The fire, the passion and the intensity were all there when PBA players from college hoop’s glamour teams Ateneo and La Salle relived their rivalry yesterday at the historic Araneta Coliseum.

But it ended in an unexpected way: A draw.

In a charity game which usually gives no extra period to decide a match, the 1st PBA La Salle-Ateneo showdown ended – after 48 minutes of regulation play – with the score tied at 90-all.

Magnolia Beverage’s Wesley Gonzales missed a potential game-winning jumper at the top of the key that hit the back rim and bounced high before the final buzzer sounded in a tightly-contested game.

Enrico Villanueva of Magnolia led the PBA-Blue Eagles with double-double 24 points and 10 rebounds, while the PBA Green Archers got a game-high 15 markers from Red Bull’s Carlo Sharma.

“The battle for bragging rights was not resolved,” PBA chairman Tony Chua of Red Bull said. “I certainly welcome a rematch, more so if it’s for a cause.”

At least 6,000 alumni and supporters from both schools showed up at the 18,000-seater Big Dome.

The crowd was relatively small compared to the actual college game encounter between these bitter rivals – the Eagles and the Archers – that usually fill the basketball venues to the rafters.

But even with the small turnout from attendance, the exhibition match earned about P2 million from the combined sponsorship, particularly Yakult, revenue and TV commercials.

The game was televised live over ABS-CBS’s Studio 23.

Proceeds will go to the Players Educational Trust Fund that ex-pro can avail for the education of their children.

Barangay Ginebra’s Jong Uichico called the shots for PBA-La Salle, while PBA-Ateneo was handled by Talk ’N Text’s Chot Reyes.

The PBA-La Salle, which won five titles in six years from 1998 to 2003, led by as many as 11 points, 72-61, on a basket by Welcoat Paints rookie guard Ryan Arana with 10:21 left in the game.

Villanueva, Gonzales, Alaska’s new recruits LA Tenorio and Larry Fonacier connived in a 28-16 run capped by Villanueva’s two free throws of a foul by Coca-Cola’s Mark Telan to take an 89-88 lead with 38.7 seconds to go.

Gonzales gave the PBA-Ateneo a two-point lead, 90-88, when he split his pair of foul shots, but newly-acquired Magnolia playmaker Mike Cortez canned both free throws off Tenorio’s foul that leveled the score at 90-90 with 19.4 seconds left.

Although the Players Union is inactive for quite sometime now since former PBA player and current La Salle mentor Franz Pumaren served as its president in the late 90s, the program is still ongoing.

The PBA, according to league Executive Director Rickie Santos, has other plans similar to this game pitting pro players from rival schools to improve the trust fund of the union.

Others showdowns being considered according to Santos, who is the officer-in-charge while commissioner Sonny Barrios is in the United States, are University of Santo Tomas versus University of the East and NCAA back-toback champion San Beda College opposite Letran.

Also, the income from the All-Star Weekend festivities goes to the trust fund. Bacolod City will host this season’s All-Star set April 24 to 27.