just another day at the office for the eagles (photo source)
three points on the blue eagles' demolition of the tigers
1. nickobe. as much as i'm not (and will never be) a fan of kobe bryant, nico salva played like the black mamba on a good field day. his 20 points on 7/11 shooting (and an immaculate 6/6 in the charity stripe), 7 rebounds, and 2 assists led the eagles in blowing the tigers away from this game. it seems to me that he's falling in love with the outside shot, and frankly i'm not a fan of him making these as he is more effective as a slasher. but as the most consistent blue eagle in terms of scoring, he has the green light to take these attempts, especially with his guard three feet away from him. that, i think, is the price when the opponents put the shackles on one scorer as it gives an opening to another. with ateneo's guns this season, opposing teams have no other choice but to pick their poison.
i think the phenom's steals and fastbreak conversions give not only the crowd but also the blue eagles one big adrenaline rush. surprisingly, he did it thrice against the UST subs. that just shows that when the tigers rest their big guns, their team performance takes a tremendous dip.
2. more bench-clearing incidences, please. no, i'm not asking for riots, though we almost saw one as kevin ferrer leveled kiefer ravena to araneta's wooden floor. what i'm asking for is more opportunities to see the blue eagles in its full potential. though coach norman black claims that the team has yet to reach its peak form, watching the starters get some rest in the fourth quarter and have role players step out of the bench to fire away can actually help the cause. hopefully, this is the game that justin chua (18 points, 10 in the last quarter) needs to gain the same level of confidence he had last season. ravena put up a show with those steals and fastbreak plays, but it's also a joy to see him cheer on his high school teammate von pessumal. or better yet, tell juami tiongson to think before shooting. and of course, seeing the scoreboard light on #4's line was something to smile about.
back in fabilioh.com (photo source)
3. on a lighter note. i don't know if it's just me, or kirk long's hair is affecting his confidence level. too much for celebrating "buwan ng wika", i guess. coach pido jarencio's body language all game (face-palm, seated instead of being animated, no more calling of plays from the 2nd quarter onwards, leaning by the goal post while singing the ust hymn) speaks volumes about his disposition in this game. remember, it's UST's quadricentennial year, and with alumni asking for his head, this could be his last dance.
finally, it's a joy seeing my former student jeron teng and fellow rp youth teammate von pessumal in the pages of fabilioh.com. thinking of flying high, mr. 104? always remember that your h1 CLE teacher is part of the blue eagles' 6th man. don't expect him though to flaunt a banner of yours the way hector the heckler does it with much gusto. but he'll gladly wear your jersey in the games. hahahaha!
The scores:
Ateneo 82 – Salva 20, Chua 18, Ravena 14, Monfort 8, Long 7, Slaughter 6, Cipriano 3, Gonzaga 3, Sumalinog 2, Erram 1, Pessumal 0, Capacio 0, Estrada 0, Tiongson 0, Golla 0, Austria 0
UST 57 – Teng 20, Abdul 12, Afuang 10, Fortuna 7, Ferrer 4, Vigil 2, Lo 2, Tan 0, Sheriff 0, Pe 0, Ungria 0, Camus 0
Quarter scoring: 15-6, 40-22, 68-37, 82-57
credits to inboundpass and adrian dy (chinoy hoops fan) for the stats
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