CrunchAteneo 75 vs. NU 47
words by rick olivares pic by raddy mabasa
August 1, 2009
Araneta Coliseum
A lesson in discord
If a sporting match features the spectrum of human drama then it comes hand-in-hand with the requisite clichés.
If the Ateneo de Manila Blue Eagles have their own struggles and issues, then they should take a hard look at the National University Bulldogs for a prime example of there's no letter “I” in the word “team.”
The Bulldogs at 1-4 know very well they are young and patiently building what they would like to be a championship contender. The losing on the other hand isn’t something anyone likes or gets used to.
Heading into the match with Ateneo, they have waxed hot and cold and have given opponents all they could handle for a half, maybe three quarters, before eventually falling apart. They knew that the defending champs would play them straight up and have drilled on everything they need in order to take care of business. Now they just had to make it happen.
Once the match started, it seemed to be in NU’s favor as Ateneo missed their first three shots and turned over the ball on the same number of occasions.
The Bulldogs held 8-4 lead with the first quarter almost done. There was a sense of frustration amongst the starting unit of the Blue Eagles. The ball wasn’t moving around well and the shots weren’t dropping. The ugly ball that began two matches ago and continued with Adamson still plagued them and Norman Black shook his head with displeasure.
Incredibly it was NU that came unglued when team captain Melvin Baloran and center Jewel Ponferrada got into an argument on the court that continued on the bench.
After Ateneo forged 8-all deadlock at the end of the first quarter with its MASH unit of Ryan Buenafe, Nico Salva, and Emman Monfort on the court, the match that had started so well for NU, had slipped away.
By the half, the score was a mollifying 30-12 in favor of the blue and whites.
Inside the NU locker room, Bulldogs head coach thundered about Baloran and Ponferrada being selfish. “Hindi niyo inisip yung team,” he seethed through gritted teeth. “Hindi niyo man suklian yung magandang pinapakita ni (forward Marion) Magat. Hindi ako lalabas dito kung hindi niyo inayos ‘to.”
Baloran, the team captain and Ponferrada spoke, tapped each other, and swore to put the incident behind them.
“Dikit niyo lang ako boys at may pagasa tayo,” pleaded Dandan who threw out all his tactics saying that saving the game was entirely up to them.
Breakout
In the first week of the new UAAP season, the Blue Eagles played three huge matches in eight days. They had a week off before taking the floor against UP where they got ambushed.
Although Ateneo had gotten back on the winning track, Black was concerned about managing time better. They showed uncharacteristic rust and lack of fluidity against Adamson. With the inside game not there and the team slow in getting off the blocks, they went to the court of last resort – the three. The game was significant for it got Jai Reyes and Eric Salamat untracked.
Against NU, it was more of the same -- the starting unit sputtering – that it was up to the Ateneo bench mob to restore order. But it all started with smothering defense as applied by Buenafe on NU’s Ajeet Singh and Monfort making life difficult for counterpart Joseph Terso.
With the Bulldogs’ lack of a strong inside presence, Ateneo asserted its dominance on the boards (for only for the second time this season with a 43-33 advantage) and the rout was on. The Blue Eagles dropped a crippling 39-8 bomb that ended the match with plenty of time to spare.
The Blue Eagles beat NU, one of the league leaders in fastbreak points, 22-14. And with the outside artillery finding their mark, it opened up the lane for Rabeh Al-Hussaini to do some serious damage as he pumped in all his 10 points in the second quarter that saw NU held to a measly four points. And the fourth quarter was garbage time as Ateneo emptied the bench for a 75-47 win to stay on top of the heap.
The last time Ateneo played like this was against UST. “Hopefully, that’s a good sign heading into our match against La Salle,” thought the Blue Eagles head coach after the carnage. “We still had 21 turnovers. We have to take better care of the ball.”
Said Monfort who top scored for Ateneo for the second time this year, “It’s good na panalo kami this way bago makalaban yung La Salle. Sana we can maintain it.”
Inside the NU dugout, there was no joy or laughter. They were on the business end of a bad beating. It was Foundation Day in their school that had just completed a massive makeover and the loss took the starch out of any celebratory mood.
A visibly upset Dandan seethed but he knew that this wasn’t the time to badger his team. His team had learned a painful lesson in team play. While there was no “I” in “team” there was certainly one in the word “win.” But not today.
Ateneo 75 – Monfort 12, Salamat 10, Al-Hussaini 10, Salva 8, Baclao 8, Reyes 5, Buenafe 5, Austria 5, Long 4, Sumalinog 2, Gonzaga 2, Chua 2, Burke 2, Tiongson 0, Golla 0, De Chavez 0
NU 47 – Baloran 17, Ponferrada 8, Luy 7, Terso 5, Malanday 3, Fabula 3, Hermosisima 2, Cabaluna 2, Tungcul 0, Singh 0, Manito 0, Magat 0, Batac 0
If a sporting match features the spectrum of human drama then it comes hand-in-hand with the requisite clichés.
