THREE-POINT PLAY: Ateneo 79, La Salle 62

saan ka pupunta?! (photo source)

three points on the blue eagles' big victory over the green archers

note/s: i did not write a three-point play segment for ateneo-ue as i was not able to watch the game even on tv. thankfully i was able to catch the entire second half of the ateneo-la salle game on tv after a rather grueling family day in san jose. this marked the first time i was not able to watch an ateneo-la salle game live since 2007.



1. balance. as mentioned in the previous post, the opposing team has the burden of picking their poison from the blue eagles' arsenal during games. if they succeed in neutralizing one player, other players will try to fill the slack and even push the proverbial pedal to the metal. sure, they forced greg slaughter to ride the bench for most part of the game with their fishing expeditions, but emman monfort (the smallest guy with the biggest heart in the playing court), tonino gonzaga (no doubt this year's super-sub), nico salva (coming off a bad shooting day vs. ue) and kiefer ravena (never mind that papot paredes block, it's all part of the game) gave the necessary lift in the blue eagles' wipeout of the green archers. true enough, a balanced offense has been the key factor among the blowout victories of the blue eagles this season.

i prefer to call him toni... gonzaga (photo source)

2. discipline. to cap a balanced offensive attack, the blue eagles continued its consistency in defense, regardless whether they were counted as official statistics (rebounds, steals, blocks) or not (defensive "intangibles" like hustling for the loose ball, challenging shots, etc.). it's a delight seeing the blue eagles systematically break the play formerly known as the "vaunted" la salle press (as most of the teams have already started to figure out this season), melt the clock with efficient ball rotation, and make a shot with the clock running down. they have often been compared to a professional basketball team in terms of organization, composure, and character. i guess that's how the best collegiate coach in the land, who picked up his 90th career win in the uaap since 2005, has transformed ateneo basketball as the one of, if not the best basketball varsity system in the philippines today.

three green shirts can't bring nickobe down (photo source)

on the la salle side of things, it is rather unfortunate to see such a talented crop of players playing for a team that is terribly underachieving this season. as they have yet to win a game in the second round, a lot of people have been wondering what's wrong with the green archers with fingers pointed to the coaching staff. what should have been a "forest intended to ground the birds in the sky" is now a field that gets trampled by animals of prey. perhaps nico elorde can talk to ponso gotladera and make him realize that the grass is greener on the other side.

don't worry girl, they won it for you (photo source)

3. no yabang. the words of coach norman black in season 71 continues to remind the team and the ateneo faithful to keep their feet planted on the ground. with three games left in the elimination round, the team ought to take things "one game at a time." coach norman even mentioned that they can will only think of a sweep when the team goes 13-0. there are indeed advantages and disadvantages to sweeping the round and getting that thrice-to-beat advantage in the finals after a riveting step-ladder format (which the blue eagles failed to survive in season 70). when that day comes, black has to see red, as the team can learn a lesson from last season's san beda red lions and season 70's ue red warriors. until then, the team should keep fighting and working hard this season as the blue eagles' 6th man should also keep cheering and supporting them for the rest of the season and beyond.

The scores:
Ateneo 79 – Salva 19, Ravena 13, Monfort 13, Gonzaga 12, Slaughter 8, Chua 7, Long 6, Tiongson 1, Erram 0, Sumalinog 0, Golla 0, Austria 0

De La Salle 62 – Van Opstal 13, Vosotros 9, Tampus 9, Torres 8, Revilla 6, Villanueva 6, Atkins 4, de la Paz 3, Paredes 2, Webb 2, Gotladera 0, Mendoza 0, Marata 0

Quarter scoring: 14-11, 31-26, 53-42, 79-62

credits to inboundpass and adrian dy (chinoy hoops fan) for the stats