6 Points: AdMU vs. FEU (Round 2)

Ateneo 92, Far Eastern U 73

Where Art Thou, Romeo's Team? What happened with FEU last Wednesday at the MoA Arena? All praises have been given to Terrence Romeo and Mike Tolomia after a gutsy overtime win against the UE Red Warriors three days prior to their bout with the Blue Eagles, in the absence of veteran guard R.R. Garcia. With their renewed confidence, everyone thought that they could topple down the streaking Blue Ealges... until this happened. Compared to the previous game, there are aspects of the game that changed and remained the same. Yes, Romeo again led the Tamaraws and he sticks to his chucking ways; however, it seems that the match against UE took them out of this game due to fatigue (or at least according to Coach Nash Racela). From a winning 94.3 offensive rating against UE (who merely had 90.5) in 58 minutes of action, the mighty Tamaraws fell to a mere 83.3 rating, as opposed to the Blue Eagles' 93.6, and it could've been worse if a college basketball game lasted only for 30 minutes, when the third quarter ended with Ateneo holding a 28-point lead, which stretched further to 32. Obviously, this has been the Tamaraws' worst game in Season 76, and unfortunate for them, it was Ateneo's best.

Keeping The Firepower. Lots of records have been posted today by the Blue Eagles insofar as the season is concerned. This is their highest scoring output so far, with a whopping 51 points already in the first half, yet another season high, bearing the largest scoring margin ever after the half-time buzzer (at 23). And looking back at the past three games of the Blue Eagles, it seems that the FIBA Asia break did a lot of miracles to them. By the end of the first round, the Blue Eagles only scored an average of 67.7ppg while allowing 68.1ppg, with an average winning margin of -0.43 points. However, in the past three games, all of these numbers have improved as they already have 79.3ppg scored and 66.0ppg allowed, resulting in a huge improvement at the winning margin with +13.3. How they did it, though, was fairly simple: bring back the defense that the Blue Eagles are known for while capitalizing on running the break.

Tiongson Fire. Talk about Juami Tiongson being extra-efficient today brings us back to his Blue Eaglet days, when he used to be a spot-up guard who magically finds space to take and make shots. "Magic" contributed 20 points on this game, hitting 7 of 10 shots, 3 out of those from the arc. Those who watch the Blue Eagles for the fast few seasons could perhaps have seen Tiongson develop his game, from being a mere three point specialist slated to replace former Blue Eagle point guard Jai Reyes, to a playmaker replacing Emman Monfort, and now to a reliable scorer once again who knows all too well about off-ball movement. Playing his best offensive game, what comes out as his most useful weapon so far (which we have not seen this season) is his ability to box out for second chance opportunities and his way of sneaking in and finding that teardrop or floater in the middle. Standing perhaps as a close third/fourth option after Kiefer Ravena, Chris Newsome, and Ryan Buenafe, the team is going to need his hot hands to stretch defenses.

Energy Spurts. Eighteen of the team's 92 points came off the energy players off the bench: Vince Tolentino, Von Pessumal, and Gwynne Capacio. Tolentino has been gaining reputation as a player of extra-efficiency, scoring a decent number of points given his limited minutes of play, and in this game, he has shown why he deserves to be such. His asset remains to be his ability to slide in and out of the paint, allowing him to sneak in to either receive passes (or steal them, if he's defending) and grab rebounds out of nowhere. Now, if he can only toughen more in order to box out, he might just replace Frank Golla come out of the bench to relieve Newsome or Buenafe from frontcourt duties and let them play their natural guard/forward game.

The MRT Needs Renovation. This is what Tolomia, Garcia, and Romeo's output this game:

• 39 points on 13 of 45 shooting (28.9% FG), 5 of 23 from beyond the arc (21.7% 3FG), 7 of 12 from charity stripe (58.3%)
• 11 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 5 fouls

These numbers are pretty dismal, especially that it was actually Terrence Romeo who brought the percentages down (7 of 24 total field goals, 2 of 11 from three, not to mention that most of these have been made during garbage time). This brings out even more the obvious fact that FEU, in every game, has been taking risks that seem to be uncalculated, but approved and warranted by Coach Nash Racela. But if that is the case, then it will always be a thing of letting Romeo either give or take away. But then, does Coach Nash have a choice? Can he actually run the offense through, say, RR Garcia (once again) or Mike Tolomia? Or is it a question of the incapability of other players like Roger Pogoy and Mac Belo to keep up with these three and assert themselves as legitimate options? Unless these questions are answered, then the Tamaraws will find themselves labeled as the team who peaked too soon this season, and is set to experience a huge downfall come the Final Four.

Whose Streak Will End? The Blue Eagles' next game will be their second round encounter with their rivals the DLSU Green Archers, and I think this is where they will be truly tested. The greenies' big men are more reliable than UP's, Adamson's*, or FEU's, in Norbert Torres, Jason Perkins, and Arnold Van Opstal. In fact, one could claim that this is DLSU's strong point, considering that other teams opt to have towering African imports while some (like Ateneo) have none. This makes the match really difficult; however, it seems that everything would depend on the way Kiefer Ravena, who was absent during the first round match, will play.

The Scores:

Ateneo 92 - Tiongson 20, Ravena 18, Newsome 11, Tolentino 9, Golla 9, Buenafe 9, Pessumal 5, Elorde 5, Capacio 4, Erram 2, Murphy 0, Asuncion 0, Asistio 0

FEU 73 - Romeo 19, Garcia 11, Tolomia 9, Pogoy 9, Hargrove 6, Belo 6, Jose 5, Inigo 3, Cruz 3, Lee Yu 2, Sentcheu 0, Mendoza 0, Luz 0, Dennison 0, Delfinado 0, Aguilon 0


Quarter scores: 26-11, 51-28, 73-45, 92-73

Credits to the Fabilioh Facebook page for the pic, HumbleBola for the stats, and GMA Network Online for the box.