Bleachers Brew: Ateneo vs. FEU Round Two

The Porters
Ateneo 78 vs. FEU 74
by rick olivares

Saturday August 9, 2008
Philsports Arena

The Porter basketball system – the ring support and the rims – is widely used in many pro and amateur courts around the world. Interestingly enough, behind the backboard are two neatly stenciled words: “Fair Play.”

As much as we’d like sports to be fair. It’s much like life; it never is. With the prevalence of spotty officiating and rims that can be unfriendly at the most inopportune of times; the combination vexes into some bad mojo. On a Saturday afternoon at the Philsports Arena, it wasn’t funny for the blue and whites to be on the receiving end.

In the UAAP, there are two teams that have given Ateneo much grief – La Salle and FEU. It is the Morayta team that killed any chances of a three-peat in 1989, that upended the blues who had a twice-to-beat advantage in 1999, and that ended that great run of the 1997 Blue Eaglet team that won a seniors title in 2002 and lost in the ’03 Finals. Most recently, they rudely interrupted Ateneo’s five-game win streak.

So you bet there was revenge in the Loyolans’ eyes. Big time.

Unlike in the first round encounter where it was the Blue Eagles who dictated the pace early on, this time it was the Tamaraws who displayed impeccable shooting and basketball. Led by Paul Sanga and last season’s Rookie of the Year, Ric Cawaling, FEU kept Ateneo at bay with three treys to spot the league leaders by a deuce 15-13. Part of the green and gold’s game plan was to prevent Rabeh Al-Hussaini from going to town again with his strong inside play. “Dominating yung laro niya,” glowingly remarked Tamaraws Coach Glenn Capacio of the vastly improved slotman who would go on to finish with 16 points and 9 rebounds. “You have to pay more attention to him now.”

Al-Hussaini was to be double-teamed with the rover coming from the weak side. If he was out of his sweet spot, the Tamaraws were instructed to look for a kick out. Capacio exhorted his team to redouble their efforts more so now that they were two men down – the recuperating Marnel Baracael and Robert Kave who went home to his native Papua New Guinea after the shooting incident.

The Blue Eagles in the meantime were victimized by poor play and by the unfriendly Porter rims on the west end of the court. After a turnover on their very first possession where Al-Hussaini was unable to field a pass that sailed out of bounds, Ateneo simply couldn’t find the bottom of the net. Ryan Buenafe and Kirk Long missed lay-ups. Nonoy Baclao (3 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 blocks) missed a wide-open undergoal stab. And Al-Hussaini, after he muffed three free throws, cast a disdainful look at the basket. It was like the lid had closed for Ateneo. So much for fair play.

Yes, despite the ugly ball, Ateneo stayed close as the Tamaraws were content to bombard from the outside (5 of 12 from the three-point arc). They pounded it inside and scored 15 points from the free throw line while putting Cawaling and Marlon Adolfo in foul trouble.

Ateneo took the lead for good when Jai Reyes buried a trifecta to beat the halftime buzzer 36-33. Perhaps even worse than losing the lead (at that point they didn’t know that they’d never regain it again) was that Capacio’s troops went to the stripe zero times for zero points. FEU may have lead the league in shotblocking in the first round with an average of 5 a game, but against Ateneo, you’re in for a block party so any inside incursions bear second or third thoughts when opponents see Nonoy Baclao and company in the way.

FEU center Reil Cervantes (who in truth is a forward more than a 5-spot man) signified FEU’s intentions by taking the battle inside when he started the third quarter by challenging Al-Husseini in the lane for a hoop.

But if Ateneo’s guards were shackled during their first round tiff, they were ready to give FEU a taste of their own medicine. With the Tams threatening 44-45, Chris Tiu (16 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal) nailed a running jumper with 11 on the shot clock.

