UAAP Season 65 men's basketball tournament

La Salle–UST series

Mark Cardona

Mark "Macmac" Cardona is a Filipino professional basketball player currently playing for the Meralco Bolts in the Philippine Basketball Association...

and BJ Manalo, opened a 30–14 lead in the first quarter and never relinquished the lead. The lead reach 26 points in the third quarter. The Tigers cut the lead to 59–72 with a 7–0 run at the start of the fourth quarter, and another time, this time with an 11-point lead with a 78–89 scoreline, but La Salle's lead was too big for the Tigers to overcome.

Game 1

Ateneo defeated UE to extend their series to a deciding second game. While Most Valuable Player (MVP) candidate James Yap

James Yap

James Carlos Yap Sr. is a Filipino professional basketball player for the B-Meg Llamados in the Philippine Basketball Association...

was limited only four points by the Ateneo defense, returning L.A. Tenorio (who was previously injured with a hand injury) led the decisive run that increased Ateneo's lead to 11 points to prevent their elimination.

Game 2

The deciding game would also go down to the wire; Gec Chia

Gec Chia

George Christian T. Chia , better known as Gec Chia, is a Filipino professional basketball player who last played for the Barako Bull Energy Boosters in the Philippine Basketball Association...

turned over the ball to UE, where James Yap converted at the other end to put the Red Warriors up, 70–68. Chia would later score to force the game's seventh and last deadlock with 35 seconds left. Yap missed a three-pointer on the ensuing possession, JR Estrada grabbed the rebound but failed to convert. With Ateneo now having the possession with 7.8 seconds remaining, L.A. Tenorio dribbled the entire length of the court to find his path blocked by two UE players. Off a pick from Enrico Villanueva

Enrico Villanueva

Jose Enrico P. Villanueva , better known simply as Enrico Villanueva, and by the nicknames Raging Bull and E-Vill, is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Barangay Ginebra Kings in the Philippine Basketball Association...

, Chia scored a 15-foot jump shot to win the game for Ateneo and eliminate UE from contention.

Game 1

Ateneo kept pace with La Salle throughout much of the game, with the Green Archers leading by as much as eight and the Eagles giving up hairline leads. Late in the game, L.A. Tenorio missed both free-throws, but drew an offensive foul from Mike Cortez

Mike Cortez

Mike Cortez is a professional basketball player for the Barangay Ginebra Kings in the Philippine Basketball Association. Cortez gained prominence in the amateur ranks for the De La Salle Green Archers in the UAAP and the ICTSI Archers in the Philippine Basketball League...

to give Ateneo the possession with 39.3 seconds left. Rich Alvarez

Rich Alvarez

Richard D. "Rich" Alvarez is a Filipino professional basketball player and currently playing for the Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters of the Philippine Basketball Association. Alvarez was the first overall pick of 2004 PBA Draft by the Shell Turbo Chargers...

missed consecutive shots, but Enrico Villanueva

Enrico Villanueva

split his free-throws to put Ateneo up by two points with 9.2 seconds remaining. In the ensuing possession, Mark Cardona

Mark Cardona

Mark "Macmac" Cardona is a Filipino professional basketball player currently playing for the Meralco Bolts in the Philippine Basketball Association...

tried to shoot a jump shot but was blocked by Larry Fonacier

Larry Fonacier

Larry Alexander N. Fonacier is a professional basketball player in the Philippine Basketball Association who currently plays for the Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters...

. Cardona grabbed the rebound and tried to force a shot but Fonacier blocked him anew as time expired to give Ateneo a 1–0 series lead.

Game 2

After the first game, La Salle coach Franz Pumaren talked to Mike Cortez

Mike Cortez

where he reminded him that as a veteran, he should lead by example to his teammates. La Salle started strongly, leading 50–32, capped off a slam dunk from Cortez off an Ateneo turnover. The Blue Eagles will cut the deficit to nine points at 64–55, but Cortez scored each time to prevent Ateneo from cutting the lead even further. With La Salle up 78–73, Fonacier scored on a put-back; Adonis Sta. Maria scored at the other end to restored the 5-point lead, with 65 seconds left. Enrico Villanueva

Enrico Villanueva

scored via two free-throws, but Carlo Sharma

Carlo Sharma

Ram Carlo Sharma is a professional basketball player in the Philippine Basketball Association who currently plays for the Petron Blaze Boosters. He was drafted by Shell twelfth overall in 2004....

scored two points also from the free-throw line. L.A. Tenorio drove hard to the basket but missed; Santa Maria was fouled on the rebound attempt. Santa Maria made both free-throws, Cortez caught the airball from Fonacier's three-pointer, was fouled, and split his free-throws to end the game. La Salle evened the series and forced a deciding games off Cortez' 21 points.

Game 3

Ateneo led for much of the game via small margins, when L.A. Tenorio made successive three-point shots and Wesley Gonzales

Wesley Gonzales

Wesley O. Gonzales is a Filipino professional basketball player. He currently plays for the Alaska Aces in the Philippine Basketball Association.-Player Profile:...

made a lay-up to give Ateneo a 10-point 64–54 lead; the two players would later leave the game due to fouls for the former and cramps from the latter. Sonny Tadeo and Epok Quimpo scored on a 5-point run to add Ateneo's lead to eleven points with barely over two minutes left. Adonis Santa Maria narrowed the gap to 66–73 but Villanueva made it a 9-point lead after being fouled by Santa Maria during a rebound play off Fonacier's miss. Santa Maria and BJ Manalo scored a 4–0 run, but Fonacier scored on the free-throw line off a Cortez to foul to win the championship for Ateneo, their first since their consecutive title run from 1987 to 1988.and Denying La Salle set a new record of 5-consecutive seniors titles

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