The battle between Greg Slaughter and Anthony Hargrove was like Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla. haha |
Five ways
to appreciate the Ateneo win over FEU
by rick olivares pic by brosi
You have to wonder what RR Garcia is
thinking. No Eric Salamat. No Emman Monfort. No Kirk Long. Yet his FEU Tamaraws
still cannot get over the hump against Ateneo.
The La Salle-NU game that preceded the
main event had as much theater and drama too. But this one literally rocked the
Big Dome to its foundations. And besides, it was packed unlike the sparsely
attended first game.
Wow!
Hirap.
Walking alongside Norman Black to the
media room, coach uttered two words: “Wow. Hirap.”
Let’s flip the postulate.
No Al Ramos. No Pippou Noundou. No
Ping Exciminiano. And these Tamaraws are still a tough bunch to beat. The Blue
Eagles had to buck dubious calls in the first quarter, a double digit FEU lead,
and Terrence Romeo and RR Garcia going inside like the shaded lane was a McDonald’s
drive through to pull out a workmanlike win.
In the first half, Ateneo could not
adjust to the wing play of FEU where their perimeter players would move around
a lot thanks to a bunch of screens to free them. The Blue Eagles got so overly
concerned with Romeo and Garcia losing their guards that they forgot players
like Arvie Bringas, Roger Pogoy, and Anthony Hargrove who took advantage of the
confusion to drive in for a lay up, and-one, or even a monstrous throwdown.
For a FEU team that has steadily lost
its low post players over the years (see box) they sure took it to Ateneo early
on.
After the first half of play, FEU
had 20 points from inside the lane, 6 points from the free throw line, and 11
points from the perimeter.
During FEU’s earlier four-game win
streak that saw them win by the skin of their teeth (usually in the final play
of the game), head coach Bert Flores described the method to their madness.
“Hinahayaan ko si Terrence o si RR mag-create.”
The adjustment was to stay in front of
Romeo and Garcia and to improve the perimeter defense. When that was
accomplished (and with Greg Slaughter swatting five shots), FEU was forced to
beat Ateneo with the longball. The Tams nailed three treys at the end of the
game but one of which was inconsequential.
And besides, we countered and matched
them with our best three-ball effort this season (we were 5-13 while they were
5-18).
We had to sweat it out and work for
it. The Tams tested us and brought out some great clutch play.
To borrow a line from the championship
t-shirt of the 1988 Ateneo UAAP champion team: “Great champions die hard”.
We
got treated to Ryan Buenafe’s playground
Hey, FEU. Remember me?
The last time Buenafe played a match
against FEU in a UAAP game, he stuck a three-point dagger in thousands of
Morayta hearts.
And here was Buenafe once again – a
Tamaraw killer. Hey, the animal in an endangered specie and after Ateneo’s win,
it dropped the Tams from first to third place in the standings. With La Salle
and NU bring up the rear in the last seats to the Final Four bus, how huge was
that loss?
Juami Tiongson’s assist production has
dove-tailed. In the first three games of the season, he averaged six assists to
one turnover. After missing the UP match, he has since chalked up only one
assist versus seven turnovers.
Luckily for him and the team, there’s
Ryan Buenafe.
Let’s look at his counterparts in the
three-spot:
He doesn’t defy gravity like Alex Nuyles
does. He doesn’t put up a ton of points like Jeron Teng does. He doesn’t hoist
voluminous numbers of treys like NU’s Lee Villamor or UST’s Kevin Ferrer do.
But Buenafe’s the guy who can dominate
a game while scoring only six points and he’s certainly someone who comes up big in big games. Now I am not going to call him "big something" despite his propensity to contribute mightily in big games.
Buenafe is a game
changer and a silent assassin in what appears to be an unathletic body. Charles
Barkley anyone? Close but Barkley is a different specimen.
When the fourth quarter started, the
score was at 53-49, FEU.
FEU’s Anthony Hargrove and Ateneo’s
Kiefer Ravena traded two points each. At the 8:18 mark, Buenafe scored on an
and-one against the former making it 55-54. We’re down a solitary point.
