My thoughts about Ateneo’s 90-81 win over UP to open the UAAP Season 84 campaign.

 

My thoughts about Ateneo’s 90-81 win over UP to open the UAAP Season 84 campaign.

By Rick Olivares

 

Heading into the game, I wondered what UP’s Malick Diouf would be like for UP. When Ateneo first saw him with CEU, he gave the Blue Eagles fits. And that was with a team of no-names. 

 

Imagine what he would do with a blue chip recruiting class.

 

While Diouf played well in spurts, Ateneo pretty much handled UP well en route to its first victory of the season.

 

How did they do that?

 

Here’s how I see it.

 

Ateneo took out UP’s point guards in Gerry Abadiano and Joel Cagulangan. 

The highly touted duo combined for eight points and two rebounds. They had zero assists and three turnovers. Both averaged about 14 minutes.

 

In contrast, Ateneo’s playmakers SJ Belangel and Tyler Tio totaled 15 points, seven boards, seven assists, one steal versus three turnovers. The two Blue Eagle quarterbacks averaged almost 20 minutes each; meaning both did a good job of running the offense. 

 

I thought they played great defense. 

If you watch the first minutes of the first quarter, none of UP’s players were getting looks at the basket. They stopped Abadiano, Cagulangan, Terrence Fortea, and Ricci Rivero.

 

After Carl Tamayo scored nine points in the first half, he only added four the rest of the way.

 

Malick Diouf tallied eight in the first half and only scored seven in the last half.

 

In the second half though, CJ Cansino and Rivero got going but that was about it. 

 

In the second half, Ateneo’s Raffy Verano, SJ Belangel, Dave Ildefonso, Angelo Kouame, and Gian Mamuyac played even better. 

 

Furthermore, the Blue Eagles repulsed one uprising after another.

 

Dave Ildefonso filled that three-spot quite nicely. 

Imagine if Dwight Ramos were there…. either Dave would spell him or he would move to the two-spot. 

 

Dwight, of course, is gone. And that spot this year and the next belongs to Ildefonso who got better and found his place within the team as the game wore on. And to think that this wasn’t even his best outing. 

 

Talk about an instant impact. 

 

Raffy Verano fit into his old four-spot like a hand in glove.

In his final playing year, Verano showed why he was the previous starter. He tallied 18 points on 8-10 shooting, picked up five boards, and passed for two assists. He also stole the ball once and turned the rock over once.

 

He didn’t demand the ball. He just scored and played in the flow of the game. He was quietly efficient.

 

At a crucial juncture the second and third team held fast.

Early in the game when Ateneo raced to a lead, the bench gave it up. But in the second half, when the Fighting Maroons cut the 20-point lead down to seven, it promptly went back up. 

 

Gio Chiu played better and scored four points. Ditto with Chew Daves and Chris Koon who looked lost for most of the game. 

 

While I know this is just the first game, I was hoping to see Koon and Gabriel Gomez make an impact. I thought… Jason Credo would have done much better. 

 

I’ll wait though. One game is obviously not enough. 

UP's bench scoring is masked only because of CJ Cansino's splurge. But if you look at bench play, Ateneo's was better. Jolo Mendoza, Joshua Lazaro, Tyler Tio, Gian Mamuyac, Giio Chiu, and others chipped in and did well. 

 

When UP was threatening, no doubt quite a lot of Ateneo fans must have wondered why Tab Baldwin did not send back Dave Ildefonso, SJ Belangel, and Angelo Kouame back into the fray. 

 

When the trio returned, the team had repulsed one final UP fight back.

 

Even in victory, there will be lessons learned for the blue and white.

 

As for UP, CJ Cansino is a big game player. He ably filled in the shoes vacated by Juan Gomez de Liano. 

 

Carl Tamayo will just get better and better. As I said before, the second coming of Ranidel de Ocampo.

 

This UP team will adjust. Watch out.