The defending champions Far Eastern University Tamaraws failed to defend their crown after they lose to the Ateneo Blue Eagles 68-69 in the do or die game held at the Araneta Coliseum.
With the momentum on their side, the FEU Tamaraws was able to start the game strong, showing Ateneo that they can fight fair and square in their rubber match, taking a 20-15 lead at the end of the first period after being down 9-15 early in the quarter.
Entering the second period the Blue Eagles takes over the game as they were able to erase FEU's lead to take a 26-22 advantage, but the Tamaraws were able to charge back and didn't let Ateneo pull away as they halted the runs of the blue to regain the lead at 41-38.
A more aggressive and gritty Ateneo squad entered the court in the second half, erasing the 45-40 lead of the Tamaraws and establishing their own 51-46 lead the Blue Eagles starts to fly high in the third period.
In the fourth period the Blue Eagles took the full control of the game, keeping FEU within a striking distance. Monbert Arong was able to tie the game at 62 with 2:18 remaining in the game, but Thirdy Ravena was able to score another basket to push Ateneo at 66-64 with less than a minute remaining.
With just 37 seconds left, Ron Dennison saved the Tamaraws as he tied the game at 66 that pushed the game into the first overtime game of season 79.
In the overtime period the Tamaraws scored early courtesy of Dennison to push them at 68-67 after a free throw was made by Vince Tolentino. Isaac Go played the hero for Ateneo as he scored the last basket of the game to give them the win.
Thirdy Ravena and Mike Nieto both had 13 points, while Isaac Go had 12 points and 14 rebounds to push their dream finals match up against La Salle on Saturday.
Graduating Tamaraws Raymar Jose had 12 points and 12 rebounds and Monbert Arong scored 15 points and 7 rebounds to wrap up their UAAP careers, while Richard Escoto added 11 points. Raymar Jose finished 5th over all in the MVP race with 53.6429 total statistical percentage.
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