UAAP Esports: Ateneo bags NBA 2K24 title in “El Clasico” vs DLSU
Ateneo de Manila University’s Paolo Medina made history by winning the first-ever event title in UAAP esports in what was a thrilling basketball esports showdown against its perennial rival.
Medina won in a stunning three-game series of NBA 2K24 against De La Salle University’s Kegan Yap, 2-1, at the Doreen Fernandez Black Box, Areté Ateneo, in Quezon City Thursday night.
“To be the first champion, I am very blessed. I feel I made a mark that will forever be there. I am grateful for this opportunity,” said Medina, a 22-year-old BS Information Technology student.
Medina kicked off the Blue Eagles’ campaign by utilizing the San Antonio Spurs to defeat Yap’s Chicago Bulls pick, 77-75. Yap rebounded in Game 2 with his LA Clippers pick to nab a 93-89 victory and force a decider.
Game 3 saw Medina pull off an Oklahoma City Thunder pick to upend Yap’s Los Angeles Lakers pick, ending the first quarter of the decider game with a 10-point lead, 25-15. This cushion allowed Medina to cruise-control the entire decider match, with the lead growing to as much as 20 by the start of the 4th quarter.
Ateneo’s dominance in the UAAP NBA 2K24 category was not smooth sailing at first. Medina entered the semis as Pool A’s second seed, which saw him defeat University of Santo Tomas’ Daemiel Argame in the semis in dominant fashion, 96-92 and 119-81.
"Not gonna lie, coming into the tournament, I felt very confident. But then, on the first day of the group stage, I lost my game against UST, and then later that same day, I lost against UP. So, it wasn't a cakewalk. It wasn't an easy path to the finals," Medina told the UAAP Esports media.
Ateneo Blue Eagles head coach Nite Alparas expressed immense pride in Medina's performance throughout the UAAP Esports tournament.
"Honestly, sa six months na nag-training kami, parang two months ago sinabi ko sa kanya na, 'We are 100-percent ready to compete sa UAAP.' Nangyari nga, nag-champion kami," said Alparas.
"Sobrang confident ako kay Paolo kase simula February nakita ko siya. Nakita ko yung growth niya, development niya as a player. Sabi ko, 'Pagaling ka nang pagaling. Nagi-improve ka, lahat ng sinasabi ko sa'yo naa-absorb mo. Tina-try mo yung new things. Hindi ka takot magkamali,” he added.
On the flipside, Kegan Yap’s path was just as difficult as Paolo’s. The Green Archer’s path to the finals involved a hard-fought battle against top seed Erix Delos Reyes of the UST Teletigers in the other semifinals, where he triumphed 2-1 (65-53, 72-83, 88-67).
In Game 1, Yap used the Boston Celtics to defeat Delos Reyes' LA Lakers, 65-53. Despite Delos Reyes' strong response in Game 2, tying the series 72-83, Yap emerged victorious in Game 3, securing his spot in the finals and sending Delos Reyes to the bronze medal match against Argame.
In an all-UST bronze medal match, Erix Delos Reyes defeated Daemiel Argame in straight games, 2-0 (72-63, 71-57).
The UAAP NBA 2K24 games is one of three divisions in UAAP esports, the others being the PC division, which hosts VALORANT as its selected title, and the mobile esports division, which is utilizing Mobile Legends: Bang Bang.
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Jayson Castro scored 16 points and made an immediate impact in his first game of the PBA Season 49 Commissioner's Cup.
Castro added three steals and two assists in his return to help TNT Tropang Giga get the 109-93 victory over the Blackwater Bossing on Thursday night, December 19, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The nine-time PBA champion missed TNT's first three games due to hamstring issues.
TNT's all-around import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson supported Castro with his 22 points, nine rebounds, five dimes, five deflections, and a block.
Four more Tropang Giga scored in double digits to get their second straight victory of the tourney. Rey Nambatac contributed 19, Calvin Oftana provided 18, RR Pogoy put up 12, and Glenn Khobuntin added 10.
Meanwhile, Blackwater high-scoring import George King, who averaged 39 points per game, was only limited to a conference-low 28 markers on 10-of-22.
