Triple Threat Zone Busters
Ateneo 75 vs. UP 59
story by rick olivares pics by brossi gonzales
Despite being 0-7, the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons believed that they could still turn their season around. But privately, team officials were wondering if the players had rid themselves of any lingering feelings of their devastating loss to the National University Bulldogs.
“We had a week to prepare for Ateneo and to forget the NU game,” said head coach Boyet Fernandez who remained optimistic. “If we can stay close to Ateneo, we have a chance of pulling off an upset. The boys have done this before. They just have to believe in that.”
The Microwave Cometh
When Emman Monfort entered with three minutes left in the first quarter, he missed his first two shots. He waved towards the bench to apologize to Ateneo head coach Norman Black. “Just keep shooting,” encouraged the sixth year head coach of Ateneo.
After one quarter, the Blue Eagles led 17-16. The game seemed close but there were two glaring facts about it – one, the normally blood and guts atmosphere that is a staple of the Battle of Katipunan was absent and so was their crowd support; and two, all 16 of the Maroons’ point came from the perimeter.
That meant that they couldn’t get inside.
As it was against National University, Ateneo shut down the interior and dared the opposing team to beat them from the outside.
For all UP’s three-point threats in Woody Co, Martin Reyes, and Mike Silungan, they were at the bottom triples attempted and made. They had taken 180 three-point attempts. Five less than UE. But they only connected on 41 of them for an atrocious 22.8%.
In contrast, Ateneo was the second best three-point shooting team. That is if you can call a 27.6% accuracy rate (29 of 105) passable.
Enter Monfort who was averaging 6.1 points per game and was hitting 30.8% of his shots.
“Any time an opponent throws a zone at us expect to see Emman Monfort on the floor,” pronounced Black.
The force of Black’s revelation had given his bantam-sized point guard all the confidence he needed. And at the start of the second quarter, the Blue Eagles’ version of the microwave knocked down a trey for a 20-16 lead. Eighteen seconds later, he scored on conventional three-point play against UP’s Mikee Reyes that was followed by another triple.
Monfort’s nine-point explosion had given Ateneo a 10-point cushion in 66 seconds.
After Silungan ditched UP’s veil of silence with a trifecta of his own, Monfort answered with another booming triple.
Monfort, who finished with a career high 23 points, had jump started Ateneo’s offense. And more importantly, it got two former high school teammates to stamp their class on the game.
Stag Party
Skipper Eric Salamat and junior do-it-all Ryan Buenafe played only one year of high school ball together at San Sebastian College where they won a NCAA Juniors title together. Reunited in Ateneo, the two have had great rapport and have oft confided in one another.
Black calls them the two best players on the team with Buenafe being one of the best in the league when his game is on. “That is why I hold the two of them to a higher responsibility and standard.” reasoned the coach on his being demanding of the two.
Salamat who has finally shaken off an early knee injury had been playing well of late. Against UP, the league’s leader in steals with 16 total for a 2.3 average, was a pest on defense as he hounded UP’s ball carriers into turnovers aside from forcing them to get into attack mode with the shot clock winding down.
Salamat’s resurgence in the last three games saw him average 18.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 6.6 assists, 3.0 steals 0.6 steals, and 2.3 turnovers a game. For assists-to-turnover ratio, that’s two assists for every one turnover. In the second round match up against UP, he nearly posted identical stats to their first round encounter except that he wasn’t able to grab a single rebound.
“Coach Norman wants me to play point guard and challenge para sa akin yun.” said Salamat who is final year with Ateneo.
At the end of the first round, he was tied with Buenafe for the team lead of 28 assists; numbers that are good for fourth and fifth in the entire UAAP.
Buenafe in the meantime has reclaimed his starting position after coming off the bench for 17 games last season and after the opening day loss to FEU this Season 73. He has chafed under Norman’s watch where the coaching staff has demanded greater consistency on defense.
Embarrassed by not even playing during the team’s Fr. Martin Cup title win, Buenafe has rededicated himself. He has redoubled his efforts and has shown more spunk, verve, and basketball savvy during practice enabling him to crack the starting line-up.
After going scoreless against UE in the first round closer, Buenafe was itching to get back in the Blue Eagles next game. Thoughts of the game against La Salle where he was taken off the court after Joshua Webb scored on a three-point play on him in the third quarter. “I wanted to get back on the court to redeem myself. I wanted to ball back in my hands.” he said.
He did get back on the floor. Cold off the bench in crunchtime, he got lost in the staggered picks as Samuel Marata hit a three for a La Salle lead they would not relinquish.
Against UP to start off the second round, the Maroons Alvin Padilla scored on an and-one off Buenafe to start the third quarter. The halftime 37-29 lead had shrunk to six. Woody Co hit another jumper and the lead was now at a precarious three 37-34.
Buenafe looked at the Ateneo bench for any sign of movement if he was going to be replaced. Except there was none.
After Salamat hit a triple to stop the bleeding, hit a basket of his own. And in one of the best assists of the tournament (aside from his hitting Art dela Cruz for a layup while passing from a nearly prone position), he tapped an offensive rebound to Justin Chua who in one motion laid it in off the window for a 44-37 Ateneo lead.
Buenafe finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds (5 off the offensive glass), and 4 assists.
Salamat only scored 9 points but 9 assists and 3 steals.
The two capped their stellar play when Salamat only making eye contact with Buenafe lobbed an alley-oop pass to Buenafe who cut through the lane, caught the ball then turned a 180° before he banked the shot home. The score was 69-51 for Ateneo and the conclusion long foregone.
The Blue Eagles wrapped up a relatively easy 80-73 win over the downtrodden Maroons for their sixth win in eight matches that tied them for second with Adamson who a day earlier had beaten FEU to ensure a Final Four scenario.
As Norman Black sat down in the media room for the post-game press conference, there was an awkward silence for a few seconds as no one asked a question.
The American mentor laughed and said, “I don’t hear any questions…”
Everyone laughed then the coach extolled on virtues of his stellar trio of Monfort, Salamat, and Buenafe who all played a great game.
Ateneo 75 – Monfort 23, Chua 16, Buenafe 12, Salamat 9, dela Cruz 6, Golla 4, Long 3, Salva 2, Escueta 0, Erram 0, Tiongson 0, Austria 0, de Chavez 0
UP 59 – Reyes Martin 15, Co 13, Silungan 11, Sison 10, Padilla 6, Saret 2, Manuel 2, Reyes Mikee 0, Maniego 0, Hipolito 0, Juruena 0, Gomez 0
Notes: At the end of the first round, Ateneo was the second best defensive team (after La Salle). The Blue Eagles scored 72.7 points per game and gave up 64.4 markers. They were the best free throw shooting team with a 72.3% accuracy rate from the fifteen-foot line. They also led the league in assists with an average of 17.9 a game.
On the defensive end, Ateneo was second in steals (to Adamson) with 6.7 a game. They also allowed the least number of field goals with foes collectively making only 33.8% of their baskets. The team also gave up the fewest fastbreak and turnover points and despite the lack of a shotblocking threat, had given up the second least number of points inside the paint.
In the Individual Rankings, two Blue Eagles were in the top ten: Eric Salamat and Nico Salva.
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