6 Points: AdMU vs. UST

Ateneo 70, UST 71


-Keeping the opponent within the 30-point range in the first half had never been easier for the Blue Eagles than today, as they had a huge 15-point lead as the halftime buzzer sounded. However, it seems that the game is played for 40 minutes, with 2 more quarters left in the game. Sadly, they gave time (and space) for the UST Growling Tigers to crawl back and eventually control the game, which led to a close Tiger victory, one that has not happened in more than 6 years, after that 2006 Finals victory that was UST's for taking.

-The famous "third quarter storm" of the Blue Eagles did not come, with Greg Slaughter sitting for most of the third in foul trouble. Instead, the Growling Tigers took advantage of the lack of inside presence strategically, as they had Jeric Fortuna and Aljon Mariano drive into the paint, while Jeric Teng and Clark Bautista took care of matters beyond the arc. As a result, the 15-point halftime lead turned into a 4-point deficit for the dominant Blue Eagles, and with that, the Tigers never looked back, as they made key baskets thanks to the Jerics, Teng and Fortuna, with the former hitting a big three to keep things difficult for the Blue Eagles to make a huge comeback.

-Ateneo offense thrived in the open court early, and with Kiefer Ravena running the breaks and finishing magnificently after a slump in the summer league and in the first game, it seems that it will be an easy win for the Blue Eagles. However, whatever he has given, he has also taken away. Ravena went to the line twice during the final five minutes of the game, and he both split those charities, missing the first in both instances. Had those charity shots been made, then the Blue Eagles could have easily won the game. Nevertheless, it's good news for those in blue that the former Rookie of the Year has recovered from his slump and ready to take over once again.

-Starting PG Juami Tiongson performed exceptionally well in this match, as he notched 9 assists and made two big triples to bring the Blue Eagles closer to the Growling Tigers' fourth quarter lead (albeit the last one was too late for Ateneo to stage a comeback). For a team that needs an excellent point guard to lead the team on both sides, Tiongson is gradually fitting in the role, and perhaps he just needs to improve on his defense in order to match faster guards.

-The Growling Tigers have to get all the credit at the time they threw everything at the offensive end. Teng, Fortuna, and Mariano handled the situation very well and took advantage of the Blue Eagles' faltering defense. The biggest improvement for the Tigers, however, is Karim Abdul, who bravely faced the Ateneo big men and forced his way into the paint, With Abdul being the Tigers' legitimate center that can dominate the paint, their shooters will have enough space from beyond the arc, which makes the Tigers a legitimate offensive powerhouse, and in the last two minutes of the game, we have seen how this one went on.

-With this loss, the Blue Eagles can only look forward, and it is an imperative that they review this game and learn from their mistakes. Up next is the NU Bulldogs, who dominated without a single loss in the Preseason Cup. All the Blue Eagle fans could hope is that they use this loss as a motivation to avoid another one, which would place them below the .500 bracket for the first time in years.

The Scores

Ateneo 70 - Ravena 19, Salva 17, Slaughter 9, Tiongson 8, Buenafe 5, Sumalinog 4, Elorde 3, Chua 3, Golla 2, Gonzaga 0, Erram 0


UST 71 -  Mariano 21, Teng 16, Abdul 14, Fortuna 11, Ferrer 4, Bautista 3, Lo 2, Pe 0, Daquioag 0, Afuang 0

Quarter scores: 27-12, 43-28, 54-58, 70-71


Credits to Guidon Sports for the pic and GMA News TV for the box.

By Mere Inches: Ateneo vs. UST (UAAP S74 Final Four Special Recap)

Ateneo 69, UST 66
Blue Eagles clinch Finals spot

Unlike last season, the Blue Eagles' down-the-wire games were really few. The first game against the Adamson Soaring Falcons was one (ending the game with a 55-51 card). After that, all the Blue Eagles' wins were blowouts, with most of them having the fourth quarter as mere formalities that will settle the final score and allow the opponent to at least catch up.