The Bossing also don't have their prized rookie Sedrick Barefield due to injury.
With King being handcuffed and Barefield not in the lineup, RK Ilagan stepped up and poured out 19 points highlighted by 3-of-3 shooting from the arc.
The game was the last of the year for both teams.
TNT will be back in action on January 7 against Meralco Bolts, while Blackwater will come back on January 8 to face Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.
Sweet-shooting guard Jordan Heading and import Cheick Diallo poured out 21 points each to lead Converge in their victory over the Phoenix Fuel Masters, 116-105, on Thursday night, December 19, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The win marked the first time that the FiberXers won back-to-back games in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner's Cup and improved their record to 4-2.
Besides Heading and Diallo, four more Converge players scored in double digits. Schonny Winston and Bryan Santos contributed 16 apiece, while Alec Stockton and BJ Andrade added 14 and 11, respectively.
Their twin towers, ace center Justin Arana and top pick rookie Justine Baltazar both came out with six markers.
"We give credit to our guys," said FiberXers acting head coach Franco Atienza, who admitted that he was anxious when Phoenix made a good start that led to a 20-2 lead.
"We just stuck on, we didn't panic. We returned to how we want to run our system, how to run our offense, our defense," Atienza added.
Converge will have a chance to extend their win streak when they face Barangay Ginebra on Saturday, December 21, in Batangas City, and against Meralco Bolts on Christmas day at the Big Dome.
Meanwhile, Donovan Mitchell led Phoenix with 30 points and 18 rebounds. He was supported by RJ Jazul's 20, Tyler Tio's 13, and Ricci Rivero's 11.
The Fuel Masters now have a 1-5 win-loss record after dropping their final game of the year.
The Scores:
CONVERGE 116 - Heading 21, Diallo 21, Winston 16, Santos 16, Stockton 14, Andrade 11, Arana 6, Baltazar 6, Racal 5, Delos Santos 0, Caralipio 0.
PHOENIX 105 - Smith 30, Jazul 20, Tio 13, Perkins 12, Rivero 11, Tuffin 8, Verano 4, Garcia 3, Soyud 2, Manganti 2, Salado 0, Alejandro 0, Muyang 0, Ular 0, Daves 0.
Quarter Scores: 15-30, 48-54, 87-80, 116-105.
San Miguel failed to earn its breakthrough win in the 2024-25 East Asia Super League (EASL) after bowing to Hong Kong Eastern, 62-71, at Southorn Stadium in Hong Kong, on Wednesday, December 18.
Kobey Lam spearheaded the pivotal comeback, registering 19 points, which gave the Hong Kong squad its first victory in the EASL game.
Notwithstanding the efforts of June Mar Fajardo and recently signed import Torren Jones for San Miguel, Eastern maintained their lead.
After a difficult turn-around shot by Fajardo, the Beermen were able to cut the margin to just two points at 58-60 in the fourth quarter.
However, just when it appeared that San Miguel had the advantage, Lam blazed through when he scored five of Eastern’s 9-0 run.
Lam also posted three rebounds and one assist for the Hong Kong-based squad, with Chris McLaughlin tallying a double-double of 16 markers and 17 boards, while Glenn Yang contributed 11 for the home team.
Fajardo and Jones led the charge for the Beermen with 19 points each, but their efforts were for naught as they failed to keep the team from suffering a third straight loss and dropping to the bottom of Group A.
The loss was the first in three games for Leo Austria since taking over as coach last week in place of Jorge Gallent.
San Miguel will aim to finally grab their first win in the EASL as they face the Hiroshima Dragonflies on January 8 at the Hiroshima Sun Plaza in Japan.
The Scores:
Hong Kong 71 – Lam 19, McLaughlin 16, Yang 11, Blankley 7, Xu 5, Leung 5, Chan 4, Zhu 4, Cheung 0, Pok 0, Guinchard 0.
San Miguel 62 – Fajardo 19, Jones 19, Perez 8, Miller 5, Trollano 3, Tautuaa 3, Cahilig 3, Rosales 2, Ross 0, Lassiter 0.
Quarter Scores: 28-14, 48-34, 60-48, 71-62.