Energizer
Ateneo 93 vs. UST 77
by rick olivares
July 19, 2009 Philsports Arena
The replacement
During the first two games of Season 70 of the UAAP, Emman Monfort started for the Ateneo Blue Eagles in place of the graduated Macky Escalona. Although the Blue Eagles won both matches, Monfort had much difficulty leading the Blue Eagles’ offense as he averaged a paltry 4 points, 1 rebound, and .5 assists in 8 minutes of action.
By the third game, against the similarly undefeated UE Red Warriors, Monfort was sent to the bench in place of Jai Reyes. It was also a situation switch as UE had the backcourt of Marcy Arellano and James Martinez.
The match saw 17 lead changes but in the endgame, Monfort committed two crucial turnovers that helped the Red Warriors upend Ateneo 76-73. Monfort, from Ateneo de Iloilo, would be benched for four matches for the rest of the season and go scoreless in four others. He did have his best game against NU in the second round but perhaps the match is best remembered for the loss to the Bulldogs that gave La Salle an opening to take the 2nd seed in the Final Four and the crucial twice-to-beat advantage it carried.
Monfort was dropped from the line-up the following season after norming 3.9 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 1.2apg in 10.5 minutes per game. He was sent to Team B to hone his playmaking skills.
As luck would have it, the Blue Eagles would go on to win the championship the following season. Although players on Team B are treated as part of the senior team, not being a part of the squad did bother the 5’6” point guard who oft watched the matches from the stands.
Despite his small size, he was conspicuous from the stands as he accepted handshakes and well wishes from Ateneo supporters. He would have been passed over once more had not Mike Baldos been removed due to academic ineligibility.
The Blue Eagles might have given up size but to the coaching staff, they couldn’t have been more pleased.
Bert Flores, is Far Eastern University’s Team B coach and every time his team faced Ateneo, he knew that he was off to the races. “Si Monfort at ‘yan si Alec Rivera… kung ‘di ka handa ay papatayin ka ng dalawang yun.”
The last time UST Head Coach Pido Jarencio saw Monfort, his tall guards led by Jojo Duncil and Japs Cuan gave their smaller Atenean counterparts (Escalona, Tiu, Reyes, and Monfort) fits with their size.
He may have scouted Monfort but judging by how the Tigers defended him, they had not gotten his full measure.
Hope and gamble
An hour and a half before their match, forwards Khasim Mirza and Dylan Ababou were doing some jogging outside the locker room of the Growling Tigers. The two forwards have been the scourge of their opponents as they’ve dropped 21ppg and 20ppg respectively.
In UST’s two previous matches, both wins, they had used their superior speed, outside shooting, and athleticism to overwhelm the Adamson Falcons and NU Bulldogs.
Mirza knew they were up against the defending champs but he expressed optimism, “Bilog yung bola. Tatakbo kami hangga’t kaya. Kailangan daanan naming sa bilis.”
And UST’s one hand was quite obvious, to draw Rabeh Al-Hussaini and Nonoy Baclao out to the perimeter. And it worked for a while as Baclao seemed tuckered out chasing Ababou all around. Al-Hussaini, although he scored 9 points in the first quarter, got two fouls in the first quarter, no doubt suckered by the physical and mental ploy by the under-sized Melo Afuang who was giving up four inches to the Ateneo center.
Detonation
With 3:34 left in the first quarter, Black sent in Ryan Buenafe for Kirk Long, Nico Salva for Baclao, and Monfort for Reyes. Mirza would score two straight baskets to give UST the lead 18-16.
Ateneo with Monfort (a triple) and Buenafe (9 points) leading the way, unloaded 14 straight points to give the Blue Eagles a cushion they would not relinquish. Ababou nailed a trey at the first quarter buzzer 30-21 but that was their last gasp.
The second unit continued the assault as they rendered UST’s strategy in tatters by bombarding from the outside and outrunning them. Monfort’s entry sped up the cherished uptempo game of Black that the Tigers were unable to keep pace with.
Monfort drilled three triples and cashed in on two free throws for a total of 11 points in the second quarter as Ateneo posted a 52-35 halftime lead.
The back-up guard marauded the passing lanes and disrupted UST’s passing game. He drove the lane twice against UST’s Chris Camus and Mirza and though he came up empty each time out, he revealed the doughnut hole in the middle of the Tigers’ defense. Although he was whistled for a technical foul that Ababou was unable to take advantage of as he missed both freebies to start the third quarter, Monfort returned and knocked down two more treys as Ateneo led by 19 at 68-49 end of the third. His fiery play clearly lit a fire under the Ateneans who early in the game were up against the spirited Tigers.
Jarencio’s team looked bewildered because they were being clobbered from everywhere. If they weren’t being bombarded from the outside (11 treys at 45.8% shooting), they were being bludgeoned from the inside as 32 Ateneo points came from the inside (Al-Hussaini finished with 13).
The Tigers were averaging a league-high 90pg entering their match with Ateneo, but the Blue Eagles flashing deadly and stifling defense held them 13 points below their average.
The fourth quarter was nothing more than a formality as Ateneo cruised to a 93-77 win; their third straight this Season 72 and fifth consecutive against UST dating back to three campaigns ago.
Anyway you want it
In their first game of the season, the Blue Eagles battled FEU’s bench and topped them. Against UE, they took the Red Warriors’ best shots from the outside. Ateneo adjusted, overhauled a 17-point deficit to beat them with outside shots and strong post play. Against UST, they challenged the Tigers from the perimeter while shutting down the interior. They matched speed for speed, half-court offense with punishing half-court game.
After the match, Monfort was ushered inside the Media Room for the post-game press conference. “Ganito pala dito sa loob,” he said as he entered.
It was his first time to have more than a dozen tape recorders and cameras thrust in his face with every sports writer eager to lap up all his words and he gregariously answered all the questions asked of him. The game had ended some 10 minutes earlier yet he was still a bundle of energy.
After a question was fielded towards Monfort, Black waited for his point guard to finish before he asked the media if he could answer it too.
“What can I say about Emman?” said the proud coach who gave pause for his words to sink in. “We’re glad to have him back.”
Ateneo 93 – Monfort 20, Salamat 14, Buenafe 14, Al-Hussaini 13, Salva 8, Tiongson 7, Long 7, Baclao 4, Golla 2, De Chavez 2, Chua 2, Sumalinog 0, Reyes 0, Gonzaga 0, Burke 0, Austria 0
UST 77 – Maliksi 20, Ababou 17, Mirza 13, Teng 6, Bautista 6, Afuang 5, Mariano 4, Green 2, Fortuna 2, Camus 2, Ungria 0, Felix 0, Cam 0
No comments:
Post a Comment