Breaking down La
Salle’s win over SWU
by rick olivares
With every victory, the Southwestern University
Cobras looked forward to a rematch with new nemesis La Salle. Their boisterous
crowd even chanted, “We want Archers! We want Archers!” after every victory.
They got them all right but after the 64-59 loss to
the Green Archers, it’s not only back to the drawing board where the wanting
and the waiting for another crack at their conquerors will just have to wait
for another day as the resurgent UE Red Warriors are on deck.
But aside from that, the Cobras got exposed. Bad.
SWU got off to a fast start by pounding the rock
inside. Bernie Bregondo scored underneath (his only two points of the game).
Mac Tallo scored on an acrobatic reverse lay-up for an and-one after Robert
Bolick fouled him. Adam Mohammed drove hard for a deuce. Then Mohammed found an
open Jasper Parker for a trey. The score stood at 10-4 at that point.
After 10 minutes, SWU led, 22-15.
Come the second period, the bench was sent in and
this is where their problems began. Save for Daryl Goloran (11 points), the
reserves simply failed to produce. Instead of putting away La Salle (not that
it is an easy task) after spotting them a 22-15 lead, the reserves flat out
bombed.
Then SWU’s starters began to struggle with their
offense. Parker and Tallo all of a sudden couldn’t hit the side of a building
even if it were in front of them.
Parker was 1-12. It got to a point where he drove and
had he released early he might have gotten a bucket. Instead he hesitated then pumped
and got blocked for it.
Tallo fared no better shooting 3-15. And one of those
was that reverse layup and a close range shot in the first period. Meaning his
triple in the fourth period was his only other field goal.
Mohammed stopped attacking the basket.
It got to a point where instead of methodically
breaking down La Salle, they looked to deliver the knockout punch very early with
their outside artillery. Unfortunately, they were off target today.
When reserves Anton Pardo and Mark Racho didn’t
deliver they were never sent back. Jovanie Luz sparkled in nine minutes with a
triple, a rebound, and a beautiful assist. But that was it. He never returned.
In contrast, La Salle sent their players back to the
fray even when they didn’t produce early in the game. When they returned, they
delivered. Van Opstal was taken out of the equation by Sanjo for the first
three periods. In the payoff period, he
scored four crucial points. Terrence Mustre likewise didn’t figure much but his
late game triple backed up Matt Salem’s booming howitzers.
That’s trust the coach (Juno Sauler) has in his
players.
I wish the same could be said for SWU. At some point
when Parker and Tallo were shooting bricks, Yayoy Alcoseba should have brought
back Pardo (he never even got off a shot; not one) and Luz. Forget Justin
Aboude who though has an excellent attitude has bad hands. It’s like asking
Mike Tyson to score a basket. Why run plays for him when you can have him clean
up that glass for putbacks?
If it weren’t for Landry Sanjo’s hustle, defense, and
intensity, this game would have been a no contest early on.
La Salle rotated their players much better than SWU
and the Cobras paid the price. Sanjo was just flat out gassed by the third
period.
The Green Archers knew that after Sanjo, SWU has no
other capable center so they repeatedly attacked the inside. Behind Jeron Teng
and Jason Perkins, DLSU scored 25 of their 64 points inside the paint (they
also added eight free throws). Sanjo was simply overwhelmed inside by La Salle
that won the battle of the boards, 52-47. In a close game won by five points,
those rebounds translate into extra possessions.
And there were match up problems. I don’t get it why
SWU insisted on putting Mohammad on Teng who is not only taller and wider but
also stronger. Goloran would have been a better match up because of his height
and reach.
I wondered why they preferred to play one-on-one.
What happened to the picks? No pick and roll? You could see that pick coming
for Almond Vosotros or even Jeron Teng. One of the oldest plays in basketball
with no surefire defensive scheme to stop it and SWU didn’t even run it.
Having said all of that, were the first four wins of
SWU a fluke?
Not at all. First of all, they went up against teams
that DO NOT have complete lineups. JRU, Perpetual Help, University of the
Visayas, and University of San Carlos do not have the inside-outside combinations
of La Salle. They ran against teams with a lot of players playing out of
position. This time around, they ran smack into one with a lot of talent,
skill, smarts, and depth. And one that is superbly coached.
The SWU Cobras can definitely win this year’s CESAFI.
They have the talent to do so. But if there’s one thing this game showed to its
CESAFI rivals, it’s how to beat these Cobras.
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