Ateneo vs. De La Salle Round Two

The High-flyers
Ateneo 65 vs. DLSU 57
words by rick olivares pix by Aly Yap

September 6, 2008
Araneta Coliseum
If the De La Salle Green Archers hoped to deliver an uppercut to the confidence of the Ateneo De Manila Blue Eagles maybe they should have chosen another intro aside from Bill Conti’s Theme from Rocky (Gonna Fly Now). Sure barker Rolly Manlapaz may have added to the “fight” ambiance by aping the stentorian voice of Michael Buffer but if anyone is gonna fly now, it’s those boys in blue and white (and black) who are kicking butt and taking names on the road to a finals berth. Maybe the team from Taft should have chosen another Italian job – perhaps the William Tell Overture by Gioachino Rossini (but they’ll have to ask UE’s band of which this has been a forever staple of their game music fare but with the brother of the coach in Recto that should be no problem).

But even that would be no match for the Blue Babble Battalion Band’s fantastic drum line performance during halftime that sucked the life out of the DLSU Pep Squad’s routine and pumped up the blue gallery all the more for the resumption of hostilities.

The Blue Eagles care not for any histrionics. They’re locked on their goal of hurdling La Salle and paying them back in spades for last year’s misfortune when Ateneo lost a twice-to-beat advantage that was a hair’s breath away. It’s tantalizing to see them matched in mortal combat with the Far Eastern University Tamaraws whom they’ve equally share a heated and at times violent relationship (see the Friendship Caravan of 1989 and the 2005 Finals).

Going against a powerful team like La Salle seems like man against nature but on this day, Ateneo behind a Tiunami of first quarter of points would seize a lead it would not relinquish.

Even during the inevitable Green Archer rally where a once robust lead was trimmed down to three at 38-35, they remained focused.

Teams like La Salle and UE are quick pressing teams that score heavily off turnovers. If that was the bane of past Ateneo squads, Norman Black’s teams have generally handled them with ease. When the pressure defense doesn’t work, opponents resort to physicality to throw off the Eagles’ finesse and slick passing game. It sometimes works but on this day that just wasn’t going to cut it. When Rico Maierhofer flopped to the floor while playing matador defense with 3:05 left to play in the 3^rd Quarter, the referees swallowed their whistles. With fouls at a bare minimum (a combined 27 for the match), the game was for the players to win and lose it.

As Ateneo repulsed the La Salle blitz with a 15-1 run of their own. Nonoy Baclao and Rabeh Al-Hussaini were taking Rico Maierhofer, Peejay Barua, and James Mangahas outside and burying their jump shots. If they were slow to box out, the two along with Mike Baldos would sneak in for an undergoal stab, putback, or a nifty up and under. All game long, the Green Archers were getting hammered from inside and out. Almost every shot they took there was an Atenean’s hand in their face. Gunner Jayvee Casio whose easiest points were off a turnover, slipped as he used a series of back picks to extricate himself from the great defense applied by Jai Reyes. If he did get free, Al-Hussaini swatted the ball out of bounds.

Even as Chris Tiu cooled off in the second half, Al-Hussaini and Baclao were doing a lot of damage. When the ball was kicked out, Reyes – who generally plays well against La Salle – killed them with timely three-point bombs (he hit three of four shots from beyond the arc).

Franz Pumaren called for time with 2:57 left in the 3^rd Quarter. And in a remarkable contrast between the two teams’ display of brotherhood, the Blue Eagles had their arms around one another as they listened to Norman Black issue instructions while for La Salle… well, whatever floats their boat. When the Green Archers returned to the court, Rico Maierhofer was psyching himself up as if to say, "You gotta do it." With his teammates’ guns silent, he took on Big Blue by his lonesome.

After Maierhofer (who like NU Bulldog Edwin Asoro has fallen in love with the three all the more this season) hit his only three-pointer of the game with under four minutes to play to bring the score to 62-57, it turned out to be DLSU’s final points. Baclao put in a huge twinner after twisting Maierhofer like a pretzel and Reyes added one free throw to restore the lead to eight 65-57 which was the game’s final score. Ateneo’s defense held and La Salle’s poor shooting (Casio and Barua would miss back-to-back trey attempts with 1:25 to play) did them in.

As the final buzzer sounded, the jubilant 13-1 Blue Eagles had exacted a measure of revenge by sending La Salle into a grudge match with FEU into their own Final Four three-game series.

Al-Hussaini put a stamp on his breakout season with another incredible performance as he scored 18 points, grabbed 11 boards to go with a 1 assist and a 1 block. Each time DLSU threatened, he coolly posted down Walsham or Maierhofer for a hook or a jumper; when he was fouled, he hit his free throws.

In the Press Room where Norman Black was taking questions, Al-Hussaini and Baclao quietly sat close by (but were blocked from view by the media throng) waiting for their turn in the Q&A. When the Ateneo mentor was done, Al-Hussaini stood up and quipped, “Coach, I didn’t know you were there?”

Black grinned. “Oh, hey, Rabeh. I was just talking about you.”

Before he sat, Al-Hussaini said, “Let’s talk about the team."

Ateneo 65 - Al-Hussaini 18, Baclao 11, Reyes 10, Tiu 9, Salamat 8, Baldos 4, Escueta 3, Buenafe 2, Salva 0, Burke 0, Austria 0

La Salle 57 - Maeirhofer 16, Atkins 9, Barua 8, Malabes 7, Casio 7, Villanueva 4, Walsham 2, Ferdinand 2, Webb 0, Revilla 0, Bagatsing 0

Note: I asked Aly Yap to take three photos: one with the sole Blue Eagle fan in the Green Patron section that says volumes, and two, the team timeouts with 4:05 left to play. I noticed that all game long -- that contrast in display of brotherhood. As I said, whatever floats your boat.