Ateneo 59, La Salle 62
-The Blue Eagles entered this special exhibition match holding a losing streak against the Green Archers during pre-season and off-season games, but in four of those years, they managed to win four straight UAAP championships. It seems that the final minutes of the fourth quarter seems to break that trend, but in the end, the Green guys from Taft had the last laugh after forcing five more minutes, sending a message that it's going to be a long and hard road for the Blue Eagles if they still want that fifth crown, because the Green Archers, now a whole new team even with old faces lingering, want it as badly as the defending champions do.
-De La Salle's prized rookie Jeron Teng swung the game to the green side late in the fourth quarter, after the Blue Eagles have taken the lead in a game where DLSU has been in control all through out. With 18 seconds left in the game and down 3, 53-50, the Green Archers set up a risky play and gave the usually line-driving and inside-scoring forward to shoot a three, eventually making it and giving the Green Archers another chance to win the game, which they eventually did after five minutes of overtime play. And after this, the Green Archers never looked back, even with the Blue Eagles threatening to snag the game away from them in the last few seconds.
-In the closing minutes of regulation time as well as in overtime, it was the free throws that mattered, and both teams failed to make the most out of them. The Green Archers' 13 of 30 and the Blue Eagles' 14 of 21 from the charity stripes of their own ends, despite being simply awful, does not even tell the whole story. La Salle could have closed the game early had they shot half of their missed free throws. Instead, they let Ateneo's defense wear them down in the final minutes, eventually giving Ryan Buenafe and Kiefer Ravena the chance to crawl back with a 16-9 run in the final five minutes of the game. Ravena made 3 out of 4 clutch free throws to secure the lead before Teng hit his game-extending three. And in overtime, it got really worse for both teams. Down 61-59, the Blue Eagles have a chance to tie the game with Justin Chua on the line; however, Chua missed those 2 important shots which could have given them the chance to win. Afterwards, the Green Archers have a chance to finally gain a safe lead in the final seconds, but with Teng, Norbert Torres, and Jed Manguera garnering splits from the line, they only have a three point advantage in the final possession. All of these point towards a problem that the Green Archers have even in the past two seasons, and they should find a way to remedy this quick before Ateneo and La Salle face off each other again, this time in the UAAP.
-Despite the Blue Eagles playing impressive defense late in the game, they have lost in the battle of the boards. With Greg Slaughter nursing an ankle injury which renders him unavailable in this game, Ateneo just got 45 rebounds as opposed to La Salle's 62, with Nico Salva's 9 leading the way. They gave up a lot of second chance opportunities to Yutien Andrada and Norbert Torres, allowing them to easily score inside and widen the gap at certain moments of the game. Another horrible stat that could be pointed out is the Blue Eagles' shooting, making only 21 out of 68 total attempts (3 of 13 from beyond the arc). If there is any consolation to this game, then it is the glaring fact, the hard realization that the Blue Eagles need to improve their shooting as well as their rebounding.
-The Blue Eagles did not have their main man Slaughter in this game, but Buenafe and Ravena showed on-court brilliance in this game, something that Ateneo fans have been wanting for since the announcement that Buenafe will play for the team. Both of them combined for 35 points and played outstanding defense all through out the game. Particularly notable in this game is the way Buenafe defended Teng during the crucial stretches, not allowing him to score from inside the paint and forcing him to throw the ball once he enters the restricted area (Teng is 6 of 19 overall, with 2 of 4 treys made, in field goals). If Ateneo could be branded as dangerous and threatening come Season 75, then these two are the very reasons why.
-History told us that the Fil-Oil preseason game has not really given us anything, and it is only a preview of what the fans will expect from both teams. This has been one perhaps the best and most thrilling Ateneo-La Salle game in years, but, as shown in the past years, this Fil-Oil game does not even give a clear prediction of both teams' chances in the UAAP. Until the smoke clears and we have determined the winners of the two Ateneo-La Salle matches in Season 75, no real winner or loser is yet to be declared.
The Scores:
Ateneo 59 - Buenafe 21, Ravena 14, Erram 6, Chua 6, Tiongson 4, Elorde 4, Salva 3, Gonzaga 1, Golla 0, Sumalinog 0, Porter 0, Pessumal 0, Capacio 0
La Salle 62 - Teng 17, Revilla 16, Torres N. 13, Andrada 5, Vosotros 4, Mendoza 2, Gotladera 2, Tampus 2, Manguera 1, Webb 0, Reyes 0, Torres T. 0
Quarter Scores: 10-14, 20-28, 31-38, 53-53, 59-62
Pic from the Fil-Oil Flying V Facebook Page.
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