After a FEU miss, he found Nico Salva
who struggled mightily because of foul trouble. That gave Ateneo its first
taste of the lead since 2-0.
The Tams regained the lead with a Mark
Bringas bucket and then the play that swung the momentum for good, Ateneo’s
way.
At the 6:26 mark, Buenafe took the
ball on top of the left side of the three-point arc. Greg Slaughter went out to
provide a pick as Ryan looked up at the clock. His last two three-point
attempts from the same area were short. He looked to shot but drove hard
instead. Drawing a crowd as he knifed in from the lane, he suddenly found
Slaughter amidst the forest of limbs and the Big Fella obliged with a
two-handed stuff. We never did surrender that 58-57 lead (at the 6:20 mark).
In a little over two minutes, his
heads up play turned the game around.
With the score at 66-60, he dove for
the loose ball and got FEU’s (and his former San Sebastian teammate) Arvie
Bringas to pick up his fourth foul.
Following a Bringas trey to cut the
lead to 69-63, Buenafe tacked on two more free throws to provide some breathing
space.
And it got contagious. Slaughter
posted up and handed off the ball to Kiefer Ravena who cut along the baseline.
Ravena literally laid the ball inside the basket with his finger tips just
touching the rim. No need for a slam. When it mattered, Ateneo countered with
execution. The result was a 74-71 comeback win.
When the Blue Eagles struggled against
UE in its last outing, Ryan was handed the ball in the third quarter. Ten
minutes later, the Red Warriors were finished.
Buenafe tallied a stat line of 10
points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists against FEU. Like the man himself, it doesn’t
really look unspectacular. What is important is how and when he does it. And
that is spectacular.
Rabeh
Al-Hussaini and Nonoy Baclao V.2
We all know what that duo gave Ateneo.
There are few storied centers in
Ateneo’s UAAP history. There was the fabled Danny Francisco and undersized but
no less tough John Verayo. Then there was Enrico Villanueva, Ford Arao, and
Al-Hussaini. Now there’s the Big Fella from Virginia.
Technically, the four-spot belongs to
Nico Salva who is also a defensive problem for others because he can take them
out to the perimeter. But how intriguing was that pairing of Slaughter and
Erram during that crucial late and early fourth quarter?
Erram was pegged to replace the
revered Nonoy Baclao at the four spot. A defensive menace who could provide
some rebounding assistance and points on the putback. But I have always thought
that Erram was better offensively.
After the last University Games (in
Roxas City) that the Blue Eagles won, I thought that Erram was ready to
breakout this season rather than provide the occasional cameo and quality
minutes. He was making opposing centers eat their shots while slamming the ball
from alley-oop passes from Juami Tiongson and Tonino Gonzaga.
Poy is athletic, has a good medium
range jumper, and has great defensive instincts.
FEU tried to overwhelm us with their
size -- Anthony Hargrove (bet you regret not playing for the blue and white
now), the Bringas brothers, Rey Belo, and Christian Sentcheu. But when Ateneo
countered with Slaughter and the more mobile Erram, the freeway that the Tams
had access to earlier? Dude, they had to pay the toll fee.
Slaughter – 17 points, 8 rebounds, 3
assists, and 5 blocks.
Erram – 6 points, 9 rebounds
(including four offensive boards), 1 steal and 2 blocks.
Until
they take it from us, we are still the kings of the endgame
The Tamaraws have been clutch for the
most part. They chalked up impressive endgame victories over tough teams – UST and
La Salle. They nearly pulled it off again against NU and the final three-point
margin notwithstanding. The outcome against Ateneo was decided with a minute
and eight seconds left (after a Kiefer Ravena free throw made it 69-60).
While the Norman Black era in Ateneo
will be remembered for its championships and defensive mentality, one hallmark
that should be remembered is its steel-resolve in the endgame. We have won more
nail biters than anyone since 2006. And that has served this team in good
stead.
The UAAP Board likes that there’s
parity in the league. There are five teams who could realistically win it all.
