ADMU 55 – Buenafe 14, Salva 13, Long 10, Salamat 7, Monfort 7, Chua 4, Escueta 0, dela Cruz 0, Tiongson 0, Golla 0, Austria 0.

ADU 52 – Alvarez 22, Nuyles 14, Lozada 6, Colina 3, Camson 3, Galinato 3, Manyara 1, Cabrera 1, Stinnett 0, Cañada 0.

Quarter scores: 16-10, 22-21, 41-34, 55-52.

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