Bleachers' Brew #166 Off the Wrong Foot

http://businessmirror.com.ph/home/sports/13073-off-the-wrong-foot.html

Off the Wrong Foot
The Adamson Falcons are contenders for this year's UAAP crown. But the road to even a Final Four berth hit a huge bump on the road.
by rick olivares

When talk of the new University Athletic Association of the Philippines would come up, Leo Canuday’s eyes lit up. The Adamson Falcons’ guard was injured in a freak on-court accident last season and the time off from the game curtailed his development. All he cared was getting back on the court to help his team win. His team that was pegged by many quarters as a contender for the coveted basketball crown. “You know the saying, bilog ang bola. So we have a chance,” he mulled of his school’s chances of winning only its second UAAP title (that came in 1978).

Three days before the opening of the 72nd edition of the premier collegiate league, Adamson took on the STI Olympians in a friendly match at their home court in Manila.

Canuday’s consistency was a problem. In the summer leagues, he had shown flashes of brilliance but he privately wished he could contribute more. But Canuday, in his final playing year for Adamson, was grateful to be playing once more. “I missed the game so much. I’m going to give everything this season then after that I’ll see what my options are if I have a chance to play in the pros,” said the player who is very articulate, thoughtful, and profuse with his comments and insights.

His side walloped the NAASCU team by 19 points 85-66 and Canuday scored under double digits on a variety of kamikaze drives.

As the Falcons arrived at the Araneta Coliseum for the Opening Ceremony (they were to play the first game of the new season against UST), the team was loose and in a light mood. Canuday was the last of the Falcons to enter the venue’s south gate. He was grinning from ear to ear.

Four hours later, the Falcons trailed by a deuce 43-41 at the half. Inside their locker room, head coach Leo Austria asked why despite their size advantage were they down and getting outplayed. Forward Jan Colina, between copious sips of water, opened, “Lack of communication.”

“Lack of defense,” offered forward-center Allan Santos. “Kulang sa depensa,” added Canuday.

“Lahat ‘yang sinasabi niyo ay tama pero hindi lang yun… hindi na-execute yung game plan natin. Alam niyo naman pala kung ano yung kulang at kailangan gawin so bakit hindi natin nakikita?” asked Austria. “Or is it opening game jitters? Kung sino mag-di-dictate ng pace sa second half ay siya ang mananalo.” The room fell quiet; the point obviously having sunk in. The veteran coach then scribbled on the white board diagrams of what was wrong with their alignment and how they should adjust and compensate for the Growling Tigers’ swarming defense.

“Alam naman natin na suspect yung ball-handling ng mga guards nila so why are we not pressing them? Kulang tayo sa aggressiveness.”

Many of UST’s points came off isolation if not broken plays. “Guys,” enunciated Austria with utmost urgency. “We will not win if we do not play defense. Balik tayo sa strength natin.”

The Falcons came out of the second half and smothered the Tigers on the defensive end while guard Lester Alvarez and rookie forward Roider Cabrera nailed consecutive treys to give Adamson a three-point lead 48-45.

UST’s head coach Pido Jarencio, who played in the pro loop against Austria, called for time. He saw an opening his team could exploit. Once the Falcon guards passed the ball, their forwards had this bad habit of lowering the rock which could be susceptible to swipes.

And sure enough upon the resumption of the game, the Tigers stole the ball twice and scooted away for lay-ups with forward Khasim Mirza’s two-handed throwdown leveling the score at 48-all (guard Jeric Fortuna accounted for appoint with a split from the stripe).

Adamson would not recover the lead for the rest of the game.

The Tigers may not have any legitimate center but they are a tall and athletic team with almost everyone capable of sticking the outside shot. Working from the perimeter, it forced match-up problems that broke the Falcons’ zone. Adamson was slow in transition and to rotate. At times, a smaller man found himself against a taller and speedier Mirza or Dylan Ababou at the three-point arc.

Canuday himself was having a miserable shooting day. It seemed that there was an invisible lid on top of the Adamson basket as shots rimmed out and failed to get that friendly bounce. His three attempts from three-point land missed badly and now that he was driving to the basket, he found the lane shut as well.

Sent back to the fray in crunch time, Canuday nearly shook off his defender out of his high tops with a nasty head fake but the high looping shot hit the back iron with the rebound falling Ababou’s way. He pulled the same move on an STI defender in their exhibition match and his shot went in. On this day, he finished with zero points (0-10 shooting) but grabbed six boards and dished off four assists.

As he trooped back to the bench after getting subbed, he shook his head and wrapped his head in a towel.

But Austria isn’t one of the bright minds in the game for nothing. He sent in his two point guards Jerick Cañada and Alvarez to ratchet up their press against UST’s Fortuna who lapsed into a series of errors.

Cañada fed Cabrera for a fastbreak lay-up to come close at 69-72 with four minutes left but the Falcons made only two of four free throws and missed three wide open three-point attempts in the final two minutes

Jarencio called for time in the face of a searing Adamson rally: “Isang buhos na lang ‘to. Penalty sila. Drive lang tayo. Mabagal sila sa rotation.” But the strategy nearly backfired as his Tigers missed three of four free throws in the final minute that gave Adamson a slim chance of pulling off a heartbreaker.

Cabrera could have given his team the lead and maybe even the win, but he hurried a shot that had no chance of going in the moment it left his hands. “Nerves,” Austria later said of the shot as his team lost a nail-biter 76-75 to UST.

Austria’s team had beaten many good teams in the pre-season. Of course, he knew that shouldn’t be a barometer of a team’s eventual performance because under the bright lights and a roaring crowd, a huge difference in game conditions to the sparsely attended pre-season fluff, it was altogether a different ballgame.

“We’re better than this,” he said while reining in his disappointment. An opening day win would have boosted their confidence. It is always a must to beat the lower seeds and hope to steal a game or two against the top dogs if one wanted to contend for a semifinals seat. They had missed an opportunity.

Canuday dressed up quietly at the corner of the locker room. He had not helped his team much and blamed himself.

His coach’s words at the half rang in his ears… "Alam niyo naman pala kung ano yung kulang at kailangan gawin so bakit hindi natin nakikita?”

Words of “bawi next time” mean nothing to him now. He just couldn’t wait to get back on the court for their next game.