MANILA, Philippines - Mac Belo seems to have made it a habit to knock down the buzzer-beating game-winner for Far Eastern U.
Reprising his role from last year’s Final Four, Belo banged in a last-second putback to lead the Tams back to the UAAP men’s basketball finals via a pulsating 76-74 victory over Ateneo yesterday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Tams now await the winner of the other F4 match between top seed Santo Tomas and defending champion National U.
“Kahit sino naman ang kalaban, mahirap iyung namimili. Right now we’re just happy to be back in the finals,” said FEU coach Nash Racela, whose team got another crack at the crown after falling short last season against the Bulldogs.
Roger Pogoy drained the game-tying trey then he put up a good defensive stand against Ateneo’s Adrian Wong, leading to the final FEU offensive.
Mike Tolomia, who picked up the defensive rebound, scooted down court and launched a scoop shot. It didn’t go in, though, but Belo was there for the bailout. The 6-foot-4 Belo gamely plucked the ball, sent it home, and tapped his chest as his teammates swarmed over him in celebration.
Belo, who was also responsible for scoring the winning trey for FEU in the semis rubbermatch against La Salle last year, deflected the praise.
“Our defensive stop was the one that won it for us because that gave Mike the chance to go for the shot and I just followed it up when he missed,” said the pride of Cotabato.
“Mac and Roger just hit the big shots but that was really a team effort. Mike was the one who kept on giving the ball; they were trapping him and he played as facilitator for us,” said Racela.
Two-time MVP Kiefer Ravena fired 25 in his final game with the Eagles, who missed the finals for the third straight year since their five-peat ended.
FEU seized a 56-47 upperhand late in the third but Ateneo, with Wong and Ravena shooting from afar, climbed back into the game. A trey and a clutch jumper by Ravena put the Eagles ahead, 74-71 going to the last 2:20.
Pogoy put things back to square one with his triple.
Carrying the top seeding in the Final Four since 1995, the Tigers enjoy the twice-to-beat advantage against the fourth-ranked Bulldogs but UST coach Bong dela Cruz said they’re treating it a must-win game, knowing well the fate that befell the No. 1 squad in the last two seasons.
Dela Cruz was assistant to Pido Jarencio in Season 76 when the then No. 4 Tigers toppled the No. 1 Bulldogs to reach the championship round, eventually placing second to La Salle. NU itself duplicated the feat as No. 4 last year, foiling top-ranked Ateneo en route to winning its first title in six decades.
“We don’t want such fate to happen to us that’s why we are preparing hard. We are not even thinking that we have a twice-to-beat edge. It’s like a one-game affair for us,” said Dela Cruz in Filipino.
On the other side of the fence, NU coach Eric Altmirano hopes to do an encore of the Bulldogs “miracle run” in 2014.
“We’re hoping it will turn out the same (as last year). We hope we can hurdle this challenge, this test for the team,” said Altamirano.
The Tigers and the Bulldogs split their encounters in the eliminations this season. The Bulldogs took their initial meeting on a jumper by Alfred Aroga, 55-54, last Sept. 19 then the Tigers got back with a 65-57 win last Oct. 17.
“They are the defending champions so they’re still a tough team. In terms of manpower, we’re just almost equal. So we need to execute on both ends if we want to finish them off quick,” said Dela Cruz, whose wards are coming off a 10-day lull after finishing their elims outings earlier than their rivals.