My thoughts about Ateneo’s loss to FEU

My thoughts about Ateneo’s loss to FEU

by rick olivares

I expected FEU to play tough and it would be a close game even without Arvin Tolentino in uniform for them. I thought Ateneo would handle them just the same. But the game was somewhat reminiscent of the loss to Adamson where shots that normally go in went out and others just disappeared. FEU on the other hand made the big plays.

So, give credit to Olsen Racela and his boys for taking this huge win, 63-60. Now FEU climbs to second at 5-2 while Ateneo drops to third even with the same record because of the win-over-the-other rule.

It certainly hurt when Matt Nieto didn’t return from an injury as the other guards did not get the job done. When Thirdy Ravena fouled out, there were players on the floor not familiar with playing those key minutes.

I know it is a deep bench that we have but in this game, the bench struggled.

Remember when we broke down Ateneo’s win over DLSU, we pointed out that a key component to their wins (even from last season) was their shooting well from beyond the arc.

Let’s look at the rest of those stats that I pointed out as keys to Ateneo wins.

Now let's look at how Ateneo fared against FEU.

Opponent	3-point shooting	Assists Total	Bench Points	Turnovers	Points off Turnover
Vs. FEU	5-31 (16%)	13-12	22-34	11-27	15-8 (but 10 for Ateneo in the first half)

It should be noted that of FEU’s 27 turnovers, 16 came in the second half. Even so, Ateneo was unable to capitalize on those turnovers. The Blue Eagles only scored five points off turnovers in the second half of play.

I will give some credit to FEU’s defense, but it was also those missed layups and undergoal shots that hurt.

I thought that Ateneo started well but when the bench went in, they weren’t able to get the job done. The starters restored a double digit lead before the halftime, but they came out flat in the third. It didn’t help that Matt Nieto didn’t come back for the rest of the game due to minor injury.

Usually, it works, but this time, they didn’t get the job done as the turnovers piled up as did the missed shots.

I thought that others coming from the bench lacked the resolve. Adrian Wong hasn’t been himself since the injury. There have been a few games where he did well, but that’s few and far in between. You can see the indecision and well, the lack of tapang in attacking which he did so well before the injury. If he finds his old self, he will be a huge asset coming off the bench.

William Navarro is talented but is playing below his potential. Cannot keep telegraphing those passes, son. And take it strong. But what a talent!

At times, it was like only Angelo Kouame, Anton Asistio, and Mike Nieto playing with an intensity to match FEU. I certainly wished that Gian Mamuyac played a little more because the others weren’t getting the job done.

It’s a loss. A disappointing one for the missed opportunities and putting some distance between the rest of the field. But give a lot of credit to FEU. They wanted it and they won it.

Time to look forward and get going in the second half.

OBF!