Keys to Ateneo’s win over FEU

Keys to Ateneo’s win over FEU

by rick olivares

It was another big win by the Ateneo Blue Eagles who followed up their upset victory over La Salle by taking down FEU, 74-59.

The Blue Eagles had their way in the first half with impeccable passing, rebounding and great defense, that fast pace they utilized against La Salle and key players beginning to stand out.

Let me expound on that.

Passing. As I previously said, one of the first things that I look at all the time are assists. The Blue Eagles had 15 assists to the Tamaraws’ 11. That’s also an indicator of the willingness to share the ball. And it’s good that Matt Nieto topped Ateneo with five assists; tied with the same number for FEU’s Monbert Arong. That adds some solid playmaking from the one-spot; a knock I pointed out early in the season.

Rebounding and defense. The swarming defense propelled Ateneo to its first half lead. Very good rotation and switching. That energy and willingness to work hard was not met by FEU and they paid the price. 

Furthermore, the Blue Eagles dominated the boards in the first half and were outrebounded by six in the second half. Luckily for them, they built a sizeable cushion to blunt FEU’s spirited rally. Nevertheless, the 51-48 advantage is still good considering the Tams have two very good rebounders in Prince Orizu and Raymar Jose.

Take note that Ateneo is the only team in the league as of this writing with three players who grab five or more rebounds. That’s Chibueze Ikeh with 5.1 at the center position. Mike Nieto with 5.3 from the power forward position, and Thirdy Ravena with 7.3 from the three-spot. Key positions. And both Nieto and Ravena can bring down the ball.

Looking at the game stats, five Blue Eagles hauled down at least five boards – Ravena, Ikeh, Isaac Go, Aaron Black, and Vince Tolentino. Save for Isaac, the other four can bring down that ball and that’s crucial to the faster-paced game.

FEU only had Orizu (16 rebounds) and Jose (15 boards) taking down at least five.

The rebounds also helped Ateneo best FEU in in second chance points in 12-6 and race out for a 9-3 advantage in fastbreak points.

Some might say that the Tams’ fortunes went south after Orizu went to the bench late in the game because of fatigue and their 16 missed free throws. I’ll agree to the former to an extent. But Adrian Wong stuck a triple in front of Orizu before he went to the bench. Furthermore, that shattered Ateneo’s scoring drought.

Despite the poor play for long stretches in the second half, it was the defense of Ateneo that prevented the Tamaraws from overhauling what was a 23-point lead. For instance, Ateneo only had 9 turnovers in the first half and gave up 12 in the second half. Yet FEU conceded the points of turnovers advantage to Ateneo, 9-8.

And more importantly, Ateneo gave up 30 fouls to FEU’s 22. Yet the Tamaraws were unable to capitalize on that as they missed 16 huge free throws!

The faster-paced game. The fastbreak points are an indicator. But that’s not all. When Ateneo slowed the game down, FEU’s defense held and the turnovers mounted. That’s when FEU got back in the game.

Key players. I love the recognition of Adrian Wong in turning the ball over to Thirdy Ravena. That’s good because Thirdy can drive and create. Second, he took the higher percentage shot with Orizu on the bench. That’s two drives and a dish to Isaac Go that broke the backs of FEU. Thirdy will be a handful next season.

Isaac Go continues to impress. I am a convert. Watching him in high school play in the NBTC and MMBL tourneys, I wasn’t impressed one bit. I thought he was just a big and awkward kid who was forced to play basketball. I would see Clint Doliguez (then with Hope Christian High School) drive on him repeatedly and smaller guards swipe the ball away from him the moment he put the ball on the floor. But Isaac has become really fun to watch.

Speaking of centers, the Blue Eagles really missed the services of GBoy Babilonia who is still being rested after getting hurt in the last match versus La Salle. Babilonia is more than a wide body and an extra five fouls -- he can play defense, can pass the ball, and can occasionally score some buckets.

As good as a win as it was, it served up quite a few lessons:

-       the team is still a work in progress but one that is getting better,

-       there is a glaring need for a top big man inside,

-       when the going gets tough for them the Blue Eagles have a tendency to commit turnovers in bunches

-       and that if they slow the offense down they get into trouble.

As for FEU, aside from the plus stats for Ateneo, the poor play of their guards hurt them. Wendell Comboy who played well in the first round encounter against Ateneo was a non-factor this match. Jojo Trinidad and Axel Iñigo logged long minutes but didn’t score or register an assist at all. They didn’t even get one steal collectively.

Two Tams who shoot the ball very well (some of their best in field goal percentage) in Iñigo and Richard Escoto didn’t do much. Iñigo missed all his shots although Escoto hit 3-6 shots.

But more than anything, FEU missed 16 free throws! They only hit 20 of 36 attempts. The Blue Eagles on the other hand nailed 14 of 16 free throw attempts.

