The Blame Game
by rick olivares
by rick olivares
“With the object of improving team chemistry, the FEU Tamaraws have decided to play our Final Four game today without Mark Barroca. The basis of the decision is that we considered opinion of coaches and players that team chemistry was flat. So we had to do something and it is the coaches’ prerogative. We supported that decision. We have to stand by it. We have the statistics and the statistics don’t lie.”
That was what Far Eastern University Tamaraws team manager Anton Montinola said about the school’s decision to remove star point guard Andy Mark Barroca from their roster in an interview yesterday.
On the strength of its pre-season performances and the showing of its national players in tournaments abroad, the Tamaraws were seeded by many quarters as the team that could knock down the Ateneo de Manila Blue Eagles from its lofty UAAP perch. When they lost in a close match to Ateneo in the Fil Oil league, many said, “Wait until they have their nationals in tow then we’d all see who was top dog.”
Only they lost to Ateneo 63-59 in the season opener and 74-73 in the elimination round ender.
Had they beaten Ateneo by five points then they would have wrapped up the number one seed even if tied with the defending champs at 12-2 by virtue of the quotient system. But they didn’t as they fell to 11-3 and were bracketed in the Final Four with a red hot UE squad that earlier handed them their worst defeat of the year at 87-72.
The loss to Ateneo didn’t just cost them the number one seed but also Andy Mark Barroca. The star guard was a casualty of “team chemistry” which is poor euphemism for being suspected of foul play. Except that is an understatement as well. They believe he did and wanted to axe him as far back as the Cheer Dance Competition. What – a text message that he had deliberately played below par convinced them? I don’t need a text to tell me that there are players who play well in the first quarter then disappear during crunch time just as there are practice players and big game players.
It’s so easy for FEU to blame their athletes. In fact, they’ve made a habit out of it. Remember when the squad was blown up after missing out the Final Four in 2006? Not good enough to win.
How about their twin losses in juniors and seniors football in Season 71?
After their opening day loss as defending champions in Men’s football, they were given a severe dressing down by team management after the game and told to pack up their belongings if they didn’t shape up. They would lose two more matches before they found their groove (they ultimately fell to UP in the finals).
When their juniors team lost to the Ateneo High School booters 2-nil in the finals, they were told “thank you for your one or two years of service to FEU but you will be evaluated for your performance.” The bottom line was some would be replaced by better players. The last time I checked, this was high school sports not the pros. These kids were plucked from all over the country to play in Manila then they would be discarded just like that? The football association of Sta. Barbara in Iloilo is so upset with FEU about this that they are hesitant to send any more of their kids to Manila.
Does the saying “win at all costs” come to mind?
In recent years, FEU has made the headlines for all the wrong reasons – the 2006 blow-up, the removal of JR Gerilla in 2007 (that was warranted), the Mac Baracael slay try in 2008, the infamous Women’s Football Team attack on a football referee, and now the Barroca incident of 2009. I haven’t even counted the juniors and seniors football issues. And wait, there’s that idiotic Soc Rivera Rule that they proposed (and was affirmed by the UAAP board) after several of their high school players decided to play for other squads.
But back to their basketball team… since their first round ending match against the UE Red Warriors, they have struggled. In that tiff, they raced to an 18-point lead only to see it evaporate quickly as their Recto rivals ratcheted up their defense. The Recto team’s rally fell short and FEU survived with a 76-72 win.
However, the cracks on the wall became evident. Since then they struggled against UST, NU (early in the game until they took over midway in the game), Adamson, and La Salle. And there were loses to UE and Ateneo.
If you compare FEU’s schedule with Ateneo’s (and with UE and UST’s), they had a more favorable one.
Ateneo played three games in the space of eight days, took a week off, played another series of matches then had another week off. Team officials privately bristled at the schedule. After losing to UP in Week Three after a weeklong lull, the Blue Eagle coaching staff managed their time between games better.
