Game Sunday
(Araneta Coliseum)
3:30 p.m. – UE vs Ateneo

He has relinquished his Most Valuable Player (MVP) title but Rabeh Al-Hussaini continued to play like one on Thursday.

And Jai Reyes? Well, he’s no ordinary sidekick. Despite being one of the victims of typhoon “Ondoy” that ravaged the country over the weekend, he continued to stamp his class and savvy basketball.

Behind its two top players, defending champion Ateneo moved within the threshold of winning its second consecutive championship after escaping past stubborn University of the East, 78-71, at the start of their title series in the 72nd UAAP basketball tournament yesterday at the Araneta Coliseum.

Playing poorly in recent games, 6-foot-6 Al-Hussaini proved to be the scourge of the Warriors as he exploded for 28 points and grabbed 14 rebounds while Reyes added 17 points to push the Eagles within a retaining their title.

A win on Sunday will give Ateneo its fifth overall – 22 years to the day the school won its first-ever UAAP title also at UE's expense.

The Eagles' win came after an 11-day layoff following an easy Final Four victory over University of Santo Tomas and a few more because of Typhoon "Ondoy" that caused major flooding around the metropolis.

"We're just ready to play. I didn't really think that we will come out rusty," said Ateneo coach Norman Black, who steered Ateneo to its 12th consecutive victory.

"I really actually encouraged them at halftime because we got some good looks from their (UE's) zone defense in the second quarter. I was just telling them to have some confidence in their shots because they will get those same shots in the second half," said Black.

Al-Hussaini, who lost to University of Santo Tomas' Dylan Ababou in this season's MVP race, shot 11-of-22 from the field and made six consecutive points in the crucial moments to put the Eagles out of trouble.

The former PCU Baby Dolphin scored off a turnover to give Ateneo a 71-66 lead with barely two minutes left before the scored on a layup to extend the lead to seven.

After a basket by Pari Llagas, he then finished off UE with jumper with 62 seconds to play for a 75-68 lead.

"Siguro naiisip ko na kapag finals na dapat sulitin ko na kaya siguro lumalabas laro ko," said Al-Hussaini, who equaled his two-game averages against UE during the double-round eliminations.

Reyes, who spent for almost a day at the second floor of their house at Riverside in Cainta with neighbors and relatives including his one-year old daughter Cara during the flood, overcame two early fouls and drained five treys in the second half.

At one point, he hit consecutive treys then feed Kirk Long for a triple with the shot clock winding down for a 69-61 advantage with 3:47 to go in the contest.

The scores:
ATENEO 78 – Al-Hussaini 28, Reyes 17, Salva 8, Buenafe 7, Austria 6, Salamat 4, Long 3, Baclao 3, Chua 2, Sumalinog 0, Monfort 0.
UE 71 – Lee 15, Llagas 13, Acuna 13, Reyes 11, Lingganay 9, Espiritu 8, Acibar 2, Zamar 0, Bandaying 0.
Quarters: 24-11; 34-35; 57-53; 78-71.