But then, there was the near-shocker against FEU during the start of the second round. Thanks to Kiefer Ravena, the Blue Eagles still held a perfect record after turning a 16-point deficit in the first half to a 6-point overtime win. The Red Warriors, one of the lowly teams of this season, put the Blue Eagles' standings at the line, but Emman Monfort silenced the reds with his free throws. Everyone wished that the battle against the Adamson Soaring Falcons would go the same, but time (and shooting and defense and everything else) ran out for the Blue Eagles, instead losing in double digits.

Nowhere in the previous paragraph did the UST Growling Tigers got mentioned, who were defeated by the Blue Eagles twice during the eliminations. Their first meeting was close up until the middle of the third quarter, when the Ateneo first five pushed the gas pedal and went all the way to a 13-point win. It was even better in the second round, when the Blue Eagles were excellent on both ends of the floor, and the bench even stopped the UST first five from even getting close in the final canto.

Having those wins against the Growling Tigers, this semi-final match should be a walk in the park, a mere formality to enter the Finals, right?

Wrong. After the defeat against the Blue Eagles in the second round, Coach Pido Jarencio made the necessary adjustments to win the next four games, only to lose to the National University Bulldogs in their final game (due to Karim Abdul's suspension and Carmelo Afuang's operation) which brought them to the fourth seed. In this semifinal game, the Growling Tigers have shown that the Blue Eagles would have to work hard, harder than their elimination round efforts, to punch their ticket to the Finals.

In the first half, crowds of the blue and the yellow show a shuffling between two teams. Leads were switching early on, and the Blue Eagles first five could not cool down the Tigers, especially Karim Abdul. Fortunately, the efforts of the Ateneo bench on both sides of the court, especially Tonino Gonzaga and Juami Tiongson, gave the Blue Eagles some breathing room, before the starters went back out and extended the lead to 8 by the half.

Cruise control was the theme of the third quarter, as an offensive surge led by Nico Salva extended the lead to fourteen. But then, a bad bench effort during the dying minutes and an offensive surge led by Chris Camus and Jeric Teng led to a critical situation for the Blue Eagles. Fortunately, time was on their side, as Nico Salva sunk his two free throws to keep the lead at thee after a Jeric Teng trey brought UST as close as one point from forcing a second do-or-die game. When the final buzzer sounded, there was no trace of premature celebration either from the team or from the crowd, for everyone knows that there is still a lot to work on, and the blue crowd could only thank the Growling Tigers for giving the Blue Eagles one hell of a game that shows that they are mortals, far from basketball gods who can make their way to a fourth straight crown and carve their destiny without looking at mistakes and keeping their focus in the game.

Perimeter offense and defense. Making the right passes and plays. Keeping the enemy at bay. These are some of the things that the Blue eagles will have to redraw and reprogram. Greg Slaughter and Kiefer Ravena have done so much, but the rest will have to exert the same effort and produce the same results as they do. To put it short, it's time for them to bring back the hundred and ten percent that brought them to a 13-1 record. Consider themselves having their backs on the wall even though they don't, because as we all know the Falcons and the Tamaraws are hungry for the crown, as hungry as the Blue Eagles were during these past four years.

And for the Blue Eagles' Sixth Men and Women? It's time for them to get serious. Of course, they would want a semifinal blowout like the past championship years, but they would rather have this win than have another semifinal game. After all, there is a time to feel that, and it's certainly not in the semifinals, but during the final two (or three) matches that really matter.

The scores:

Ateneo 69 – Slaughter 17, Ravena 13, Salva 12, Chua 9, Tiongson 5, Gonzaga 5, Monfort 4, Long 4, Golla 0, Austria 0

UST 66 – Abdul 16, Camus 13, Teng 11, Ferrer 10, Fortuna 8, Afuang 5, Tan 3, Sheriff 0, Pe 0, Lo 0, Ungria 0

Quarter scoring: 18-18, 38-30, 52-40, 60-66

Credits to inboundpass.com for the box and Fabilioh.com for the pic.