For the Tamaraws, they had enough rest between matches. The only time they played with a day’s rest they faced Adamson on a Thursday and NU on a Saturday (but that’s the Bulldogs, right?). When Pipo Noundou got injured there wasn’t enough time between games to get him back in circulation.
FEU averaged 73.1 points in the first round and surrendered only 61.6 to opponents. And when their struggles started in the second round, their scoring dipped to 64.7 while foes put up 62.4 against them. Their turnovers were up to the 19 in the second as opposed to the 15.8 in the first leg and their rebounding numbers dipped slightly from 45.1 in the first to the 44.7 in the second.
During the second round encounter with Ateneo, they were up against the hottest team in the league that had a 9-game win streak going and were playing much better. From 69.3 points per game average in the first round, the Loyola Heights squad put up 77.7 in the second round.
Ateneo was tops in two-point and three-point field goal percentage, second in free throws made, number one in assists and blocked shots, and well, the best defensive unit in the league.
To say that bad chemistry cost the Tams the match is a slap to the Blue Eagles. In the second round game with the FEU, Ateneo erased an 11-point and 18-point deficit faster than it takes a jeep to reach Morayta from Legarda.
Yes, FEU. The numbers don’t lie. You’ve been playing bad.
In the season opening loss to Ateneo, their bench only contributed 14 points to the Blues’ 27. That somewhat changed Tams’ Coach Glenn Capacio’s plan of handing the ball to RR Garcia with Barroca playing the two-spot. In their following match against La Salle, they had Garcia come off the bench to add some scoring sock. They compiled 26 points to DLSU’s 27 as they won 65-51. The formula also worked against Adamson, UP, and other teams. Barroca in the meantime started alongside Casey Caluag, Jens Knuttel and Chris Exciminiano platooning at the point. Yet looking at the latter three, you could fit all their stats into Barroca’s left shoe and he’d still have plenty of points and assists to share. Even with reduced minutes in his final two matches for FEU, the national teamer finished with 38 assists to Garcia’s 36. So who was the point guard here? Or are we looking at turnovers in the clutch?
By their third to last game of the eliminations, he was off the bench where he began his slide. And he isn’t the only one – Noundou’s and Ric Cawaling’s numbers are slightly down from their first round showing.
Barroca needs the ball to be effective. He did work well at times with Garcia alongside him. But having watched him for three years now, he will never be mistaken for a catch and shoot player like former Tamaraw Benedict Fernandez. Were there lofty expectations after his sterling performances with Oracle and Smart Gilas?
Yes, but look at his teammates at Oracle – there were players from NU and La Salle who loved the transition game. With Gilas, the fast-paced offense was a perfect fit for Barroca’s game as opposed to the half court set that FEU prefers.
If his performances of late were suspicious, I could name you a couple of former Tams who played some mighty suspicious matches. Maybe he did it. Maybe he didn’t. But the last time I checked, a person is innocent until proven guilty.
And maybe before they point fingers, they should take a long hard look at themselves and where their program is going.
-------
It wasn't easy to write this. I have many friends at FEU and it really burns to take them to task for this. Mr. Montinola called me over at halftime of the Ateneo-UST Final Four match we talked for a bit. I went to the media room after and really felt bad. But I have to write and say this.
That was what Far Eastern University Tamaraws team manager Anton Montinola said about the school’s decision to remove star point guard Andy Mark Barroca from their roster in an interview yesterday.
On the strength of its pre-season performances and the showing of its national players in tournaments abroad, the Tamaraws were seeded by many quarters as the team that could knock down the Ateneo de Manila Blue Eagles from its lofty UAAP perch. When they lost in a close match to Ateneo in the Fil Oil league, many said, “Wait until they have their nationals in tow then we’d all see who was top dog.”
Only they lost to Ateneo 63-59 in the season opener and 74-73 in the elimination round ender.
