BY CHRISTINE MONCADA

KIRK Long beat the buzzer with a 17-foot jumper yesterday as Ateneo got back at defending champion University of Santo Tomas 72-71 and seized solo third in the 70th UAAP men’s basketball championship at the Araneta Coliseum.

The big crowd held its breath when Ateneo coach Norman Black sued for time with 19.3 seconds left after Khasim Mirza scored, giving the Tigers a 71-70 lead, to the cheers of the UST gallery.

Black mapped out a play for Chris Tiu but the veteran guard failed to get his hands on the ball as Ateneo looked for the winning shot. With the seconds fast ticking away, Long took matters into his own hands and sank a jumper just before the final buzzer, to the delight of Ateneo supporters and dismay of UST backers.

"It was not the play but they could not find Tiu. They did a good job rotating the ball and Long stepped up and took the shot. It was a huge shot for us," said Black.

The American rookie out of Faith Academy, who will celebrate his 19th birthday on Saturday, finished with 10 points, two rebounds, an assist and three steals as the Blue Eagles posted their sixth win in 10 outings while handing the Eagles, who prevailed 87-74 in the first round, their fifth defeat in 11 matches in a tie with Far Eastern U.

Earlier, the Tamaraws kept their semis bid alive by expectedly routing University of the Philippines 83-61, a victory that coach Glenn Capacio said will serve them in good stead in their match against unbeaten leader University of the East tomorrow.

Ford Arao led Ateneo with 20 points, eight rebounds and four assists while Nonoy Baclao chipped in 11 points and grabbed five boards.

"It was a tough game but it was also a shot in the arm for us going into the final stretch of the eliminations," Black said.

The Tigers led 57-50 at the start of the final period but the Eagles went on a 13-4 run to wrest the lead for the first time 63-61 with 5:11 left.

Riel Cervantes finished with a career-high 16 points to go with 13 rebounds and two steals off the bench to help the Tamaraws clinch their sixth victory in 11 games. The Maroons absorbed their 10th straight loss.