It was the first back-to-back loss for FEU this year. This loss was costly as they dropped to third despite toting an 8-4 record; the same as Ateneo. And the Tams play La Salle this Saturday.

Ateneo would like to solidify their hold on second place when they face the ousted but no less dangerous UST Growling Tigers also on this Saturday.

by rick olivares

It was another big win by the Ateneo Blue Eagles who followed up their upset victory over La Salle by taking down FEU, 74-59.

The Blue Eagles had their way in the first half with impeccable passing, rebounding and great defense, that fast pace they utilized against La Salle and key players beginning to stand out.

Let expound on that.

Passing. As I previously said, one of the first things that I look at all the time are assists. The Blue Eagles had 15 assists to the Tamaraws’ 11. That’s also an indicator of the willingness to share the ball. And it’s good that Matt Nieto topped Ateneo with five assists; tied with the same number for FEU’s Monbert Arong. That adds some solid playmaking from the one-spot; a knock I pointed out early in the season.

Rebounding and defense. The Blue Eagles dominated the boards in the first half and were outrebounded by six in the second half. Luckily for them, they built a sizeable cushion to blunt FEU’s spirited rally. Nevertheless, the 51-48 advantage is still good considering the Tams have two very good rebounders in Prince Orizu and Raymar Jose.

Take note that Ateneo is the only team in the league as of this writing with three players who grab five or more rebounds. That’s Chibueze Ikeh with 5.1 at the center position. Mike Nieto with 5.3 from the power forward position, and Thirdy Ravena with 7.3 from the three-spot. Key positions. And both Nieto and Ravena can bring down the ball.

Looking at the game stats, five Blue Eagles hauled down at least five boards – Ravena, Ikeh, Isaac Go, Aaron Black, and Vince Tolentino. Save for Isaac, the other four can bring down that ball and that’s crucial to the faster-paced game.

FEU only had Orizu (16 rebounds) and Jose (15 boards) taking down at least five.

The rebounds also helped Ateneo best FEU in in second chance points in 12-6 and race out for a 9-3 advantage in fastbreak points.

Some might say that the Tams’ fortunes went south after Orizu went to the bench late in the game because of fatigue and their 16 missed free throws. I’ll agree to the former to an extent. But Adrian Wong stuck a triple in front of Orizu before he went to the bench. Furthermore, that shattered Ateneo’s drought.

Despite the poor play for long stretches in the second half, it was the defense of Ateneo that prevented the Tamaraws from overhauling what was a 23-point lead. For instance, Ateneo only had 9 turnovers in the first half and gave up 12 in the second half. Yet FEU conceded the points of turnovers advantage to Ateneo, 9-8.

And more importantly, Ateneo gave up 30 fouls to FEU’s 22. Yet the Tamaraws were unable to capitalize on that as they missed 16 huge free throws!

The faster-paced game. The fastbreak points are an indicator. But that’s not all. When Ateneo slowed the game down, FEU’s defense held and the turnovers mounted. That’s when FEU got back in the game.

Key players. I love the recognition of Adrian Wong in turning the ball over to Thirdy Ravena. That’s good because Thirdy can drive and create. Second, he took the higher percentage shot with Orizu on the bench. That’s two drives and a dish to Isaac Go that broke the backs of FEU. Thirdy will be a handful next season.

Isaac Go continues to impress. I am a convert. Watching him in high school play in the NBTC and MMBL tourneys, I wasn’t impressed one bit. I thought he was just a big and awkward kid who was forced to play basketball. I would see Clint Doliguez (then with Hope Christian High School) drive on him repeatedly and smaller guards swipe the ball away from him the moment he put the ball on the floor. But Isaac has become really fun to watch.

As good as a win as it was, it served up quite a few lessons:

-       the team is still a work in progress but one that is getting better,

-       there is a glaring need for a top big man inside,

-       when the going gets tough for them the Blue Eagles have a tendency to commit turnovers in bunches

-       and that if they slow the offense down they get into trouble.

As for FEU, aside from the plus stats for Ateneo, the poor play of their guards hurt them. Wendell Comboy who played well in the first round encounter against Ateneo was a non-factor this match. Jojo Trinidad and Axel Iñigo logged long minutes but didn’t score or register an assist at all. They didn’t even get one steal collectively.

Two Tams who shoot the ball very well (some of their best in field goal percentage) in Iñigo and Richard Escoto didn’t do much. Iñigo missed all his shots although Escoto hit 3-6 shots.

But more than anything, FEU missed 16 free throws! They only hit 20 of 36 attempts. The Blue Eagles on the other hand nailed 14 of 16 free throw attempts.

It was the first back-to-back loss for FEU this year. This loss was costly as they dropped to third despite toting an 8-4 record; the same as Ateneo. And the Tams play La Salle this Saturday.

Ateneo would like to solidify their hold on second place when they face the ousted but no less dangerous UST Growling Tigers also on this Saturday.