AND 1: 100-25

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look, up in the sky! it's a bird!

congratulations coach norman black for winning your 100th game in the uaap as head coach of the ateneo blue eagles.

4 straight uaap titles, 3 pccl championships, a gold medal in the sea games, and other championships for the blue and white... what more can you ask for?

oh yes, there's one: another championship for the blue eagles this season!

fly high coach norman!
blue eagle, the king!

photo from sir philip sison of fabilioh.com  

FIRST 5: 5 wishes for the "Drive for Five"

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because kiefer does not stop counting at four

the 75th season of the uaap will be starting this coming weekend. hosted by national university with the theme "unbreakable", uaap season 75 promises a higher level of competition especially in men's basketball as every collegiate team in the league beefed up their rosters, gained a considerable amount of experience and learning from summer leagues and training, and prepared themselves for another intense and grueling season of the country's most prestigious collegiate league.

all eyes will surely be on the ateneo blue eagles, who are gunning for their fifth consecutive men's basketball championship this coming season. still picked as favorites, the loyola-based dribblers have performed quite well since the post-season of season 74 and continued their winning ways in the pre-season of season 75. the blue eagles placed second in the collegiate champion's league and won the university games championship, while some key players even participated in the southeast asian games and still won a gold medal for the philippines. this summer, the hail mary squad placed third in the fil-oil flying v pre-season cup and became champions of fr. martin summer league.

but it wasn't a perfect pre-season for the blue eagles, as most games were close enough to be decided in the last three to four possessions. the team took losses in the fil-oil pre-season cup against san beda (by just two points), la salle (in a game that was sent to overtime by jeron teng's 3 pointer), and nu (where a barrage of three-pointers from a lucky nu squad caught the blue eagles flat footed in the semis). some might say that ateneo took a hit with the departure of kirk long, emman monfort, and bacon austria who were considered as key cogs in the past four championship runs. but with much of the team returning for another year, new faces out to make an impact in the team, and coach norman black seeking a triumphant exit in the league before returning to the pros, the blue eagles are surely in for an exciting drive to be "glori-fived."

and so, here are five wishes that i have for the blue eagles as they open their bid to a five-peat and make history in season 75:

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the flash's grandson finally found his way "home" 

1. better point guard play. losing monfort to graduation has to be one of the bitter pills that ateneo had to swallow at the end of season 74. he is not just their steadiest ball handler last but also one of ateneo's best defenders especially against the league's top guards. his departure leaves quite a big hole in the line-up. seniority-wise, juami tiongson takes the place of monfort in the rotation. but despite his clutch shots in the finals last season, he seems to be more of a shoot-first point guard than a distributor, which point guards should be in the first place. a key addition to the team is nico elorde, a former dlsz standout (with gwyne capacio) and one-time green archer, who is more of a defensive-minded point guard and facilitator in the offense. i personally prefer elorde over tiongson to start as point guard, but i won't be surprised to see kiefer ravena getting converted into a point guard this season. this reminds me of how jai reyes, a shooting guard in high school, played started at the point in seasons 71 and 72.

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oping has quite big shoes to fill in 

2. player development. ateneo is known as one of the teams that is able to make their players improve their skills for the current season and take their game a notch higher a season later. again, finding a replacement to two solid defensive forwards in long and austria will be crucial this season. oping sumalinog, who struggled last year after taking some time off from injury, is expected to be ateneo's main defender for opposing shooting guards and wingmen. tonino gonzaga is still expected to come off the bench or even start in some games to provide the spark in both offense and defense. frank golla is known as a "wall" in the defensive side, but i hope he already developed some short jumpers and baby hook shots in the likes of doug kramer and rabeh al-hussaini. jp erram's emergence as a scorer during the univesity games and even in the pccl would be a great complement to his defensive prowess. i would also like to see capacio and von pessumal get more playing time this season.

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guess who's back... back again 

3. rookies spotlight. the blue eagles might have lost to the green archers in the jeron teng sweepstakes, but an interesting crop of rookies are joining the team this season. it was expected for the blue eagles to add big men in their line-up this season with the impending departure of greg slaughter, nico salva, and justin chua. heading the blue eagles' rookie class is kris porter, who led the ateneo blue eaglets to a final four finish last season, and g-boy babilonia, a mainstay from the philippine u16/18 youth team. though they may only have little playing time this season, it would be good to give them the much-needed exposure as they are expected to fill the hole in the middle in the next few seasons. of course, the returning ryan buenafe must not be forgotten in the equation. the finals mvp of season 73 returns with a vengeance, losing a bit of weight and bulk in his frame. his offensive ability is surely a plus to the already-potent ateneo offense, and it is my hope that his defensive skills took some polishing during the off-season.

