Another Classic Game between the Green and Blue

Ateneo waited 22 long months to get back at La Salle.
Yesterday, before a huge, boisterous crowd at the Araneta Coliseum, the Blue Eagles didn’t lose that chance as they dealt the Green Archers a stinging 80-77 loss in overtime.
The last time the two teams met was in Sept. 25, 2005. It was the Final Four, and the Green Archers won, 74-57, to reach the finals. La Salle beat Ateneo in all three meetings that year.
For Ateneo coach Norman Black, it was his first win over La Salle and its coach Franz Pumaren, his former assistant in the PBA
“Yes, that’s right. This is my first win over La Salle as a coach. It feels good,” said Black, who never ran out of heroes in the 45-minute ballgame played as if the world was at stake.
“We dedicate this win to the school, to our supporters who stayed behind us even if we didn’t do well against La Salle in the last few games,” said Black.
The victory pushed Ateneo up in the standings at 4-1, just barely behind unbeaten University of the East at 4-0. The loss, meanwhile, was the second straight for La Salle, which took a bad loss to UE last Sunday.
Ateneo, from its big men to the little ones, was just more determined to win this one, holding their ground against JV Casio’s one-man show in the final quarter.
“We just showed a lot of desire, and a lot of hunger to win. We did a good job rebounding, too. We ran into a team that’s very difficult to beat,” added the Ateneo mentor.
Cliff Arao, Jobe Nkemakolam, Rabeth Al-Hussaini manned the paint for Ateneo while Kurt Long, Jai Reyes and Chris Tiu provided the spark, the latter sinking the clincher, a triple from left wing with just 9.9 ticks left.
But still, it was Reyes, nephew of former Blue Eagle and now RP team head coach Chot Reyes, who carried the fight for Ateneo. He had 18 points, two rebounds, six assists and a steal in just 26 minutes.
Casio, a member of the previous teams that won the title for La Salle, scored 15 points in the third period, all of them coming in a 21-16 run that tied the game at 65-all late in regulation.

Source: http://www.philstar.com/