Lessons
FEU 74 vs. Ateneo 72
by rick olivares with pic by brosi gonzales
In the aftermath of the 74-72 loss to Far Eastern University, an elderly Ateneo alumnus slumped into is his lower box seat and glumly concluded,” We don’t close out games like we used to.”
“We used to be good at closing games and winning by the skin of our teeth. Now, even when we take a big lead, we lose them.”
There was an awkward moment of silence before his grandson, only in the seventh grade, looked up and said, “It’s just one game, lolo. We’re still in the Final Four, you know. We can still make it.”
The alumnus broke into a smile and a great burden was lifted. “Kids,” he enthused. “They say the darnest things but they speak the truth.”
Hope springs eternal. As are windows of opportunity as are moments of déjà vu.
In last season’s final match of the elimination round, FEU’s Reil Cervantes trooped to the free throw line with a chance to send the game into overtime. Cervantes only canned one and the Tamaraws went on to lose the game.
This year and uncannily in the same situation, the player dubbed the “Real Deal” was once more at the stripe with a chance to give his side a three-point lead time down to 20 seconds. He made only one and after Ateneo muffed an attempt, teammate Terrence Romeo bricked two free throws of his own that gave Ateneo a chance to send the game into overtime and beat FEU (by at least four points to seal the number seed position) heading into the Final Four.
Only Ateneo bungled its last few attempts. And once more with a fumble on the baseline by Ryan Buenafe and an unconverted undergoal stab by center Justin Chua.
It was a satisfying victory by FEU who thought that they have been denied in recent years by Ateneo. And if their road to the UAAP title this year would have to go through Katipunan they wouldn’t want it any other way.
The first thing you should know is this is not your back-to-back championship team. There are several players missing from the rosters of those great squads. This year, the recruiting class of Season 71 -- Nico Salva, Buenafe and Chua -- has stepped into the breach vacated by previous teammates and led the team.
The fastbreaks are still there as is the defense. But it is no longer of the punishing kind. The shaded lane is not the no-fly zone that it once was. But incredibly in both matches versus FEU, the Blue Eagles won the battle inside (36-22 and 30-26). The problem is Ateneo gets scorched from the outside (13-36 and 31-38) as league MVP RR Garcia redeemed himself from a miserable game with a huge trey with 42 seconds left in the second round game.
While the team lost four games this season by an average of 2.5 points they also won three matches by an average of 3.3 points. So you know they still have what it takes.
They registered blowouts against twice versus NU and UP and once each against UST and La Salle. That means they have the firepower to bring on any given day.
Now all that is missing is consistency.
Five times this elimination rounds they gave up a sizeable lead heading into the final two minutes of play. Three of those late game collapses led to loses.
And despite finishing the elimination round at 10-4 in head coach Norman Black’s 99th game for Ateneo*, the team is still in an excellent position to compete for a third straight title. One that two previous title teams (1988 and 2002) were unable to accomplish.
And blown leads and endgame meltdowns notwithstanding, this team of Blue Eagles, imperfect and lacking in several departments, is incredibly still in the hunt for that elusive three-peat.
Now here’s hoping that there’s another crack at FEU.
FEU 74 – Romeo 15, Ramos 15, Cervantes 14, Sanga 11, Garcia 8, Bringas 6, Cawaling 4, Noundou 1, Mendoza 0, Exciminiano 0
Ateneo 72 – Buenafe 14, Salva 13, Salamat 12, Chua 11, Long 8, Monfort 6, Tiongson 5, Golla 2, Escueta 1, dela Cruz 0, Austria 0
Notes:
Ateneo’s four losses this year:
FEU beat Ateneo 72-69
DLSU beat Ateneo 66-63
UE beat Ateneo 62-60
FEU beat Ateneo 74-72
Norman Black’s six-year record with Ateneo:
Season 68 record: 11-5
Season 69 record: 12-4
Season 70 record: 11-7
Season 71 record: 16-1
Season 72 record: 16-2
Season 73 record: 10-4 (so far)
That’s a total of 76-23 for a 77% winning percentage.
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