An SEA Tiger player trying to block a BSA/AT Griffin. Photo by Alexis Matthew Reyes

Yellow clashed against orange for the last time as the Accountancy (BSA/AT) Griffins faced the School of Engineering and Architecture (SEA) Tigers for the Men’s Basketball Finals. A sea of yellow and orange filled the Martin Hall bleachers as both teams fought for the championship glory yesterday, Aug. 13 at 3 P.M.

At the start of the first quarter, it was a pretty close and slightly evenly scored ball game. A slow start for both teams, they missed a couple of free throws and free looks at the ring.  Though the Griffins were just as aggressive as the Tigers, by the end of the quarter, SEA Tigers gain the lead, 9-6.

Early in the second quarter, JC Pestañas of the Griffins fell down after a drive, colliding with the Tigers’ Ken Villacorta. It took him a long time to get up holding his head causing a worried look on the griffins’ bench and crowd. This accident became the fire of the griffins to push for the lead, 18-16.

However, Melvin Solon drilled a trey to stop the run by the Griffins, putting them up on the scoreboard, 19-18. Another easy lay from the Tigers pushing the score in their favour forces the Griffins to call a timeout.

Midway in the quarter, Pestañas returned to the ball game as aggressive as ever, fetching fouls from the SEA Tigers, who were warned for penalty with 3:06 remaining. But the Griffins were also in the same situation after Romeo Sedano fouled Solon while on the drive.

Near the end of the second quarter, the Tigers made a 5-0 run, after Ray Pasaylo drove for the basket and got the ball in. But he got called for a technical for saying ‘no-no’ while motioning his finger after blocking Kline Aranjuez as he drives to the basket. Aranjuez stopped the bleeding after drilling 1/3 free throws.

Fouls plagued both teams in both quarters, but the first half ended with the Tigers up, 30-21.

The Tigers continued with their run early in the third, gunning an 18-2 run in the first half of the quarter, their lead up by 17 points, 40-23. Aranjuez was able to add a point to the Griffins’ score.

After nailing their score at 24, the Griffins were back in the ball game after Pestañas scored a bucket. But the Tigers immediately responded with a three-pointer from Solon, stretching the lead to 46-26, SEA up by 20.

However, the Griffins showed their heart after a 4-0 run and a three-pointer to close out the quarter, 48-35.

As the fourth and final quarter was underway, the Griffins were desperate to close the gap between the score, producing a 4-0 run bringing down the lead by just 9 points. Careless passing from the Tigers and quick hands from the Griffins led to the four-point giveaway. This forced SEA to call a timeout and regroup.

After the break, Solon drilled a trey to break the run and for the SEA crowd to erupt in cheers. But with still 7:50 left in the ball game, Solon was injured, limping out of the court to the bench. This did not lessen the Tigers’ confidence, however, as Alvin Santos scored for two, SEA up 53-49.

Great ball movement and execution from the Tigers kept the Griffins at bay. But the Griffins didn’t allow any runs for the Tigers this time around. For every score made by the Tigers, they had a response.

Consecutive fouls from both teams allowed free buckets as players got sent to the line. But a trey by John Patrick Ibañez stopped the free throw giveaways, SEA was up by just 13, 65-52. But Accountancy’s Miguel Gancio fouled out of the ball game after a hard foul on Ralph San Miguel.

A three-pointer by Pasaylo put SEA up by 18, 70-52, with just 20 seconds left in the ball game and the tigers’ crowd started chanting “EA Champions!”

In the end, the EA Tigers bagged the championship and reigned supreme in the Men’s Basketball category, 71-54.

Jerik Jorgensen, coach of the SEA Tigers, said their preparation was to encourage teamwork within the team.

“Preparation namin was to encourage teamwork na as much as possible maikot yung bola bago matira para magkakumpiyansa lahat. Wala kasi kaming star player, wala kaming go-to guy, so dapat lahat kami magtulungan,” he said.

He also added that their win was good since they were up by a huge deficit and they were able to relax due to the lead, lessening the pressure on their shoulders.