Hammertime
Ateneo 81 vs. La Salle 65
story by rick pic by mike yu
Ateneo 81 vs. La Salle 65
story by rick pic by mike yu
Knock #1
The problem of the Ateneo Blue Eagles is that they either start slow and finishing strong or they start strong and finish weak.
They already showed signs of their blitzkrieg when they turned their previous match with the UE Red Warriors into a track meet but they relaxed their killer instinct in the final two minutes; a boo boo that they nearly paid for. This time however, they got off to a terrific start, and at the end, never let there be any doubt as to who is the current top dog in this rivalry.
There were to be no ambushes this time as Ateneo, immediately dropped the hammer on the Green Archers. The starting unit of Nonoy Baclao, Eric Salamat, Kirk Long, Jai Reyes, and Rabeh Al-Hussaini torched their counterparts with a huge 60-16 difference that for once, they didn’t need their bench to get them on the right track.
And if La Salle thought that they could pull the same stunt twice with Joshua Webb getting away with a bunch of freebies, Yutien Andrada stymieing Al-Hussaini, and Hyram Bagatsing making clutch plays then they were about to get the full measure of the defending champs.
Knock #2
Another so-called problem of the Blue Eagles is the alleged predictability of the offense. You know… dump the ball to Al-Hussaini and wait for him to score or find the open man or give the rock to Eric Salamat and Ryan Buenafe and get the hell out of their way in a pro-style isolation game.
On days when it doesn’t click it’s ugly ball all right, but when the team is firing on all cylinders they are bleeping devastating. On this day they pounded their foes from inside and outside in what was easily their best game of the season so far.
They showcased their passing game where Salamat and Buenafe would drive the lane and find Al-Hussaini on a dime drop. They waited for La Salle’s double team to arrive and when it did, the ball was whipped out where the Blue Eagles hit threes with devastating effect.
When they racked up the lead, the took care of it and relentlessly attacked never allowing DLSU back in the game. The only time La Salle scored consecutive unanswered points was late in the fourth quarter when they hit for six in a one minute and 29 second stretch. Even so the score was a robust 73-56 in favor of the blue and white.
So, could the same be said about the Green Archers?
During their round robin warm-ups, almost their entire squad went up for smashing dunks; a sign of how pumped up they were. But that was about as aggressive they would be all game as there would be not much of a clear lane to the basket for them.
And with their press not working, they went to an old play where they ran two or three staggered screens to free up their shooters like PJ Barua, James Mangahas, and Samuel Marata. It’s the same thing they used to run for Ren Ren Ritualo, Joseph Yeo, Mac Cardona, and Jayvee Casio. And the Blue Eagles made a commitment to chase the shooters and get a hand in their face at all times. They were to run through and around screens – switch if possible -- and stick to their man like glue. If possible find out what deodorant their man was using (if he was at all).
Unable to get their shot off and bereft of players who could create space for themselves, La Salle’s offense bogged down. They were only able to put points on the board with almost four minutes gone by and they came from the stripe by Webb who earned the infinite ire of the Ateneo gallery for his leaving his antics and shoe prints on Bacon Austria’s side.
If he was allowed to run wild in the last game, this time he was held to half of his former output of 26. The points were scattered and almost inconsequential.
Knockout
Ateneo on the other hand was well on its way to running at every opportunity. And when they went to a halfcourt set, they whipped the ball around for Reyes, Salamat, or Monfort who rifled in trifectas (Juami Tiongson tossed up his own late in the match).
Al-Hussaini nailed those feathery jumpers, jump hooks, and up and under shots over Ferdinand, Andrada, Barua, and Bringas who were in big trouble almost immediately as the reigning MVP was challenged by their rugged defense in the last game.
He bumped Andrada, damn near faked him out of his high tops, and pointed a finger at Bringas who engaged other Blue Eagles in some trash talking.
Yet even as they dealt the Green Archers a stinging and painful 81-65 loss (they are now 0-6 in the last two years), Ateneo Coach Norman Black told his boys when La Salle called for time with the match almost over: “No yabang.”
And they shook hands with their foes, sang the alma mater, faced their crowd when it was La Salle’s turn to sing, and ran to the dug out all yelling, “One Big Fight!”
Ateneo 81 – Al-Hussaini 26, Salamat 11, Salva 10, Baclao 9, Long 8, Reyes 6, Tiongson 5, Monfort 3, Chua 2, Buenafe 1, Sumalinog 0, Golla 0, Austria 0
La Salle 65 – Barua 16, Webb 13, Villanueva 10, Tolentino 6, Marata 6, Mangahas 4, Bringas 3, Andrada 3, Malabes 2, Co 2, Mendoza 0, Ferdinand 0, Bagatsing 0, Atkins 0
The problem of the Ateneo Blue Eagles is that they either start slow and finishing strong or they start strong and finish weak.
