Omens & Motivations
Ateneo 60 vs. UE 62
by rick olivares and aaron vicencio
Some teams are driven because of greatness. Some by a sense of mission while others are motivated by revenge. But some enter the court to fight for survival.
And the UE Red Warriors were fueled by the emotions of having their backs against the wall and their coach on the chopping block. They used to the hilt and came away with a whale of a victim in the suddenly mortal Ateneo Blue Eagles.
It was one of the bad days when nothing seemed to go right on the floor for the boys in blue and white. One might opine that they used up their offensive arsenal in their thrashing of La Salle five days earlier. Putting it quite simply, it was just one of those days when nothing right happened and no one could hit the side of a building even if their life depended on it.
The same cannot be said about the Red Warriors. As they lost quite a few of their regulars to graduation, they were suddenly lumped as a middle of the pack team – lacking in some areas but with sufficient veteran savvy to make things exciting.
As they struggled early in the season, the whispers had turned into angry voices of demands for a coaching change. As one has seen through the years, the Red Warriors thrive on adversity. In fact, Lawrence Chongson survived one such putsch last year and then drove his team all the way to the finals. So what’s one more attempt and an improbable rally for the last seat to the Final Four bus?
For the Blue Eagles, there were omens abound. In the days prior to the match, the practices were unlike the previous ones. Poor ball rotation, selfish play, and a little overconfidence here and there.
The day before the game, a couple of players engaged NBA great Glen Rice in an impromptu game of “H-O-R-S-E” at the Araneta Coliseum. Rice was here as part of the NBA Asia Challenge while the two Ateneans were guests of one of the event sponsors. Rice won one game while one Blue Eagle won another. But the shooting wasn’t particularly of the “lights out” variety.
And that brought to mind a statement by coach Norman Black who said that if the teams shoot well in the practice before game day it usually carries over. Unfortunately, the cold hands were the ones that showed up.
The Red Warriors defense, notwithstanding their seven blocks, wasn’t particularly airtight. Even the close range shots for the Blue Eagles refused to drop. Ateneo pulled down 10 offensive boards in the first quarter alone while UE had 7. Unusual numbers. But here is where it begins to tell – Ateneo shot a woeful 16% in the first 10 minutes as they managed only 8 points. The Red Warriors were almost as inept but they did lead by two as they scored 10.
Where does it tell? Anemic shooting. The lethargic play. The first five not delivering?
Here’s the frightening one. The second units of both teams cancelled each other out as both teams finished the half at 27-all. In hindsight, Warrior James Martinez had eight points while center Ken Rosopa suddenly looked all-league as he scored six points both on and-ones.
Ryan Buenafe had zilch next to his name in the ledger. Eric Salamat had 2 fouls. Nico Salva traveled on his first two possessions. Frank Golla was in foul trouble (because of Rosopa of all people) and the Blue Eagles had their lowest output of the first half all season long.
Towards the third quarter, Ateneo got a huge lift from Buenafe, Emman Monfort and Juami Tiongson as they held a seven-point lead 45-38.
But at the start of the fourth, Blue Eagle rookie had his previously unblockable hook rejected by Adrian Santos who then scooted in the opposite direction and was fouled by Monfort as he laid in the ball.
On Ateneo’s next offensive, a foul by Santos on dela Cruz earned the latter’s ire. Upon resumption of the game, dela Cruz lost the ball to Santos and his subsequent foul sent him to the bench.
The Blue Eagles not only lost their cool but the lead and control of the game.
From there, it was a war of attrition; a game of lead changes and who would blink first.
UE gunner Paul Lee had been mostly checked and instead of chucking up the hundreds of bricks he normally takes, he turned into a facilitator to get his teammates involved.
And none was more grateful for his assists than Martinez who began to fire away from medium range to long range to eventually impossibly long range that he would do very well to challenge Rice to a game of how-far-can-you-shoot.
It was chaotic on the floor. Ateneo’s switched to a zone of which UE took full advantage of. As Monfort sagged to try and contain a UE incursion, James Martinez received too the ball and hit another dagger.
Although the Blue Eagles still had a chance to eke out a win, an ill-advised shot here, missed free throws there, and offensive rebounds by UE allowed them to nip Ateneo 62-60.
The Red Warriors ran on to the floor as if they had won a championship. They felt that in the first round, spotty officiating had robbed them of a chance for an upset. And now, they repaid the deed. The team had its lease on life as they mathematically could tie whoever is at fourth in the standings. UE’s win also made the game between Ateneo and Adamson this coming Sunday an even bigger battle.
And it certainly called to mind the harrowing and unexpected loss to NU late in the second round of Season 70.
The loss allowed Adamson to tie Ateneo for second place with a 8-3 record and a full two matches behind leader FEU with a 9-1 slate and a game ahead of De La Salle that was at 6-4.
UE was at 4-7.
“Our motivation is the Final Four and for ourselves,” said Chongson after the game. “If beating Ateneo one more time is a way for us to go out with a bang then so be it. But our mission isn’t done. We have a long way to go.”
Looming ahead in the meantime for a stunned Ateneo are the hungry Adamson Falcons. The Blue Eagles are hoping for a three-peat, one they have not achieved since the 1930s when they were playing in the old NCAA. For the Falcons, they have extra motivation – a Final Four seat and breaking the curse of a 13-year losing streak.
UE 62 – Martinez 22, Rosopa 12, Lee 9, Acibar 7, Reyes 6, Santos 2, Casajeros 2, Enguio 0, Zamar 0, Sumido 0, Duran 0
Ateneo 60 – Salamat 16, Escueta 10, Monfort 9, Chua 9, Buenafe 5, Long 4, dela Cruz 3, Tiongson 2, Golla 2, Salva 0, Gonzaga 0, Austria 0
Notes: Ateneo had zero fastbreak points. The last time the Blue Eagles reached that nadir was when they also faced UE albeit for a 72-57 win in the first round of last year. It was the lowest output and field goal percentage for Ateneo this season.
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