HoopWatch

ARANETA COLISEUM, Quezon City - There were no miracles on this one. No lead changes for most of the game. No last second shots. No clutch heroics. The University of Sto. Thomas (UST) Growling Tigers stampede thru the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) Blue Eagles, doing a masterful job in hacking out a brilliant one-sided 87-71 victory in Game Two of the University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Finals.

Dylan Ababou came off the bench in the second canto and became the spark in giving UST several double digit leads, the first at 30-20 off an Ababou three-point play. They even led by as much as 13 towards the dying seconds of the second quarter, 44-31, after two Gervy Cruz free throws. Ababou scattered 11 points in that stretch, including 4 offensive rebounds.

The Growling Tigers led 46-36 at halftime. UST outscored Ateneo, 27-19, in the second period alone (after a close fight in the first with the Tigers in a slim lead, 21-20). JC Intal remained the only bright spot for the Eagles in the first half as he scored 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting.

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The Blue Eagles tried to rally in the third, the closest at 56-61 after a Chris Tiu three-point play. But versatile UST guard Anthony Espiritu hit two triples to halt the Ateneo run. The third quarter ended favoring UST, 65-57.

In the final period, Ateneo tried another comeback bid, threatening at 61-65 after an Intal jumper. But Espiritu hit another big three-point shot, after a Cruz free throw, breaking the hearts of the Ateneo hopefuls. The Tigers then erected a 12-point bubble after a series of sequences, standing at 73-61 midway in the fourth.

UST never looked back, and won the game easily to the delight of the white-and-yellow crowd. The series is now tied at 1-1. Game Three is at 3 p.m. on Monday at the Araneta Coliseum.

Ababou, who only scored 4 points in Game One, capped a splendid performance with 22 points, 9 rebounds and 2 assists on 9-of-11 field goals. Intal led the Eagles with 23 points and 9 rebounds, however, he had only 2 in the pay-off period.

Earlier, the UST Tigresses were crowned the Women’s Champions, while the Ateneo Blue Eaglets won their 15th title in the Juniors Division.

Woodward Co of the University of the Philippines (UP) was named the UAAP Rookie of the Year. The Mythical Five members are to Marvin Cruz of UP, Jeffrei Chan of Far Eastern University, Ken Bono of Adamson University, Intal of Ateneo and Gervy Cruz of UST. Bono was awarded as this year’s Most Valuable Player. (pics courtesy of u-belt.com, pbase.com/ceekster)