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nickobe tries to make it 5-for-5 

4. last hurray for the graduates. i hate to burst the bubble as early as now, but this season will be the last for a lot of key players who played a crucial role in all four title runs. gone after this season would be slaughter, chua, salva, sumalinog, and gonzaga. slaughter decided to take his final year of eligibility to contribute to the blue eagles' drive for five. salva, last season's finals mvp, has developed his mid-range and even outside game, and he is surely making the most of what kobe bryant taught him during the latter's trip in the philippines. chua took the sacrifice of riding the bench last season but embraced that role and such paid dividends for him and the team. sumalinog and gonzaga had their respective stories of emerging as impact players off the bench as they solidly contributed to the team whether in stats or in basketball's intangibles. this season is their last chance to don that blue and white jersey, and they might as well make the most of it. if things fall into its proper place, they could earn the very rare distinction of winning championship in each of their playing years, not only in the ateneo but even in the uaap. they might as well give their all in season 75.

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one more gatorade bath for black 

5. 5peat. the feeling of winning never gets old, and if you're an ateneo fan, the past four seasons have just been gratifying. it's always enjoyable to hear or even say the words "see you in the annual bonfire!", but there won't even be one without the architect behind the championships that the community enjoyed in the past four years. coach norman black has done a tremendous job of drawing plays and making key adjustments during game in his 6 years as head coach. more than that, his work of motivating the players and keeping them focused and hungry for a championship year after year is just superb. though he is bound to leave the team after the season and even if he will remain as a fixture in the ateneo bench for the next two seasons as a consultant, a 5th straight championship is indeed the perfect finale that coach norman could have. for now, nothing is for sure what beholds the team beyond the norman black era, but it is important to focus on the task-at-hand. expect the blue eagles to go all the way this season to write a new chapter in the ateneo basketball history.

the drive for five begins this sunday at 4pm as they tackle the adamson falcons in a rematch of last season's "one biggest fight", where the birds of san marcelino broke their 29-game losing streak to the blue eagles and similarly deprived ateneo of sweeping the elimination round. despite ateneo winning the championship and adamson losing their flight in their final four match-up against feu, somehow the loss still has to be avenged. with a new season coming up, we do not have an idea what will happen until the final buzzer sounds. and so, the time has come for the blue eagles to give their best shot and push the pedal to the metal in their quest for a fifth straight championship.

GO ATENEO!
ONE BIG FIGHT!
BLUE EAGLE, THE KING!

THREE-POINT PLAY: San Sebastian 73, Ateneo 67

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three points on the blue eagles' loss to the stags in the championship game in the philippine collegiate champions league final four

1. fatigue factor - while the san sebastian stags should be the more "tired" team due to their participation in the sweet 16 of the pccl, the ateneo blue eagles looked like the more tired team this game. with most of the players coming late to the playing venue and with the pre-xmas break "hell week" breaking loose on school, the blue eagles' flight was clearly hampered. kiefer ravena only made one field goal (he finished with 8 points) while nico salva only made 2 (he ended with 5 points). the stags also found a way to make greg slaughter a non-factor in this series. kirk long and juami tiongson (11 points each) though stepped up for their fatigued teammates. nonetheless, no matter what the excuse is, a loss is a loss.

2. hungrier - the stags were clearly the hungrier team in this league. out to prove that they are the best team in the land, the stags played with more grits, guts, and gusto in the final game of the championship. calvin abueva was in his beastly self with fantasy-yummy 20 points and 20 rebounds, while newly-crowned pccl mvp ian sanggalang had 19 points and 15 rebounds for the stags, who also got ample help from anthony del rio (10 points, including two "pamatay-sunog" threes to quell ateneo's runs) and comebacking jonathan semira who buried a 3 pointer to keep the blue eagles at bay. san sebastian's 2-3 zone kept coach norman black and the ateneo 5 guessing on court, while abueva went barreling his way in the shaded area and even hit a three that ended ateneo's hopes for a pccl three-peat. their hunger and intensity just made them the first non-uaap team to win the pccl championship.

