I can
accept this loss…
FEU defeats Ateneo 79-75
Bakit? Hindi pa naman tapos
yung season.
by rick olivares
The Ateneo Blue Eagles just won a
historic championship. Although they had lost their prized center and some key
players, they knew they had a chance to win another one with their holdovers.
However, they began the season 0-2.
After the loss to FEU, the locker room
was like a morgue. The head coach stood in front of the team and spoke. “Now is
not the time to press the panic button,” emphasized the coach. “Bakit? Hindi pa
naman tapos yung season. It just started.”
The assistant coach, Sandy
Arespacochaga would later add, “We saw their best games. Tayo wala pa. Kalma
lang. Relax.”
That was in 2003.
That year, the Blue Eagles won the
school’s third UAAP Men’s Basketball Championship. But they had lost Enrico
Villanueva, back-up center Sonny Tadeo, point guard Epok Quimpo, and swingman
Andrew Cruz.
The coach then was Joel Banal. And
they lost by one point to UE on opening day and several points to FEU.
Fast forward 10 years later to 2013
and there are some similarities.
“We played the two teams who were
seeded to make it to the Final Four,” Arespacochaga recalled of 2003. “It was a
good gauge for us and we saw that it was possible for us to enter the Final
Four. It’s almost the same scenario today in 2013.”
We all know that Ateneo lost Greg
Slaughter, Nico Salva, Justin Chua, Oping Sumalinog, and Tonino Gonzaga after
the historic fifth championship. It sure hasn’t helped that many players are
coming off lengthy injuries and that King Eagle Kiefer Ravena is hurting.
This team never played with a complete
lineup all summer long. Many players were missing because of the injury bug.
But that is hardly an excuse.
After the opening day debacle against
National University, one of the top seeded teams to win it all this year, the
Blue Eagles nearly upended the FEU Tamaraws only to fall 79-75 in overtime and
go down 0-2.
But I can accept this loss because…
The
boys gave it that good old One Big Fight.
After losing so much they brought out
their championship poise and heart to nearly pip FEU. You could see those guys
wondering what it would take to put the blue and white away.
At one point in overtime, Terrence
Romeo hit a shot in the lane against Chris Newsome (he only made two shots
versus New all game long) and the lead was 73-67 with 2:32 to play. It would
have been easy to collapse right there but no. The Ryan Buenafe hit two free
throws and scored inside. Juami Tiongson coolly hit the bottom of the net on
two free throws and just like that the game was tied.
After a missed shot by Romeo, the Blue
Eagles had an excellent chance to seize the lead. Buenafe corralled the
defensive board only to have Roger Pogoy rip it away and score underneath.
Romeo then hit four free throws including two after a turnover by Nico Elorde
that sealed the 79-75 win (Gwyne Capacio hit two free throws for Ateneo’s final
points) for FEU.
Prior to the overtime comeback, Ateneo
also rallied from an 11-point deficit at the start of the fourth period to take
the win.
Unlike the opening game debacle
against National University, the Blue Eagles, now coming to grips that they
could be without Kiefer Ravena for at least one more week, played much better.
They
trotted out vestiges of their old defensive heart.
We outrebounded the Tamaraws 51-47
(15-10 off the offensive glass) and had one fewer turnover, 12 to the 13 of FEU
(three in the final minute of overtime that killed any chance of pulling out a
win). They played good defense. We continue to shoot poorly but there’s that
sign at the Moro Lorenzo Sports Center that should remind them all of what got
them to this point – ‘defense wins championships’.
Chris Newsome was awesome once more. He
played 38 minutes. Longer than anyone player on either Ateneo or FEU. New
scored 17 points, pulled down seven boards, and dished off three assists. By my
unofficial count, he locked down Terrence Romeo and RR Garcia. Romeo managed
only two successful shots against him. He plays both ends of the court and like
Kirk Long and Rich Alvarez before him, he represents the grittiness that makes
for champion teams.
Bo
Perasol made his presence felt.
I know after the opening loss to NU,
he took some flak for mostly sitting down and letting Sandy Arespacochaga stand
up most of the time. I do not want to second guess the coach because for one, I
have not spoken to him about it and furthermore, I was not on the bench. I can
only surmise. Having said that, this is way too early.
Everyone doubted Joel Banal early on.
Ditto with Norman Black. So as Sandy said in 2003 and as Kiefer Ravena said in
2013, ‘relak.’
