three points on the blue eagles' win against the webmasters in their first game in the philippine collegiate champions league final four
1. a scary sight. the blue eagles continue to play splendid basketball in 2011. even as the year comes to a close, the team was playing as if the final four of the uaap has just begun. despite being away from the court as a team (though most of them have been playing basketball in different teams or different leagues), they fired from all cylinders and locked their opponents down with solid defense. five blue eagles finished with double figures in scoring, with greg slaughter and nico salva both scoring 18 points (both also shot 7/8 from the field). it was also good to see jp erram's jumpers from off the pick, which seems to be an aspect to watch in his game for season 75. though they missed emman monfort due to a commitment in the d-league, every single player in the bench saw some playing time on court. and as usual, their defense was excellent, holding the webmasters to 28.8% compared to 59.7% clip for the blue eagles. watching the blue eagles, who are aiming for a record third consecutive pccl crown, in this form is truly a scary sight for opposing teams.
2. godzilla and kingkong will have to wait. the much ballyhooed match-up between greg slaughter and junmar fajardo in this game did not fully materialize as expected. though fajardo's contribution early in the 2nd quarter trimmed what was once a 20 point ateneo lead to just 9, we didn't see a lot of playing time for the big man from cebu. nursing a knee injury sustained during the visayas-mindanao regional championship a few days back, it seems that coach roehl gomez (of late 90's alaska fame) will reserve fajardo for the games that they can keep close. with the biggest lead bloating to 51 points at one point in the game, he'd rather have his prized center riding the bench than risking him to a worse injury. though it would be interesting to watch him on full strength, as he has better footwork than slaughter (in my honest opinion). until then, he is a big fish on a small pond. it's just that slaughter belongs to a better team, competes on a better system, and plays with a better coach. the clash of these two big men might have to wait - if the webmasters advances to the finals, and if they go on opposing teams in the pros.
3. not so fast. watching blowouts can be exciting for some, while others would rather watch paint dry that see a lopsided game. then again, this tournament is still far from over. with the new format underway (round robin final 4, with the #1 team having a twice to beat advantage in the finals), we will see more games and match-ups in the next few days. it's obvious that coach norman black is taking this tournament seriously, and i really think he should as it puts the cherry on the ice cream for a 2011 basketball season adorned in gold. it might also be good to see coach norman free his bench more and use the second and third stringers in preparation for the next season. in the end, i believe that the team will do whatever it takes to make the trophy stay in loyola heights.
The scores:
Ateneo 100 – Slaughter 18, Salva 18, Erram 13, Ravena 12, Gonzaga 10, Long 7, Chua 6, Austria 6, Tiongson 4, Capacio 3, Golla 2, Pessumal 1, Estrada 0, Sumalinog 0, Cipriano 0
UC 53 – Fajardo 12, Auditor 11, Aranas 10, Heruela 8, Pao 6, Ampoon 4, Ocariza 2, Mohammad 0, Bagnol 0, Batino 0, Bercede 0
Quarter scoring: 28-10, 54-30, 82-39, 100-53
credits to inboundpass and adrian dy (chinoy hoops fan) for the stats
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