UAAP Finals: Ateneo takes Game 1
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 10/01/2009 6:50 PM
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MANILA – Jai Reyes and Rabeh Al-Hussaini powered the Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU) Blue Eagles past the gritty University of the East (UE) Red Warriors, 78-71, to claim game one of their best-of-three championship series in the 72nd UAAP men's basketball on Thursday.
Reyes, who shrugged off a traumatic storm Ondoy ordeal, combined with Al-Hussaini for 45 points to push Ateneo closer to a historic back-to-back title.
Another win on Sunday will duplicate Ateneo's back-to-back feat of the 1987-88 Ateneo team bannered by Danny Francisco and Reyes' uncle, Jun.
Reyes, who was trapped with family members (including his 1-year-old baby) inside their house during the height of Ondoy, went five-for-five from beyond the arc in the second half. He wound up with 17 points on top of 5 rebounds and 4 assists.
"Big-time shooting display for Jai today. It was hard for him [to recover from what he experienced last weekend], but we did as much as we could to support him," said Ateneo coach Norman Black.
"To block off the distractions, I just thought that we're so blessed [that we're all alive]," Reyes said.
It was not an easy win for the Eagles as they nearly squandered a 17-point first half lead before Reyes and Al-Hussaini came to their rescue.
Reyes buried two consecutive triples and Kirk Long added one as Ateneo went ahead, 69-61, under four minutes left in the fourth quarter. UE's Paul Lee, however, answered back with five straight points to keep it close, 69-66.
It was at this juncture when the 6'6" Al-Hussaini took the matters into his own hands to finish off the Warriors by scoring three straight baskets.
Al-Hussaini, who averaged 28.5 points against the Warriors in the elimination round, got a game-high 28 points with 14 rebounds.
Warding off the distraction brought by Ondoy, the Eagles zoomed to an early 33-16 lead in the first quarter when they took advantage of Lee's eight-minute absence on the floor.
The Warriors, led by Raffy Reyes and Rudy Linggay, came charging back in the second quarter as they sparked a 19-1 run and took a 35-34 halftime lead.
"I encouraged them instead of berating them (at halftime). I just stayed positive and told them to just have confidence on their shots," Ateneo coach Norman Black said.
Lee, benched for the first 8 minutes of the game in favor of Paul Zamar, led the Warriors with 15 points but only shot 5-of-18 from the floor.
"It was our ploy. We wanted to keep Kirk Long on the bench longer than (Bacon) Austria. If we insert Lee right away, immediately Long is there. Anyway, we can afford that because we still had Val (Acuna) and Raffy (Reyes) on the floor," explained the UE coach Lawrence Chongson.
Although they expected Al-Hussaini to post his usual numbers, the UE coach said Reyes was the main culprit in their loss.
"More than Rabeh's points, it was Jai who killed us everytime we kept coming back," Chongson said. "We'll review the tape tomorrow and sana makapag-execute kami on Sunday." By Alder T. Almo
The Scores:
ADMU 78 - Al-Hussaini 28, Reyes17, Salva 8, Buenafe 7, Austria 6, Salamat 4, Long 3, Baclao 3, Chua 2, Sumalinog 0, Monfort 0.
UE 71 - Lee 15, Llagas 13, Acuna 13, Reyes 11, Lingganay 9, Espiritu 8, Acibar 2, Zamar 0, Bandaying 0.
Quarters: 24-11, 34-35, 57-53, 78-71.
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