I am happy that he stood out there and
led this team. He doesn’t have a full deck but he was showing leadership. And I
can appreciate that. And furthermore, he has my FULL SUPPORT.
When Joe Lipa raised his fist to join
the singing of the alma mater after his first game as Ateneo coach, some
fucking idiot said he should not do that because he never went to Loyola.
Whether it is Joe, Joel, Norman, Jamike, or Bo, he is the coach of the Ateneo
and as long as you represent the school, you have every right.
Ryan
Buenafe finally stood up.
I feel sad that he is never anointed
as ‘The Man’. He bounced back from the loss to NU to lead the team with an
incredible stat line – 29 points, 15 rebounds, and 3 assists versus ONE
TURNOVER.
That is a great stat line.
You could see that the lift isn’t
there (because he looks so darn heavy). The hang time isn’t there. His first
step is… well… one second too long. But his dangerous mind is still there.
That was once incredible pass to New
(that he didn’t convert but he made good on for two free throws). Ryan should
have been given an assist for that after all New made both freebies.
With Chris busy trying to stop the
opposing team’s best offensive threat, Ryan took charge on offense.
The
blue and white gallery came out to cheer
Against NU, the crowd was mostly
passive. They only got up when Nico Elorde got bloodied and when the Blue
Eagles embarked on a late game rally.
This time around, on a rainy
Wednesday, in a venue kinda far from our usual haunts, they came. They cheered
and they applauded.
After the loss, right before the
singing of the alma mater song, the crowd along with the FEU team and gallery
applauded. For the second straight game, that brought tears to my eyes. That
One Big Fight is all you ever ask for and there’s the respect of your
opponents.
As FEU Coach Nash Racela (an Atenean
himself) made his way out of the press room, he said to me, “Ganda na ipinakita
ng Ateneo. It makes me proud to be a part of that game. Win or lose.”
On the other hand, there is one thing
that I need to mention. That the bigs have to step up. They are crucial to the
any chance of making it to the Final Four.
I feel bad that Frank Golla seems to
have regressed in the space of two terrible outings. He picked up from where he
left off during the Season 75 Finals to a fantastic in the pre-season. But he’s
been a no-show and is clearly lacking confidence. He came in and immediately
turned the ball over on consecutive possessions. He’s upset at himself for
that.
I know his teammates and the coaching
staff are helping him gain that back. And it is our job as well to give him
that boost in the arena. This is the time to pull together and not pull apart. One
good game and he’ll be terrific.
The same goes for JP Erram. He showed
more effort in the FEU match but sometimes I get the feeling that he has all
these mental concerns because of his injury.
Here’s to them gaining that confidence
(and to Kiefer Ravena’s health) because La Salle is on deck.
Yes, we are 0-2, but I think of Joel
Banal’s words back from 2003. The season is far from done.
C'mon Frank and grab that rounded bola-bola and stuff it there sa goala-goala! Do a Frankenstein on that shaded lane , remember no pain no gain! Go out there ýa ýoung fella! Halikinu!!!
ReplyDeletePretty soon Chris shoud'nt just be "Some New Guy" but a real "Some Awesome Baller", and Nico (not Salva) "The eLORDe of The Rings", Von will be PESSUMAL-bly "The Himalayan Eagle", and Poy dominates and erRAMs the ball into the hoop!
ReplyDeleteAnd to the KIEF Eagle...we await you!
Golla are you a Banal or not??? Banals are fighters! They are winners and Champions! Banal Family talk to Frank! Show up in the games!
ReplyDeleteBut seriously, are Erram, Golla and GBoy our only frontline! Cant we start exposing more of the younger guys!
ReplyDeleteRESPECT! Thats what the team won in this game!
Let Kiefer rest and recuperate! The more we wait for him, the more we play lousily; he is a great player! But I think Mary summons everyone to play great basketball!
Mary, for You, for your white and blue..................
I hope that I am wrong but it seems that the ones who are really fighting it out are not graduates from ADMU High School:
ReplyDeleteBuenafe-SSC
Newsome-Abroad
Elorde-DLSZ
Will Kiefer be able to play as he used to play???
ReplyDeleteBLUE EAGLES, ITS TIME TO SOAR!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zK2ZuescJGA
DZMM is saying Ravena is out of the ADMU line up indefinitely..
ReplyDeletePlease validate
No time to rest in recruitment.
ReplyDeleteIts time to build a TEAM B as strong as our TEAM A!