Had they beaten Ateneo by five points then they would have wrapped up the number one seed even if tied with the defending champs at 12-2 by virtue of the quotient system. But they didn’t as they fell to 11-3 and were bracketed in the Final Four with a red hot UE squad that earlier handed them their worst defeat of the year at 87-72.
The loss to Ateneo didn’t just cost them the number one seed but also Andy Mark Barroca. The star guard was a casualty of “team chemistry” which is poor euphemism for being suspected of foul play. Except that is an understatement as well. They believe he did and wanted to axe him as far back as the Cheer Dance Competition. What – a text message that he had deliberately played below par convinced them? I don’t need a text to tell me that there are players who play well in the first quarter then disappear during crunch time just as there are practice players and big game players.
It’s so easy for FEU to blame their athletes. In fact, they’ve made a habit out of it. Remember when the squad was blown up after missing out the Final Four in 2006? Not good enough to win.
How about their twin losses in juniors and seniors football in Season 71?
After their opening day loss as defending champions in Men’s football, they were given a severe dressing down by team management after the game and told to pack up their belongings if they didn’t shape up. They would lose two more matches before they found their groove (they ultimately fell to UP in the finals).
When their juniors team lost to the Ateneo High School booters 2-nil in the finals, they were told “thank you for your one or two years of service to FEU but you will be evaluated for your performance.” The bottom line was some would be replaced by better players. The last time I checked, this was high school sports not the pros. These kids were plucked from all over the country to play in Manila then they would be discarded just like that? The football association of Sta. Barbara in Iloilo is so upset with FEU about this that they are hesitant to send any more of their kids to Manila.
Does the saying “win at all costs” come to mind?
In recent years, FEU has made the headlines for all the wrong reasons – the 2006 blow-up, the removal of JR Gerilla in 2007 (that was warranted), the Mac Baracael slay try in 2008, the infamous Women’s Football Team attack on a football referee, and now the Barroca incident of 2009. I haven’t even counted the juniors and seniors football issues. And wait, there’s that idiotic Soc Rivera Rule that they proposed (and was affirmed by the UAAP board) after several of their high school players decided to play for other squads.
But back to their basketball team… since their first round ending match against the UE Red Warriors, they have struggled. In that tiff, they raced to an 18-point lead only to see it evaporate quickly as their Recto rivals ratcheted up their defense. The Recto team’s rally fell short and FEU survived with a 76-72 win.
However, the cracks on the wall became evident. Since then they struggled against UST, NU (early in the game until they took over midway in the game), Adamson, and La Salle. And there were loses to UE and Ateneo.
If you compare FEU’s schedule with Ateneo’s (and with UE and UST’s), they had a more favorable one.
Ateneo played three games in the space of eight days, took a week off, played another series of matches then had another week off. Team officials privately bristled at the schedule. After losing to UP in Week Three after a weeklong lull, the Blue Eagle coaching staff managed their time between games better.
For the Tamaraws, they had enough rest between matches. The only time they played with a day’s rest they faced Adamson on a Thursday and NU on a Saturday (but that’s the Bulldogs, right?). When Pipo Noundou got injured there wasn’t enough time between games to get him back in circulation.
FEU averaged 73.1 points in the first round and surrendered only 61.6 to opponents. And when their struggles started in the second round, their scoring dipped to 64.7 while foes put up 62.4 against them. Their turnovers were up to the 19 in the second as opposed to the 15.8 in the first leg and their rebounding numbers dipped slightly from 45.1 in the first to the 44.7 in the second.
During the second round encounter with Ateneo, they were up against the hottest team in the league that had a 9-game win streak going and were playing much better. From 69.3 points per game average in the first round, the Loyola Heights squad put up 77.7 in the second round.
Ateneo was tops in two-point and three-point field goal percentage, second in free throws made, number one in assists and blocked shots, and well, the best defensive unit in the league.