They already showed signs of their blitzkrieg when they turned their previous match with the UE Red Warriors into a track meet but they relaxed their killer instinct in the final two minutes; a boo boo that they nearly paid for. This time however, they got off to a terrific start, and at the end, never let there be any doubt as to who is the current top dog in this rivalry.
There were to be no ambushes this time as Ateneo, immediately dropped the hammer on the Green Archers. The starting unit of Nonoy Baclao, Eric Salamat, Kirk Long, Jai Reyes, and Rabeh Al-Hussaini torched their counterparts with a huge 60-16 difference that for once, they didn’t need their bench to get them on the right track.
And if La Salle thought that they could pull the same stunt twice with Joshua Webb getting away with a bunch of freebies, Yutien Andrada stymieing Al-Hussaini, and Hyram Bagatsing making clutch plays then they were about to get the full measure of the defending champs.
Knock #2
Another so-called problem of the Blue Eagles is the alleged predictability of the offense. You know… dump the ball to Al-Hussaini and wait for him to score or find the open man or give the rock to Eric Salamat and Ryan Buenafe and get the hell out of their way in a pro-style isolation game.
On days when it doesn’t click it’s ugly ball all right, but when the team is firing on all cylinders they are bleeping devastating. On this day they pounded their foes from inside and outside in what was easily their best game of the season so far.
They showcased their passing game where Salamat and Buenafe would drive the lane and find Al-Hussaini on a dime drop. They waited for La Salle’s double team to arrive and when it did, the ball was whipped out where the Blue Eagles hit threes with devastating effect.
When they racked up the lead, the took care of it and relentlessly attacked never allowing DLSU back in the game. The only time La Salle scored consecutive unanswered points was late in the fourth quarter when they hit for six in a one minute and 29 second stretch. Even so the score was a robust 73-56 in favor of the blue and white.
So, could the same be said about the Green Archers?
During their round robin warm-ups, almost their entire squad went up for smashing dunks; a sign of how pumped up they were. But that was about as aggressive they would be all game as there would be not much of a clear lane to the basket for them.
And with their press not working, they went to an old play where they ran two or three staggered screens to free up their shooters like PJ Barua, James Mangahas, and Samuel Marata. It’s the same thing they used to run for Ren Ren Ritualo, Joseph Yeo, Mac Cardona, and Jayvee Casio. And the Blue Eagles made a commitment to chase the shooters and get a hand in their face at all times. They were to run through and around screens – switch if possible -- and stick to their man like glue. If possible find out what deodorant their man was using (if he was at all).
Unable to get their shot off and bereft of players who could create space for themselves, La Salle’s offense bogged down. They were only able to put points on the board with almost four minutes gone by and they came from the stripe by Webb who earned the infinite ire of the Ateneo gallery for his leaving his antics and shoe prints on Bacon Austria’s side.
If he was allowed to run wild in the last game, this time he was held to half of his former output of 26. The points were scattered and almost inconsequential.
Knockout
Ateneo on the other hand was well on its way to running at every opportunity. And when they went to a halfcourt set, they whipped the ball around for Reyes, Salamat, or Monfort who rifled in trifectas (Juami Tiongson tossed up his own late in the match).
Al-Hussaini nailed those feathery jumpers, jump hooks, and up and under shots over Ferdinand, Andrada, Barua, and Bringas who were in big trouble almost immediately as the reigning MVP was challenged by their rugged defense in the last game.
He bumped Andrada, damn near faked him out of his high tops, and pointed a finger at Bringas who engaged other Blue Eagles in some trash talking.
Yet even as they dealt the Green Archers a stinging and painful 81-65 loss (they are now 0-6 in the last two years), Ateneo Coach Norman Black told his boys when La Salle called for time with the match almost over: “No yabang.”
And they shook hands with their foes, sang the alma mater, faced their crowd when it was La Salle’s turn to sing, and ran to the dug out all yelling, “One Big Fight!”
Ateneo 81 – Al-Hussaini 26, Salamat 11, Salva 10, Baclao 9, Long 8, Reyes 6, Tiongson 5, Monfort 3, Chua 2, Buenafe 1, Sumalinog 0, Golla 0, Austria 0
La Salle 65 – Barua 16, Webb 13, Villanueva 10, Tolentino 6, Marata 6, Mangahas 4, Bringas 3, Andrada 3, Malabes 2, Co 2, Mendoza 0, Ferdinand 0, Bagatsing 0, Atkins 0
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