If there’s anything the Blue Eagle captain added to his arsenal, it’s his acute sense of when to take over. With Al-Hussaini stepping into the porter’s role as he’s hefted Big Blue on his massive shoulders, Tiu has elected to play back up and let the game flow to him rather than force himself into it. He’s learned when to take over and when to let others take the lead. And following a Cawaling point from the 15-foot parallel, Tiu rifled in a second straight shot, this one a big time three 50-45 Ateneo.

Eric Salamat (a game high 18 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block) whose absence in the second half of the first round match put a severe cramp on Norman’s offense and D, showed FEU the full measure of an Ateneo team on a mission. The junior swingman scored 13 points in the game’s final 12 minutes. Like Reyes a quarter earlier, he dropped a huge trey at the buzzer to end the third canto. 57-51 Ateneo. He pounded on his chest.

Salamat was on a hot streak, yet with 4:45 to play, he inexplicably found himself open… wide open with all day to shoot from the left side of the arc. “Swerte. Swerte lang at libre ako so tinira ko na,” he explained later on. He swished the last of his points to make it 74-67 for Ateneo.

Compounding things for FEU was they were shooting now at the west end of the court. The same ring with those unforgiving rims. Cervantes overshot a lay-up. Andy Barroca flubbed a reverse. And Aldrech Ramos whose jumper from the left wing in their previous match gave FEU the win found himself off target (he finished with a measly 3 points off one attempted shot and a free throw).

But leave it to the referees making mincemeat of Ateneo’s 15 point lead at 67-52, by calling 15 fouls (including several dubious ones) in the final 20 minutes. A missed call here, a bum call there, a phantom foul on Baclao that sent him to the bench for good. These NABRO guys are giving everyone heart problems, high blood pressure, and ulcers. With the lead almost wiped out, Ramos had an opportunity to slice a 78-74 Ateneo lead with two free throws and time under a minute.

Unfortunately for him and FEU, the shoe or that unforgiving Porter rim was on the other foot. The Tamaraws center missed both.

And although Al-Hussaini didn’t put up the massive numbers he did last time, he played well in the clutch. In the closing minutes of the 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th quarters, the rapidly improving big man found a way to contribute. With the thought of a missed jump hook in the last minute of the first round battle, Al-Hussaini stuck it to them as he scored the match’s marginal points and a 78-74 win for a 7-1 record.

When FEU point guard Andy Barroca was forced into a traveling violation that ended the game, Al-Hussaini grinned. Big Blue moved closer to a final four berth.

With the prevalence of spotty officiating and rims that can be unfriendly at the most inopportune of times; the combination vexes into some bad mojo. As Norman Black said to the assembled media in the post-game interview, it was all about the team playing through the disadvantages. “It’s a test of character.”

The mission continues.

Ateneo 78 - Salamat 18, Tiu 16, Al-Hussaini 16, Buenafe 10, Long 5, Reyes 5, Baldos 3, Baclao 3, Salva 2, Austria 0, Nkemakolam 0, Escueta 0

FEU 74 - Cervantes 14, Sanga 13, Fernandez 11, Barroca 9, Cawaling 7, Knuttel 6, Alisbo 5, Adolfo 4, Ramos 3, Tanuan 2, Macazo 0, Cabagnot 0

Stats:
Ateneo 8-12 in three-point shooting. FEU 5-19.
Ateneo 38 rebounds to FEU's 34. And the Blue Eagles had 12 second chance points.
Ateneo shot44.8% from the field to FEU's 43.9%

Notes:
FEU's Jens Knuttel wanted to go to ADMU but you'll all have to ask their powers that be why he remained in Morayta.

His teammate, Marlon Adolfo, is the son of long-time Ateneo security guard, Bong Adolfo who used to be stationed at Gate 3. Marlon used to play a lot of hoops at the college covered courts.

Notice how Glenn Capacio has gotten older since he took over the FEU head coaching job. I wonder what he must be thinking since Edgar Tanuan, the son of his former teammate Jack Tanuan with the 1983 FEU Men's Basketball Champs, is now under him. Also on that team was Harmon Codinera, older brother of Jerry and Pat (who later played for the Tams).