The University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers finally got to pull one over the mighty Ateneo Blue Eagles as they beat the five-time UAAP champions, 81-76, to claim the championship in the 2012 Philippine Collegiate Champions League (PCCL) in the deciding Game Three of the Finals series yesterday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
The Tigers served revenge on a silver platter to the Blue Eagles, who beat them for the UAAP crown months ago.
Tournament MVP Jeric Teng finished with 22 points, five rebounds and three assists to lead UST. He was backed by Kevin Ferrer, who had 21 points, nine boards and four assists.
The title did not come easy as the Blue Eagles showed their championship poise by nearly coming back from a 12-point deficit in the fourth canto.
Leading by three at the start of the fourth canto, UST padded that advantage through the efforts of Teng, who scored on back-to-back three pointers and made 10 of the team’s first 12 points to stretch the lead to 12 with three minutes left.
But much as they have done so in the past, Ateneo did not panic and got baskets from Ryan Buenafe and Kiefer Ravena, whose two freethrows pulled the Eagles to within three, 76-79, with 30.5 ticks left on the clock.
Ferrer came up big as he put back a miss by Karim Abdul to restore a five-point lead, 81-76, with just 10 seconds remaining.
The title by UST was sealed on Ateneo’s next offensive as Buenafe missed a three-point attempt and the ball was recovered by the Tigers as time ran out.