After 112 regular season games and three playoff games the UAAP comes down to two, possibly three games, with reigning champion Ateneo de Manila taking on a familiar foe, Far Eastern University for the Season 74 championship. This is the second straight year that the two teams will dispute the centerpiece men’s basketball title. They took different routes to this year’s Big Dance. The Ateneo nearly swept the regular season with a 13-1 record and played just hard enough to edge Santo Tomas University in their Final 4 encounter. FEU needed to overcome a so-so first round performance and the twice-to-beat advantage of Number 2 seed Adamson University.

This is a reversal of sorts. Last year FEU was the top team at the end of the two elimination rounds at 12-2 and beat the Ateneo in both rounds. FEU disposed of a surprising La Salle squad in their Final 4 match while the Ateneo routed Adamson in their Final 4 encounter. Many however thought that FEU had peaked too soon, perhaps as early as the first round, as the Tamaraws faltered in the second round and practically stumbled into the Finals, while the Ateneo had built up momentum at every stage and were ready for their title defense. Although some pundits thought the Ateneo was the clear underdog in this series, no one really bought it. FEU would find out how battle-tested the Ateneo was.

In those Finals, the Blue Eagles completely shocked and awed the Tamaraws in Game 1 with an unexpected run-and-gun attack. At a time when almost every team slows things down, Black ordered his men to rebound and run at every opportunity. They wrapped up their Grand Slam campaign when Ryan Buenafe nailed a pressure-packed three-pointer in the last 22 seconds of Game 2. Buenafe was named the Finals MVP with 23 points in Game 2. Head coach Norman Black employed a pushed-out Box-1 defense to deny then MVP Ryan Roose Garcia and Rookie of the Year Terrence Romeo their usual looks. FEU forward Paul Sanga had a chance to change the complexion of the game when he was fouled by Frank Golla taking a three-point shot. Sanga clanked two of his three freethrows, setting up Buenafe’s title-clinching heroics.

This year the Ateneo is a clear favorite. They are the top offensive team averaging over 71 points per game, and the second-best defensive team allowing just nearly 59 opponent points per game. FEU is only fifth on offense with 66 points per game, and also fifth in defense, giving up 66 points per game as well. FEU is also the worst in the league with over 14 turnovers per game because of their guard-heavy play. The Ateneo in turn has the worst bench in the UAAP, getting just about 17 point per game from the relievers.

Three Ateneans are in the Top 10 in statistical points: 7-foot center Greg Slaughter, rookie guard Kiefer Ravena and veteran forward Nico Salva. FEU has two players in the Top 10 in Garcia and center-forward Aldrech Ramos. Slaughter and Ravena were in the running for Most Valuable Player for Season 74 all the way up to the end of the eliminations. Two other Ateneo starters, pointguard Eman Monfort and off-guard Kirk Long are in the Top 20. Romeo was the only other Tamaraw in the Top 20.

Some observers thought that Adamson would have made for a worthier challenger to the crown. As they showed in the Final 4 though, Adamson simply is not yet ready to even contend, much less challenge the reigning champions. As early as the summer tournaments this writer was already saying it would be an Ateneo-FEU rematch for the Season 74 title. Adamson had possibly their best season in nearly two decades, but the Tamaraws had the playoff experience, the talent and the real moxie to overcome the Falcons and return to the UAAP Finals. “Gusto siempre naming talaga makabalik sa Finals,” said FEU Coach Bert Flores in one post-game interview.

Their two encounters this season were won by the Ateneo but in contrasting fashion. Their Round 1 game was a rout at 69-49. Those were the second-fewest points allowed by the Blue Eagles after the 39-point starvation diet they inflicted on National University. In Round 2 it looked like the Tamaraws would exact payback, building as much as a 16-point lead and still leading by six with only 62 seconds left. Then Romeo bungled two passes thus allowing Monfort and Ravena to knot the count and send the game into overtime. Slaughter took over in the extra period as the Ateneo escaped 73-67.

As the clear favorites, the crown is the Ateneo’s to lose. As talented as FEU is they have the same depth problems as the Ateneo. When they lost 6-foot-11 African import Christian Sentchou and veteran swingman JR Cawaling to injuries during the season their bench became nearly as tepid as the Ateneo’s. In this kind of scenario the Ateneo’s powerful starting unit can easily impose itself. It will be up to two rookie Tamaraws to step up and prove their mettle in the Big Dance: guard Mike Tolomia and center Russell Escoto, two former RP Youth and FEU FERN teammates. Both players emerged during the Final 4 and delivered off the bench. Tolomia led FEU with 19 points in their rubber match versus Adamson. Escoto’s height, length and athletic ability came to the fore off both boards. “Hindi na naman na sila mga totoong rookie, dalawang taon din sila umupo bago na-lineup sa seniors, nag-RP Youth pa sila, so dapat lang mag-deliver sila,” Flores explained.

For the Ateneo, the Finals are practically home games. The Big Dome has been predominantly blue throughout the three previous championships and Black somehow always has something new in store during this time of year. “They aren’t champions for nothing. They know what it takes to win, and they’ve won three straight. Norman made sure of that,” said Bobby Parks, former seven-time PBA Best Import and father of NU’s Rey Parks.

Slaughter has been a true game-changer. He may not be the most fluid of athletes, or the most unstoppable of forces, but he knows how to maximize all of his seven feet and 265 pounds. Ranged against frontline players easily half a foot shorter and 50 pounds lighter, he has truly changed the way the game was played this year. Black worked on Slaughter’s overall game by showing him how best to catch the entry passes, plant his feet for better positioning, and move from box to box. Slaughter provides insurance on both ends. Opposing players are forced to alter their shots because of his sheer size, and he blocks nearly two shots per game. On offense, when the perimeter isn’t clicking Slaughter is an easy pass target inside.

When his game face is on, Slaughter just plain makes everything easier for the whole team. Ravena gets more opportunities for easy transition points. Salva can keep taking his snap jumpers and mix it up with occasional drives. Long and Monfort have a sure target on the 4-Side motion offense. “When you have a skilled 7-footer, you can hardly go wrong, all he literally has to do is stand there, and Slaughter does way more than just stand in the shaded lane,” said John Estiller, veteran sports shooter and occasional columnist.

In the end, everything will boil down to which team can execute and make their game plan work in the pressure cooker known as the UAAP Finals.

As the last three years have shown, no one does that better than the Ateneo.