To say that bad chemistry cost the Tams the match is a slap to the Blue Eagles. In the second round game with the FEU, Ateneo erased an 11-point and 18-point deficit faster than it takes a jeep to reach Morayta from Legarda.
Yes, FEU. The numbers don’t lie. You’ve been playing bad.
In the season opening loss to Ateneo, their bench only contributed 14 points to the Blues’ 27. That somewhat changed Tams’ Coach Glenn Capacio’s plan of handing the ball to RR Garcia with Barroca playing the two-spot. In their following match against La Salle, they had Garcia come off the bench to add some scoring sock. They compiled 26 points to DLSU’s 27 as they won 65-51. The formula also worked against Adamson, UP, and other teams. Barroca in the meantime started alongside Casey Caluag, Jens Knuttel and Chris Exciminiano platooning at the point. Yet looking at the latter three, you could fit all their stats into Barroca’s left shoe and he’d still have plenty of points and assists to share. Even with reduced minutes in his final two matches for FEU, the national teamer finished with 38 assists to Garcia’s 36. So who was the point guard here? Or are we looking at turnovers in the clutch?
By their third to last game of the eliminations, he was off the bench where he began his slide. And he isn’t the only one – Noundou’s and Ric Cawaling’s numbers are slightly down from their first round showing.
Barroca needs the ball to be effective. He did work well at times with Garcia alongside him. But having watched him for three years now, he will never be mistaken for a catch and shoot player like former Tamaraw Benedict Fernandez. Were there lofty expectations after his sterling performances with Oracle and Smart Gilas?
Yes, but look at his teammates at Oracle – there were players from NU and La Salle who loved the transition game. With Gilas, the fast-paced offense was a perfect fit for Barroca’s game as opposed to the half court set that FEU prefers.
If his performances of late were suspicious, I could name you a couple of former Tams who played some mighty suspicious matches. Maybe he did it. Maybe he didn’t. But the last time I checked, a person is innocent until proven guilty.
And maybe before they point fingers, they should take a long hard look at themselves and where their program is going.
-------
It wasn't easy to write this. I have many friends at FEU and it really burns to take them to task for this. Mr. Montinola called me over at halftime of the Ateneo-UST Final Four match we talked for a bit. I went to the media room after and really felt bad. But I have to write and say this.
Then this text message from Mark Barroca via Ed Ponceja:
Ako po ay lubos na nalulungkot sapagkat hindi na ako makakapaglaro sa FEU at sa UAAP. Ganoon pa man nirerespeto ko po ang desisyon ng FEU para sa sabi po nilang kapakanan ng team at ng unibersidad. Nais ko lang po na malaman ng lahat na malinis po ang konsensya ko, at wala po akong alam na maling ginawa. Eto po ang aking mensahe: 1. Sa aking mahal na coach at minamahal na teammates, kung di ko naabot ang inaasahan niyo sa akin, 2 kay Sir Anton Montinola at sa FEU, bigyan nyo po ako ng pagkakataon tapusin ang aking pag-aaral sa FEU bilang skolar dahil ito po ang aking banal na pangako sa aking ina nung ako po ay lumisan sa Zamboanga para makipagsapalaran sa Maynila, 3. Sa SBP, bigyan nyo po ako ng pagkakataon na maglaro sa Smart Gilas Pilipinas para makapagsilbi sa bayan. Ito lang po ang aking ninanais ngayon, at sana wag naman ako pigilan nino man, 4. Good luck at prayers po sa FEU sa final four, 5. Wala pong Mark Barroca kung walang pagkakataon na ibinigay sa akin gang fen a makakapaglaro sa uaap. Bilang pagtatapos, ako po ay 23 gulang lamang but I will and must move on. Matatag naman ang akin kalooban ngayon, at naniniwala ako sa pagsubok na ito, ay magiging mas mabuti akong player. Hindi po ako aayaw, hindi po ako titigil magsumikap.
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