6 Points: AdMU vs. UST (Round 2)

Ateneo 82, UST 57

-The Blue Eagles were comfortably sitting atop a 30-point lead after one of those many scoring runs initiated by Kiefer Ravena and Nico Salva in the third quarter. In fact, the final canto was garbage time for the boys in blue, with the third stringers even giving the Tigers a hard time trimming the margin and losing in an honorable fashion. Now we see a balance of a clicking offense and stifling defense, and if the team plays like this in every game, then a perfect season is highly possible.

-While Ravena led the blitzkrieg with a barrage of steals and easy lay ups, the spotlight for this afternoon belongs to Salva, who seized the opportunity to sink his long jumpers after bread-and-butter plays set by the guards. But more than that, he also made it a point to drive when possible, earning two and-ones (one of them over Chris Camus) and finishing with 20 points.

-For the Blue Eagles, it doesn't matter if the bench did not score much. What is important is the way they kept the game in favor of the team. The main course that they deliver is basically their defensive efforts. But then, we Justin Chua woke up from his scoring slumber, getting in 18 big points, not only from the line but also from post ups. Again, if we see this version of the Panda, then big men all around the league have to worry at Ateneo's post game. (Too bad, Mark Tallo, you could have been the one in place of Bon Jovi Cipriano, who scored 3 points in the final canto)

-Could anyone have noticed that only Jeric Teng, Karim Abdul, and Melo Afuang have scored in double digits? And Jeric Fortuna only had a fifth of his shots going in, the "greatest point guard in Season 74" having 7 markers in total. This is what team defense does to teams who take their chances on the outside. Perhaps it's time for UST to get the guys to pound the ball inside more and shoot threes less, especially now that they do not have sniper Clark Bautista.

-There's something iffy about the way referees decide on whether to call a foul or not when Jeric Teng handles the ball. It seems that there should be calls he should be getting, but were not whistled anyway. It might be good to review those as a response to what the refs have been doing lately (stop it haters, for if the refs were cooking it up, it would not be necessary to do so since Ateneo was in cruise control all through out). And to add more to Teng, why does he have to get that huge bulk of playing time? Does it have anything to do with a comment on Inboundpass? Hopefully not.

-Kevin Ferrer was a disappointment. After a hard shove on Ravena, he had the guts to exchange words and gestures with Von Pessumal. Everybody knows that Season 73 is over and the Eaglets have won the championship, so such expressions of bitterness and past adversity, if these actions were, should be gone by now. But a more important question: would the time come for Coach Pido Jarencio to use him well? Or will there be a new coach for the Growling Tigers?

The Scores:

Ateneo 82 – Salva 20, Chua 18, Ravena 14, Monfort 8, Long 7, Slaughter 6, Cipriano 3, Gonzaga 3, Sumalinog 2, Erram 1, Pessumal 0, Capacio 0, Estrada 0, Tiongson 0, Golla 0, Austria 0

UST 57 – Teng 20, Abdul 12, Afuang 10, Fortuna 7, Ferrer 4, Vigil 2, Lo 2, Tan 0, Sheriff 0, Pe 0, Ungria 0, Camus 0

Quarter scoring: 15-6, 40-22, 68-37, 82-57

Postscript

It was actually very surprising that the De La Salle Green Archers, a Final Four contender, would lose to UE. What really happened? Nothing much, like the usual things that they do, which include chucking up shots, making bad passes, missing easy lay ups as well as those free throws.

One significant observation today was the way UE broke the vaunted La Salle press and got easy fastbreak scores. There were various possessions were their touch passing allowed them to quickly move the ball across, leaving only two guys in green and white on their side of the court, allowing those running Red Warriors to get an easy lay up. Deep down, we know that there is something wrong with the execution of the press.

This is a big question the De La Salle system should face right now. Inarguably, DLSU has good players, and it's just that the offensive and (most importantly) the defensive sets won't work well with them. This team is not like the four-peat team and its immediate subsequent teams who knows the players' roles on- and off-the-ball in offense, as well as knowledge of the full court press. This bunch of kids today do not even get close to Cardona, or Casio, Sta. Maria, Ritualo, or any of those elite players in the Golden Age of Green Archers basketball. If they need to win games, they have to play the game their way, and Coach Dindo Pumaren should know how to adjust and meld them together.

