by rick olivares
Mapua’s loss to Jose Rizal
University where they coughed up a 17-point lead with 4:37 left to play and
lost the game in the final 30 seconds has to leave their team heavy with doubt
about their Final Four aspirations.
The other week, in a show
of might, they looked to blow out Lyceum of the Philippines University when
they racked up a 40-point lead in the first half. The LPU Pirates scuttled that
lead (aided and abetted by many many bad and questionable calls) that saw the
lead whittled down to six before they arrested the skid.
Against JRU even without
CJ Isit who will be out with a dislocated shoulder for three weeks and Josan
Nimes who is nursing a hamstring injury, they had enough firepower to blow away
JRU. And they sure looked like they would give the Heavy Bombers plenty of
things to think about post-match.
JRU’s Abdel Poutouchi and
Abdul Wahababdul couldn’t match up with the more athletic and spritely Allwell
Oraeme.
Exie Biteng hit some
shots. Then Stephen Que came in and drained a huge number of them. Andretti
Stevens was playing some great basketball that true hoop analysts can
appreciate (he makes excellent reads on the game and like Ateneo’s Ryan Buenafe
before him passes the ball where a teammate should go to free himself and not
where he is at the moment). That crosscourt zip pass through traffic isn’t
something that most players cannot do.
I asked JRU head coach
Vergel Meneses if during his time as a player for JRC (before the school
attained university status) in the 1980s if he experienced a huge comeback by
the Heavy Bombers. They sure did but the coach said not much since he made sure
that they were almost never in a deep hole. Technically, 18 points isn’t like the
40-point lead Mapua spotted LPU with a week ago but in this match, JRU was dead
in the water.
They weren’t doing
anything right. Teytey Teodoro was forcing up shots. Kim Aurin missed a wide
open undergoal stab. Paolo Pontejos who used to be the Heavy Bombers’ scoring
leader until he was demoted to the bench hasn’t really gotten used to that
idea. He has fewer touches and has – as always – been in Meneses’ doghouse (the
coach has a short lease on Pontejos). Gio Lasquety was having a tough time
bringing up the ball against Darrell Menina.
They had nothing save for
Jordan Dela Paz who kept fighting in there with a stick back and a drive or
two.
With 33 seconds left, JRU
head coach Vergel Meneses called for a timeout. But in a surprise move, he left
his players on the court to talk amongst themselves.
Whatever was discussed
worked as two seconds later, Biteng turned the ball over again.
Another timeout was
called; Meneses left his players to talk for a moment then called them over.
Teodoro missed a three but
Oraeme only converted on one free throw.
One might make a case for
the back up point guards John Nieles and Darren Menina fouling out for the
cause of Mapua’s troubles but that might not necessarily be true.
I wondered why the
Cardinals stopped going to Oraeme who was close to being unstoppable inside.
Why wasn’t the ball given to Que?
JRU began to play defense
throwing Mapua a full-court press and that caught the Cardinals by surprised.
Why that happened I do not know. This is JRU they are playing. Vergel Meneses
is a disciple of Manong Derrick Pumaren whose teams like to play a hellacious
form of full court defense. This isn’t the first time they sprung this trap.
The blame too must be on the coaching staff for not being ready for this. I was
watching them and they too were stunned, caught looking perhaps wondering what
hit them again.
And for the first time
this season, Biteng looked flustered as he committed four turnovers in the
dying minutes of the game. Then Stevens was whistled for two fouls off
three-point plays and he too turned the ball over.
Following Oraeme’s
three-point play at the 4:37 mark to make it 79-62, Mapua scored only eight
more points while surrendering 28 points!
JRU hit four treys and
scored on three conventional three-point plays to win the game with Dave
Sanchez hitting two crucial free throws for his side’s last two points.
Is this game the defining
moment for JRU this season that climbed to 5-3 (that is much better than 4-4)?
They avoided falling two straight after the loss to San Beda.
How about Mapua that saw
their three-game win streak snapped? At 4-4, they are on the outside looking at
a Final Four slot. Their four losses have come from the top tier squads – San
Beda on opening day, Perpetual Help in their third game of the season, and
Arellano University that is another team looking for its bearings this season
at 4-3.
This is the fourth close
shave they’ve had. And three of them ended in losses. There were the very close
losses to Perpetual Help and Arellano University that were decided in the final
minute of play. The endgame – a question for some schools like Emilio Aguinaldo
College and Perpetual Help – is also a concern for the Cardinals coaching
staff.
Watching them this season,
I think they have good pre-game plans but the mid-game adjustments aren’t there.
“It is a painful loss,”
said Mapua head coach Atoy Co post-match. “Muntik na last time (referring to
the Lyceum match) tapos ngayon bumigay. I think we are better than this.
Believe me we are.”
Somehow, I thought that he
was trying to convince himself more than me.
Next up for the Cardinals?
Letran.
Good teams bounce back from losses. The problem is, Letran too, is coming off one.
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