Looking at the DLSU-FEU game

Looking at the DLSU-FEU game

The first game of UAAP Season 74 between Far Eastern University and De La Salle University was a classic match up between these two rivals. No quarter given and down to the wire.

I pegged La Salle to be a championship contender this year as they have patiently built up a roster filled with talented players. But the one player who I feel will elevate the Green Archers is LA Revilla. His return has given them a true number one point guard with the capacity to hit the big shot or make the big play.

As happy as La Sallians are about Revilla’s return from sickbay, the Tams fans do not share that sentiment. While most of their students will not remember the “Bang! Bang!” incident, those in the coaching staff and the team management remember that all too well.

But that was a different LA Revilla – young, brash, and somewhat immature. If he was good before he is just plain deadly now. If you missed watching him play in the pre-season then he is one player who can turn a match around. And early in the game, he showed flashes of that potential as he ran rings around his Tamaraw guards.

La Salle’s traditional full court pressure was on display and once the Tams crossed the halfcourt line, there shot clock was chopped in half and they had to deal with the sticky man-to-man defense.

Even as La Salle made their shots, FEU was misfiring on the other end. The one thing that worked in the Tams’ favor was the Green Archers’ bigs soon fell into foul trouble.

Early on Revilla sparkled while FEU’s star, RR Garcia, struggled. The reigning league MVP would, after the match, admit that he couldn’t get his game going so he began to play decoy and defer to teammates.

Watching the game progress was like watching a chess match as one team would counter the other’s defensive schemes. They alternated with man-to-man D before switching to zones. And come the third quarter, FEU finally gained the upper hand as La Salle found it’s guns jammed.

Looking at the Green Archers, I wondered if their deep bench stifled Joshua Webb’s game. While he was a bit out of control yesterday, I have always felt that his unpredictability was what made him dangerous. In fact, I think that pairing him with Revilla would make them a more dangerous team.

One guy who got lost in the shuffle was Almond Vosotros whose game is similar to Revilla’s. Unfortunately, they’ve got quite a guard corps with Luigi dela Paz, Simon Atkins, and Roldan Sara.

The Tams countered with their own deadly quarter of guards in Garcia, Terrence Romeo, Ping Exciminiano, and Chris Tolomia.

La Salle’s guards tallied 31 points and 8 assists versus FEU’s 32 points and 7 assists.

The Green Archer guards accounted for nearly half of their team’s point production while the Tams frontline scored a little more showing a balanced scoring attack.

Looking at it more closely, it was the Tams’ frontline that kept them in the match early on before Garcia’s fourth quarter explosion. FEU’s two Smart Gilas veterans also accounted well for themselves.

JR Cawaling freed from having to split time with Paul Sanga seems to have rediscovered the confidence he first showed as a freshman. That dagger of a trey at the 4:39 mark of the fourth over dela Paz was huge because it restored a 10-point lead for FEU. And two offensive sets later, Al Ramos scored on a fantastic tip in. The Tams held on for a 74-65 win that was every bit closer than the final score suggests.

One cannot argue that La Salle is a young team. They have vets who are either on their super senior, fourth, or third years. So it was an even match up. La Salle’s being in foul trouble (as a whole they were whistled for 25 fouls to FEU’s 30) affected their rotation and Norbert Torres had a forgettable debut.

It will be interesting to see how they rebound from that loss as they face Ateneo in their next assignment. But you all know how they already get up for that.