If the current DLSU system does not work, then there should be changes in their team, which could include:

• Dishing the full court press, since teams already know how to break it, and the present Green Archers don't know how to fully execute it. Better yet, come up with a defensive system that plays on the strengths of the players. Almond Vosotros knows this because he fits in the system, but his teammates do not.

• Revamping the whole team and get those guys who can deliver. DLSU has been getting the big names of the junior ranks without considering how to make them fit. Ateneo Coach Norman Black believes that the players have to buy into the program, and he even asks that they become familiar with more than forty plays and figure out where they would fit in which play. Coach Dindo, have you thought of doing that?

• Or the simplest and easiest way out: replacing Dindo Pumaren. Need to prove himself for one more year? UAAP fans, you be the judge.

Credits to Inboundpass for the box and Fabilioh for the pic.

6 Points: AdMU vs. UST (Fil-Oil Flying V Pre-Season Tournament)

Ateneo 59, UST 46

-Coming off a win against the Lyceum of the Philippines University, it was a relatively good game for the Blue Eagles as they tried to pounce early and get that huge lead. Their offense seemed to have a better flow now, after three games. One good observation is the fact that each guy on the floor knows that each one is a potent offensive threat, and it's just about letting each one find their spots and score easily.

-On the other hand, the fact that each one is an option can be somewhat a problem if the Blue Eagles do not execute plays that allow their men to go to their spots. As a result, there were turnovers and some ill-advised shots taken. Perhaps the plays just need more polishing in terms of execution, as well as deciding how to go through with it especially when the defense adjusts.

-Slaughter has been all over Karrim Abdul in the course of the game. The Smart Gilas rookie forced UST African to shoot from the outside, stopping him from attacking the inside. Despite not hitting much, Slaughter was able to score six markers, four of which were from the charity stripe. But more important than that was his 13 rebounds that had the Blue Eagle guards immediately running to score out of a break.

-UST is still a threat from beyond the arc, and with Clark Bautista in the zone during the first half, things got a little more challenging than expected. He staged his own 8-0 run with a couple of treys and a wing jumper, leaving his man behind as he stops and jumps quickly. Same goes for Jeric Fortuna who had notable markers of his own to bring the game closer.

-The pre-season games became an instant opportunity from the little voices of Ateneo to step up and show that they can face real opponents. Tonino Gonzaga hit a couple of threes and three field goals to score ten, and Juami Tiongson made full use of the picks given to him to score seven. The biggest of all was JP Erram's two big blocks, plus a jam after faking Abdul and finding that the lane is all for him. Hopefully in the UAAP, despite playing limited minutes, these guys can really step up and become a threat to opponents

-At the end of the day, it has been the defense that made the difference. Ateneo was able to execute their usual defensive plays against UST, preventing good looks for their guards. On the inside, they were able to fill in the paint and prevent Chris Camus and Abdul to score off layups. Also, Kiefer Ravena did a good job defending Kevin Ferrer, especially in terms of ball movement. Plus, the bigs had their own share of fly-swatting, preventing anyone inside the paint to easily score. Despite a mediocre 38 % from the field, their trademark defense got them the big lead and thus the game.

Scores:

Ateneo 59 – Long 10, Ravena 10, Gonzaga 10, Tiongson 7, Chua 6, Salva 6, Slaughter 6, Erram 4, Monfort 0, Golla 0, Austria 0, Sumalinog 0, Pessumal 0, Capacio 0

UST 46 – Bautista 14, Fortuna 10, Abdul 8, Ferrer 6, Teng 4, Camus 4, Afuang 0, Tan 0, Pe 0, Sheriff 0, Lo 0

Quarter scoring: 14-12, 29-27, 46-31, 59-46

Photo from GMANews.tv and box score courtesy of Inboundpass.com