The Ateneo Blue Eaglets survived an endgame rally by the De La Salle Zobel Junior Archers after spotting them a 20-point lead at the half. The final score was 78-72 but it only got close in the final three minutes as a series of miscues, poor leadership on and off the floor, and the lack of big men to rebound that enabled DLSZ to come back.
What got Ateneo that huge lead was aggressive play, good rebounding, and suffocating defense on La Salle. By the second half, the oppressive heat inside the FEU Gym started to take its toll as several players notably Juami Tiongson, Ivan Enriquez, and Frank Golla who went down due to cramps. On the La Salle side, Bryan Manguera came crashing down when his legs stiffened up while attempting a lay-up while voluminous center Colin Buckley was clearly tuckered out in the final quarter.
By the second half, the team play got lost as players began to go one-on-one and commit horrendous and bone-headed turnovers.
Did we beat them? Yes we did. But if the team didn’t erect that 20-point lead then they would have probably lost in the endgame.
Ael Banal may have hit a huge trey to cushion the Archers’ rally, but he should learn how to take that ball in rather than bomb away from the outside. At the point when the Archers came back, Ice Reyes was on the bench. Can’t win without that slashing forward, team. But if you ask me who saved the day – JV Dumrique and Al Bugarin before he fouled out.
Kiefer Ravena – I spoke with his dad, Bong, who is an old friend and neighbor – and congratulated him. Hey, Bong. Nice to see you in blue. It looks way better than red! Kiefer stopped two fastbreaks by his lonesome. Great instincts this kid and he’s only a frosh.
Jayvee Dumrique… when he didn’t have his legs anymore, that mid-range fall away that hit all net was a great shot as any. Follow through and a nice backspin helped that ball in.
If anyone from the UAAP stats group is reading this, you gotta get this right. Ivan Enriquez scored a deuce. There are no points to his credit in the stat sheet.
For the Blue Eaglets
Al Bugarin - 18 points + 16 ribbies w/9 offensive boards
Juami Tiongson - 16 points and 4 dime drops
Jayvee Dumrique - 14 points
Ael Banal - 11 points
For the Junior Archers
Colin Buckley - 13 points + 6 rebounds
Miguel Okubo - 12 points and 7 boards
David Webb - 10 points and 8 caroms
Marco Fortuna -10 points
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