Ateneo 74, Sto. Tomas 82
Growling Tigers eliminate the Blue Eagles out of Final Four Contention
The fourteen year streak has ended. In a nearly dominating fashion, the Growling Tigers have finally put away all hopes for the Blue Eagles to get six straight championships for the men's basketball tournament in the UAAP. It was at least their own version of getting revenge against the Blue Eagles, who have deprived them of a championship last Season 75, even sealing another victory during this season's first round. They have mounted a lead as large as 18, and despite the Blue Eagles threatening to snag the win, Jeric Teng and Tata Bautista have held the fort and built another huge lead in the fourth which, unfortunately for the fans in blue, was never overcome. And with the Blue Eagles out of the Final Four, this is the first time in fourteen years that they have not entered the postseason, which is the longest run during the past two decades.
Players to mark: Chris Newsome and Juami Tiongson. Newsome's three fouls early in the first quarted limited him to only 21 minutes of play, making life difficult for the Blue Eagles to defend the paint and thus fall down into a double-digit hole during the first half. But with the way he played in the second half (not only in the big Blue Eagle run that had the Blue Eagles hold on to the lead for at least five minutes, but also in the final minutes of catch-up basketball), it would be safe to assume that the game could have gone otherwise had he not been limited by his fouls. In this game, he had 13 points, 7 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, a block, and a turnover, all in just 21 minutes. What is amazing is that Newsome averages 30 minutes a game, and he pretty much reached his game averages (13.1ppg, 8.6rpg, 2.6apg, 0.6spg, 0.5bpg, 2.6TOpg). Moreover, his presence on the court makes life difficult for the UST's frontcourt guys.
But one major disappointment at this game would be Juami Tiongson, who fell flat compared to his season averages. During the last 13 games, Tiongson was the Blue Eagles' fourth best scorer with 10.9ppg, making at least 3 triples a game. However, during the most important moment of his career, he was not able to duplicate his previous performances as he ended up with just 2 points, 3 rebounds, a dime and a swipe, coupled with two turnovers. Tiongson became the missing link in this game in the absence of Newsome, as he was not able to make the shots that he normally takes, especially those corner and elbow threes that could have made a big difference.
Some final remarks on Kiefer Ravena and the Last Buenagame. The Phenom ended his third year of college basketball, perhaps his worst so far since he started to play for the Blue and White, with 20 big points, leading the Blue Eagles in this game. However, despite being Ateneo's top scorer in this game, he was not able to (virtually) single-handedly lead the Blue Eagles to win in their most important game. Not only did he miss crucial free throws in the final minutes (both attempts at the charity stripe that could have trimmed further the six-point lead that the Growling Tigers have during the last few minutes of the game), but he also served as the tail-end of bad miscues. This last game he had might have been a salvation of sorts, as he ended up with only 3 points and out of the game (ejected with five fouls) in the Blue Eagles' bout against NU; but then, however good this game could be for him, it did not translate into win.
And regarding Ravena's over-all performance this season, two things can be brought up. First, his ankle injury cost him a lot, not only in terms of missing three crucial games during the beginning of the eliminations, but also in terms of his overall performance. Ravena was not his own, dominating self during this season, as he posed different highs (in scoring and rebounding) and lows (free throw shooting) this season. And related to this is the second, the fact that he did not live up that much to the expectations that he can carry this team (at least for this season), having Newsome and Ryan Buenafe on his side. One could justify that the lack of big men also hindered Ravena's output this season, but even with that fact, it should not have decline not that much. But then, expect Ravena to come back hungrier and stronger next season as he enters his final two playing years.
And Ryan Buenafe? The whole UAAP will miss him so much; however, his game did not turn out that big during his last game, with little results yielded by maximum effort. Those 9 points and 7 rebounds (3 of 13 from the field) were undoubtedly big, but he could have done definitely more, despite the fact that it's not far from his 11-point, 8-rebound average. However, this does not discount the fact that he's the best clutch player that the Blue Eagles have seen during the past few years, and he has it all to make it big in the PBA, moreso if he continues to improve his versatile game.
Karim-ed Down. Two statlines to show how Karim Abdul became a big factor in the Growling Tigers' win:
A: 25 pts, 11/18 FG, 9 rebs
B: 17 pts, 7/25 FG, 11 rebs
Statline A is Karim Abdul's, which shows that Pido Jarencio's plan in the first half to dump the ball on him on the low post pretty much worked against the Blue Eagles. This is perhaps Abdul's biggest game in the eliminations, affirming the fact that he is the fulcrum of the Growling Tigers' offense, because without him, Jeric Teng or Clark Bautista or even Kevin Ferrer can't even get to their sweet spots.
And Statline B? That was Frank Golla, JP Erram, and Buenafe's statline. Without Newsome, the Blue Eagles' frontcourt could not do anything against Abdul, either giving up duty fouls or just letting him score from the inside. What happened in this game is nothing but a summary of the Blue Eagles' defense without a big man to anchor and hold the fort down. Yes, it is true that they were able to somehow contain a lot of big men in the league this season (Charles Mammie, Anthony Hargrove, and all the towering combinations that DLSU gave them); however, this did not happen tonight. If the Blue Eagles would want to get that crown back in the next season, they have to get themselves a big man. News is the team already chose to ride the waves, getting and training an African center to do the dirty job alongside transferee Ponso Gotladera. If that is the case, then things are going to be interesting insofar as Season 77 is concerned.
The game of triples. What I'm talking about is not the total triples that both teams make (Ateneo made 7 of their 22 attempts, while UST had 4 of 19), but it is the three triples early in the fourth quarter that sealed the win for the Growling Tigers. Clark Bautista made two corner threes without a man to defend him, and Jeric Teng, in his best game since returning from his shoulder injury (17 markers and 9 boards), got one via a stop-and-pop move. Had the Blue Eagles stopped at least one of those triples, then it might still be possible to salvage the game and snag that last Final Four slot. Again, it's brought about by the difficulty of not having a big man, as they put too much pressure on Abdul but giving up opportunities from the outside. Credit, though, goes to the Growing Tigers for having taken advantage of this the whole game long.
Endgame remarks. In all struggles and defeats, new things are learned. I cannot but stress the fact that the Blue Eagles have to get a big man quick, especially now that, alongside Tiongson and Buenafe, Golla and Erram would be leaving the Blue and White as well. But besides the point, a lot of players have improved by necessity, especially Nico Elorde who has stepped up in the last three games of the Blue Eagles with his shooting (of all things) and gutsy rebounding. We also have seen what Vince Tolentino as a stretch four can do, and perhaps we'll see better things once legitimate big men will run alongside him. We have not yet seen how Anton Asistio and Earl Murphy can fully do, but there is hope for these men. With this, the Blue Eagles do not have anything to do but look forward to the next season.
The Scores:
Ateneo 74 - Ravena 20, Newsome 13, Elorde 12, Buenafe 9, Pessumal 8, Golla 4, Erram 4, Tolentino 2, Tiongson 2, Capacio 0
UST 82 - Abdul 25, Teng 17, Daquioag 13, Ferrer 10, Mariano 7, Bautista 6, Sheriff 4, Pe 0, Lo 0, Lao 0
Quarter scores: 14-25, 26-39, 51-52, 74-82
Credits to PBA-online.com for the statistics, Fabilioh for the picture, and GMA Online for the box.
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