The UST Growling Tigers secured the last seat in the Final Four of the UAAP Season 76 as they defeated and eliminated the five-time depending champion, the Ateneo Blue Eagles with the final score at 82-74, on Wednesday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Highlights Video: UST vs. Ateneo Sept. 18, 2013
The Growling Tigers dominated the fourth quarter with a big run getting ahead with double-digit lead at 65-53 with 7 minutes left. The Tigers were also leading 75-62 with just 2:34 left in the final period but the Blue Eagles unloaded with 9 straight points to get close at 75-71 with just 52 seconds remaining.
Ateneo’s Nico Elorde hit a three-point pointers to get the game into a three-point affair after Karim Abdul free throws with the score at 77-74. The Eagles tried to regain the lead but Jeric Teng scored 5-of-6 clip from the foul line which determines the final score at 82-74.
The UST Growling Tigers dominated the first half with 13 points advantage at 39-26 due the struggling Ateneo big guys, while UST’s Abdul dominated the first half scoring with 19 points and grabbing 5 rebounds. Kiefer Ravena led the Ateneo at the end of first half with 9 points production.
UST faces anew NU in the semifinals on September 22, but this time it is the Bulldogs who have a twice-to-beat disadvantage. The Final Four Casts of the UAAP Season 76 are composed of DLSU, FEU, NU and UST.