Adamson would have been a contender had they not lost Alex Nuyles. Every game
we ‘re going to be tested. And that brings me to my last point.
You
have a front row seat to the Drive for Five.
Who would have thought that the Ateneo
Blue Eagles would be in a position like this – to win a fifth straight title?
There have been two occasions where this has happened – the 1930s and the 1950s
(where we went to six finals in eight years while winning four: a pair of
back-to-backs sandwiched by losses). And then there is now.
We’ll save the sentiment for a later
column but you have to appreciate what you are watching.
The match against FEU was a classic
regardless which side you root for. One team is the paragon of exceptional
talent while the latter is for team play. You can never take for granted that
we are the defending champions. It’s a different season under a different set
of circumstances. To make history, they have to be focused while we have to
support them in the stands win or lose.
In 1989, Blue Eagles lost overnight
four vital cogs who missed a season for varying reasons. There was already a
sense of three-peat was done even before it started as we lost Danny Francisco
to a heart ailment, Alex Araneta and Jay Gayoso to academics, and Jet Nieto to
med school. The blue and white faithful still trooped out but not in large
numbers. The noises about winning a title then emanated from that school along
Taft Avenue (and they did win it).
I will forever remember how with
barely 60 Ateneans in the stands, the FEU Tamaraws of Johnny Abarrientos and
Vic Pablo officially hammer down the last nail in the coffin for Ateneo. My
classmate, Joseph Canlas, shot blanks for nearly 90% of the way but caught fire
late in the game. We fell.
The difference between now and then is
that we are in the thick of things. The great thing about our being fans is
that we are then win or lose. Even during those two dark ages of the early 80s
and the title-less 90s.
The first round is done. Now, the
scramble for the first objective of nailing the top two seeds for the Final Four
will become even more intense.
The Drive for Five continues.
Seven played. Seven more to go.
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Thanks to the guys from Imperium Technology. And I apologize for my glasses remark.
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Thanks to the guys from Imperium Technology. And I apologize for my glasses remark.
Juami Tiongson seems to be under-appreciated in this article. IMO, those back to back threes (plus the one from Elorde) put the spark back in Ateneo. Buenafe then fanned the flames during the 4th.
ReplyDeleteAlso wish Greg Slaughter would attack the basket more often like the way he does it on the picture above.
Finally, yeah, I'm looking forward to the Greg Slaughter / Poy Erram combo in future games. Hope Erram can score more baskets like the way he did it on his second basket I believe (when he shot off a rebound).
I think I have trumpeted Juami Tiongson a lot since the Uni Games of last year. But those threes you referenced were in the third. Elorde's trey made it 45-46. But FEU held fast and went back to a 52-45 lead. There is a reason why they give the ball to Buenafe because he can create and make others look really good. Love Juami's playmaking. But of late, Ryan has taken charge with thew playmaking.
DeleteEither way, good for us. Never hurts to have too many playmakers. And Buenafe will definitely be crucial if we make it to the finals
Deleteit was great yesterday Rick!!! a win that capped off my birthday!!! we will always be there shouting fabiliohs until no more voice comes out then we will resort to clapping or banging the chairs!!! Go ATENEO!!! One BIG Fight!!!
ReplyDeleteI agree, Ryan is the game changer for this game. Juami and Nico Elorde's 3ptrs, gave us the lift but the turning point of the game (at least for me) was Ryan taking over the game for us. Facilitating and making those timely incursions and assists.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I wish tonino would stop hoisting those hurried 3pt. shots. He was our energy guy last season but hoisting those 3ptrs. are sometimes momentum killers for us. I also wish that juami and tonino would involve / pass the ball more to Ryan when the three are together in the court.
This Ateneo vs FEU game was dictated by the guards! Fortunately, towards the end game, the Ateneo guards clicked on offense( particularly those crucial 3's from Tiongson and Elorde which brought them back the lead )'tho outscored by FEU's Garcia/Romeo , et al . Agree that Buenafe was a game "changer" ...
ReplyDeleteHow many more playing years does erram have?
ReplyDelete1 more after this.
ReplyDelete