Ateneo 79, De La Salle 62
-Who says that the Blue Eagles will have a difficult time without Greg Slaughter? With the towering threat on foul trouble (and hence a relatively weak post game), the Katipunan squad earned their eleventh straight win in fashion, hitting timely shots and never letting the Green Squad initiate runs through a stifling defense that forced them to score from the outside and chuck up jumpers and threes.
-Nico Salva was not able to hit anything save one during the UE game, and maybe he thought that this was the time to bring the groove back and provide another stellar performance. And come out big he did, as he was able to tally 19 big points not so much by hoisting jumpers but by bringing the ball inside in a Kobe-ish manner. Emman Monfort, on the other hand, proved that he is not only the best point guard but the gutsiest one as well, grabbing boards here and there and increasing his free throw percentage for every push and shove inflicted by the green guards on him. Finally, one might ask, how about the first round match's hero, Kiefer Ravena? The Phenom had his own turns as well, becoming the third Blue Eagle who scored double digits alongside Monfort and Salva… including that difficult magnificent side jumper after a Simon Atkins three that trimmed the lead to two during the second quarter.
-That must have hurt for the Green Archers when they were struggling even when the Blue bench took their roles (despite not scoring much compared to the DLSU bench). But the one who really did serious work was the most energetic Blue Eagle of this season, Tonino Gonzaga. He had 12 markers part of which were two treys, and one of them stopped a possible DLSU run early in the fourth quarter that could have given them a chance to trim the lead to as little as five. People watching on TV could have seen his "Angry Eagle" face once he made another lay up, which explicitly told everyone that he was meant to be taken seriously.
-Two important concepts that emerged in the Black's Board today would be "match ups" and "deference." Coach Norman played a game of strategic basketball, as he put JP Erram to man the paint in order to check the DLSU frontcourt and force crazy jumpers from everyone. He even made it a point to tire out the DLSU bigs by putting Salva and have him take the ball inside through dribble-drives past the slower Torres and Van Opstal. Apparently, it worked, right? On the other hand, one key to Ateneo's success today would be the way everyone makes the extra pass to the people in the right spots during the right time. When it looked like Erram would take a jumper, he saw Nico Salva down under and handed him the ball for the easier deuce. Monfort did the same when he executed the classic pick and roll and have someone drive or pound the ball inside. Oh, and did anyone see that outstanding passes to Salva and Chua?
-On the green side, props to Van Opstal for taking advantage of Slaughter's foul trouble en route to the only DLSU double-digit marker. This also goes to Almond Vosotros for being the only DLSU player to get things right. Seriously, perhaps LA Revilla could go off the bench, since Vosotros seems to be familiar with the system more than he does. And by the way, did anyone note that Ponso Gotladera came in? Maybe too insignificant to mention.
-With the Final Four spot nearly out of the equation, perhaps it's nigh time that the Green Archers think about the future, or at least provide immediate solutions to their problems. Is it with the players? Perhaps. Is it with Coach Dindo Pumaren? Most likely. However, at least they should look at their current problems and provide short term solutions. How about a new player rotation? Or perhaps, a day for free throw shooting, where until no one gets 500 made, no one is to leave the training facility?
The scores:
Ateneo 79 – Salva 19, Ravena 13, Monfort 13, Gonzaga 12, Slaughter 8, Chua 7, Long 6, Tiongson 1, Erram 0, Sumalinog 0, Golla 0, Austria 0
De La Salle 62 – Van Opstal 13, Vosotros 9, Tampus 9, Torres 8, Revilla 6, Villanueva 6, Atkins 4, de la Paz 3, Paredes 2, Webb 2, Gotladera 0, Mendoza 0, Marata 0
Quarter scoring: 14-11, 31-26, 53-42, 79-62
Credits to Fabilioh for the pic and Inboundpass for the box.
i won't heap the blame on dindo. i'll blame the assistants for being useless. heck, they make his job even harder. all they have to do is teach players which doesn't happen at all.
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