If the Ateneo de Manila Blue Eagles have their own struggles and issues, then they should take a hard look at the National University Bulldogs for a prime example of there's no letter “I” in the word “team.”
The Bulldogs at 1-4 know very well they are young and patiently building what they would like to be a championship contender. The losing on the other hand isn’t something anyone likes or gets used to.
Heading into the match with Ateneo, they have waxed hot and cold and have given opponents all they could handle for a half, maybe three quarters, before eventually falling apart. They knew that the defending champs would play them straight up and have drilled on everything they need in order to take care of business. Now they just had to make it happen.
Once the match started, it seemed to be in NU’s favor as Ateneo missed their first three shots and turned over the ball on the same number of occasions.
The Bulldogs held 8-4 lead with the first quarter almost done. There was a sense of frustration amongst the starting unit of the Blue Eagles. The ball wasn’t moving around well and the shots weren’t dropping. The ugly ball that began two matches ago and continued with Adamson still plagued them and Norman Black shook his head with displeasure.
Incredibly it was NU that came unglued when team captain Melvin Baloran and center Jewel Ponferrada got into an argument on the court that continued on the bench.
After Ateneo forged 8-all deadlock at the end of the first quarter with its MASH unit of Ryan Buenafe, Nico Salva, and Emman Monfort on the court, the match that had started so well for NU, had slipped away.
By the half, the score was a mollifying 30-12 in favor of the blue and whites.
Inside the NU locker room, Bulldogs head coach thundered about Baloran and Ponferrada being selfish. “Hindi niyo inisip yung team,” he seethed through gritted teeth. “Hindi niyo man suklian yung magandang pinapakita ni (forward Marion) Magat. Hindi ako lalabas dito kung hindi niyo inayos ‘to.”
Baloran, the team captain and Ponferrada spoke, tapped each other, and swore to put the incident behind them.
“Dikit niyo lang ako boys at may pagasa tayo,” pleaded Dandan who threw out all his tactics saying that saving the game was entirely up to them.
Breakout
In the first week of the new UAAP season, the Blue Eagles played three huge matches in eight days. They had a week off before taking the floor against UP where they got ambushed.
Although Ateneo had gotten back on the winning track, Black was concerned about managing time better. They showed uncharacteristic rust and lack of fluidity against Adamson. With the inside game not there and the team slow in getting off the blocks, they went to the court of last resort – the three. The game was significant for it got Jai Reyes and Eric Salamat untracked.
Against NU, it was more of the same -- the starting unit sputtering – that it was up to the Ateneo bench mob to restore order. But it all started with smothering defense as applied by Buenafe on NU’s Ajeet Singh and Monfort making life difficult for counterpart Joseph Terso.
With the Bulldogs’ lack of a strong inside presence, Ateneo asserted its dominance on the boards (for only for the second time this season with a 43-33 advantage) and the rout was on. The Blue Eagles dropped a crippling 39-8 bomb that ended the match with plenty of time to spare.
The Blue Eagles beat NU, one of the league leaders in fastbreak points, 22-14. And with the outside artillery finding their mark, it opened up the lane for Rabeh Al-Hussaini to do some serious damage as he pumped in all his 10 points in the second quarter that saw NU held to a measly four points. And the fourth quarter was garbage time as Ateneo emptied the bench for a 75-47 win to stay on top of the heap.
The last time Ateneo played like this was against UST. “Hopefully, that’s a good sign heading into our match against La Salle,” thought the Blue Eagles head coach after the carnage. “We still had 21 turnovers. We have to take better care of the ball.”
Said Monfort who top scored for Ateneo for the second time this year, “It’s good na panalo kami this way bago makalaban yung La Salle. Sana we can maintain it.”
Inside the NU dugout, there was no joy or laughter. They were on the business end of a bad beating. It was Foundation Day in their school that had just completed a massive makeover and the loss took the starch out of any celebratory mood.
A visibly upset Dandan seethed but he knew that this wasn’t the time to badger his team. His team had learned a painful lesson in team play. While there was no “I” in “team” there was certainly one in the word “win.” But not today.
Ateneo 75 – Monfort 12, Salamat 10, Al-Hussaini 10, Salva 8, Baclao 8, Reyes 5, Buenafe 5, Austria 5, Long 4, Sumalinog 2, Gonzaga 2, Chua 2, Burke 2, Tiongson 0, Golla 0, De Chavez 0
NU 47 – Baloran 17, Ponferrada 8, Luy 7, Terso 5, Malanday 3, Fabula 3, Hermosisima 2, Cabaluna 2, Tungcul 0, Singh 0, Manito 0, Magat 0, Batac 0
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