oping's four point play (photo source)
three points on blue eagles' heart-stopping victory over the growling tigers, avenging their first round defeat and giving them the top seed and the twice-to-beat advantage in the final four.
perfect caption (photo source)
1. black magic vs. pido power. going up against ust is like going up against the ginebra team of the mid til late 90's. that "never say die" attitude and coach pido jarencio's "fireman" moniker perfectly describe this ust squad. they have the ability to catch up big leads, as we have seen in the first round encounter between the tigers and the blue eagles where they erased a 19 point lead to even enjoy the lead in the fourth quarter and snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat. a bunch of cold blooded three-point shooters in coach pido's image and likeness, add them up with the improved game of karim abdul in the paint, and you've got a perfect recipe for pido power. having the likes of jeric fortuna, jeric teng, aljon mariano, tata bautista is like having four "firemen" on your line-up, ready to pluck and fire from all sides of the court without conscience. and on an extremely lucky day like most, of not all their come from behind victories this season, the chances of ust winning the game are quite high. for sure, the sixth man has not forgotten the terrible feeling of losing the championship in season 69 where pido power was on full swing.
rejected (photo source)
in this game, it seems that pido power is once more working wonders. ateneo erected a 13 point lead early in the fourth quarter, only to be countered with a blistering 20-5 run for ust to grab the lead with less than two minutes remaining! with atrocious officiating dictating the tempo of the game, it was a scary sight for the blue and white side of the moa arena as an ateneo victory is once more put in jeopardy. but here is where the wisdom of coach norman black comes into picture. the composure, discipline, and patience that basically defined his system through his tenure as ateneo head coach came into fore in the dying seconds of the game - with a bit of luck courtesy of abdul, the same guy who made the mid-range jumper a few seconds earlier yet also goal-tended ryan buenafe's desperation heap as it came down from its apex. buenafe calmly sank the bonus free throw, and coach norman also drew a tight defensive ploy that made mariano miss what could have been a game-clinching three-pointer to seal the victory for ateneo.
gimme five (photo source)
someone from season 69 coined the term "black magic" to pertain to that last second play that found doug kramer open underneath the basket in game 1 of the finals. but through the four-year title reign of the blue eagles, winning comes not much in the form of sheer luck but in a system that works in a variety of situations. once more, this is a challenge of consistency and sustainability on the part of the blue eagles: uaap basketball is played for four quarters of ten minutes each quarter, and there should be no letting up especially against a team that makes shots when it matters, especially at the nick of time. if the blue eagles truly want to make history this season with their fifth consecutive championship, they must execute coach norman black's system from the opening until the final buzzer.
rejected... part 2 (photo source)
2. be careful with the ball. the stat that actually kept ust in this game was ateneo's turnovers. they committed a total of 19 turnovers, half of them coming from the blue eagles' big men greg slaughter and nico salva with five turnovers each. more so, that final run of ust in the fourth quarter became possible because of a slew of turnovers from ateneo, which the tigers gladly took to their advantage. this has become a common sight in ateneo's close games and even in those two defeats during the elimination round. turning the ball over frequently, whether forced by the opposing team's well-prepared defensive set or just plain carelessness on the part of the players, truly hurt the chances of putting the win on the bag. taking care of the ball is very essential in ateneo's execution. the more they turn the ball over, the greater the chance of the opponent to come from behind or even pull away. in fact, ust employed a 1-3-1 trap for most part of the fourth quarter - something that perhaps caught ateneo's ball handlers by surprise. but the turnover that hurt the blue eagles the most if the one that led to a kevin ferrer steal and abdul's jumper to give the lead back to ust when the game was nearly coming to a close.
molested and all, still no call (photo source)
the inbound play in the last seventeen seconds of the game could have really gone either way. if those referees had their eyes checked and cured before the match, they would have seen buenafe literally getting molested (yes, i used that term) by ferrer and fortuna and would have called a foul that would send him to the line. ateneo escaped not only from a loss to ust but also from really bad officiating by the three blind mice in gray and black. but this play, just like abdul's goal-tend on buenafe's shot, is subject to their judgment call. actually, the game is filled with judgment calls from left to right, and it is highly probable that these calls would be the points of contention to be used in filing protests that decides the game from the board room instead of the playing court. but still, that is no excuse for ateneo not to secure the leather when the pendulum could actually swing to the other side. this might be one of the things that ateneo's coaching staff might want to pay attention to as they start their build up for the final four.
blue mamba waiting to strike (photo source)
3. keep calm and fly high. the blue eagles are headed to the final four as the top seed and with the valuable twice-to-beat advantage over the team who will squeak into the last seat depending on the outcome of the final few games of the season. at this point, anything can happen. neither ust nor feu is assured yet of the second seed in the final four, considering that dlsu and nu still have the chance to make a four-team logjam at 9-5 provided that dlsu and nu win all their remaining games and feu and ust drop theirs. in any case, another very challenging scenario awaits the blue eagles: a long lay-off from this day until the beginning of the final four is very likely to happen. as mentioned in my recap of the game against nu, whoever made the second round schedule is truly out to screw the blue eagles from their drive for five. but we've seen these scenes from the past: tight scheduling, ring rust from a long lull of competitive action, injuries to key players in the rotation, and more. but the blue eagles' resilience has kept them fighting and flying in the past six seasons under coach norman black. the real battle begins when the final four seats are all occupied. until then, the blue eagles have to keep calm yet not overconfident, stay focused but not too aggressive, and fly high.
it's ateneo's day (photo source)
a final reminder: no yabang. the drive for five has so far been long and dangerous. this has to be the toughest campaign i have witnessed as a fan of the blue eagles. yes, this is tougher than their season 73 championship (where they had no marquee players to boot) because opposing teams have gone and given all out every time they face ateneo on the playing court. moreover, the competitive level of the league has truly gone higher this season especially with teams beefing up their rosters with imports, transferees, and sponsors. and with matches being brought to the board room due to protests, this season has truly become unpredictable for the blue eagles. their finesse has been put into test by the physicality of play that opponents throw at them. being on top of the standings is truly a delight and a sight to behold for followers of the blue eagles, but the work is not yet done. yes, this is an important part in the drive for five, but then again, this is just a part of it. the blue eagles have three more wins to claim, and the road gets treacherous from this moment until the gold is finally at sight. as in the previous years, we are reminded of the already familiar dictum "no yabang." the bragging rights belong to the one standing jubilant on center court when the smoke has cleared and the dust has settled. until then, the blue eagle sixth man has to remember three things: keep cheering, keep supporting, and keep flying with the team on this very special quest.
another fabilioh.com sighting (photo source)
The scores:
ADMU 68 – Ravena 18, Tiongson 13, Buenafe 11, Slaughter 10, Sumalinog 7, Salva 6, Elorde 3, Gonzaga 0, Chua 0, Golla 0
UST 66 – Abdul 22, Teng 12, Mariano 9, Fortuna 8, Ferrer 8, Bautista 7, Vigil 0, Pe 0, Afuang 0, Lo 0
Quarter scores: 15-18, 30-33, 52-43, 68-66
photos from sir philip sison of fabilioh.com
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