Ateneo de Davao cops Adidas crown

Guard Dexter Ansaldo displayed nerves of steel in the overtime shootout by hitting the crucial free throw for Ateneo de Davao University as his Mindanao team upstaged title-favorite Xavier Stallions of NCR to claim the national championship in the Juniors division of the Adidas Streetball Challenge 2002 held recently in SM City-Cebu.

The unheralded Ansaldo, quiet for the most part of the game, outdueled counterpart Eric Dee of Xavier by connecting on his free throw in the second shootout to break the 19-all tie and win the match for Ateneo, 20-19.

Regulation play ended at 16-all, but the Blue Knights withstood the pressure in overtime by outshooting the Stallions, 4-3.

Both Ateneo de Davao and Xavier kept the game close with neither team allowing the other to lead by more than three points. Starring for Ateneo were team captain Aaron Medina and Paulo Lim, while carrying the scoring cudgels for Xavier were guard Gabriel Sia and bespectacled center Woodward Co.

Xavier actually had the lead with only 10.4 seconds left in regulation as Sia soared for a driving lay-up. Ateneo’s Paulo Lim managed to break free in the ensuing play and scored with 4.3 seconds remaining to keep the game even at 16-all. Xavier called time out but failed to score on their possession as the Mindanao champs kept their hopes alive by forcing the overtime shootout.

Named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the division was Medina who led all scorers with 9 points. Other members of the Blue Knights coached by Rainerio Gomez were Ansaldo, Lim and Giancarlo Fernan.