3. well-deserved rest - the blue eagles have been playing team basketball since march this year, starting with the fil-oil pre-season cup, their trainings abroad, the uaap, university games, sea games, and the pccl. of course, we have been used to see them win and stomp their class over their foes, but they just can't win it all. throughout the four championship years of the blue eagles, they have not won them all, especially in pre and post season tournaments. in 2008, they lost to the la salle green archers in the pccl, they did not qualify for the fil-oil pre-season championship in 2009, and they lost the university games championship to the nu bulldogs in 2010. a win could have been a perfect end to a gold-laced 2011, but the boys need a well-deserved break. they are bound to go to hong kong today as part of the perks for winning their fourth consecutive uaap title, and they have until march to focus on their studies and rest their tired bodies in preparation for another busy college basketball season. with greg slaughter playing his final year of eligibility next year together with the likes of nico salva, justin chua, tonino gonzaga, and oping sumalinog, the inclusion of nico elorde, and hopefully the return of ryan buenafe in the line-up, the blue eagles are primed to take 2012 by storm. for now, they have to enjoy the holidays and take that well-deserved break for all their efforts this year.

The scores:

San Sebastian 73 – Abueva 20, Sangalang 19, del Rio 10, Vitug 9, Miranda 6, Maiquez 4, Semira 3, Jo. dela Cruz 2

Ateneo 67 – Long 11, Tiongson 11, Slaughter 10, Erram 9, Monfort 8, Ravena 7, Salva 5, Sumalinog 3, Gonzaga 3, Golla 0, Chua 0, Austria 0

Quarter scoring: 17-16, 36-29, 57-49, 73-67

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

One (more) Big Fight for the Big Fella

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it's confirmed. greg slaughter is staying with ateneo for his final year of eligibility, according to a news report from aktv.

the 7-foot slaughter, who already played three years of collegiate basketball for the university of visayas lancers, was one of the vital cogs of the ateneo blue eagles during their campaign in the uaap, where they annexed their fourth consecutive championship. with slaughter in the middle, ateneo has so far won the major collegiate basketball tournaments thus far, including fil-oil pre-season cup and uaap. he was also part of the sinag pilipinas team that claimed the gold medal for men's basketball in the 26th southeast asian games. currently, he is part of the blue eagles who are aiming for their third consecutive philippine collegiate champions league title.

this surely comes as an early christmas gift for the ateneo faithful, who have been expecting him to stay for his final year of eligibility despite his refusal to comment about it during the bonfire celebration last october. ateneo remains solid for season 75, with kiefer ravena hoping to grow a few more inches and add a few more moves in his arsenal, and graduating players nico salva and justin chua looking to bring another uaap title - their fifth in all their five playing years - to the blue side of katipunan avenue.

but then again, ateneo's "one big five" won't be a walk in the park next year, as teams have also improved vastly in terms of manpower, recruitment, and player development. for now, we have the pccl to watch, with the blue eagles looking to get into the finals with a game on friday against san beda red lions.

Beda, Baste, and a history of Basketbrawl

i was not able to watch the ateneo-san sebastian game this afternoon in the pccl as i had to do some errands outside the seminary. i learned from adrian dy of chinoy hoops fan fame that the blue eagles lost to the golden stags by a whisker, 70-69. it was a come from behind victory for the stags, whose 13-0 run in the fourth quarter handed what could be the blue eagles' first loss since the last game of the uaap elimination round. if kirk long released his three pointer a fraction of a second earlier, it would have handed ateneo a 2-0 slate and an outright finals berth in the final tournament of the year. but that's the beauty of basketball: you'll never know the winner until the final buzzer sounds. on the part of the blue eagles, this is their second game in two days and for sure fatigue played a part in this game. they have until friday to get some rest and practice as they go for the 2nd finals berth against san beda, their chief arch-rivals during their years in the ncaa.



yesterday, i originally intended to watch the game live to see the slaughter-fajardo match-up and a potentially combustible game between san beda and san sebastian. adrian actually invited me to watch so he has some company in case a riot ensues, but i had to finish some seminary matters so i had to let the opportunity pass. true enough, he predicted it right as an altercation between kyle pascual, calvin abueva, and other players from both teams happened. the first third of the video above somehow captured what happened in that game.



san beda and san sebastian have been through all sorts of brawls on the court in recent memory. the beda-baste finals series this year didn't run out of fireworks from both teams. this video from game 1 of this season's championship has been laced with flares of all sorts between players. and of course, the fight during a volleyball game between members of the red lions and san sebastian's volleyball coach roger gorayeb a few days back is just one of the many brawls between beda and baste. and the fight yesterday afternoon just thickens the plot between these two bitter rivals.



i reposted this video featuring "basketbrawl-like" actions on a beda-baste game last year. i remember my dad commenting that these two teams have been literally slugging it out on the court even during his time. wow.

beda. baste. basketball. basketbrawl. they all start with the letter b. unfortunately, it didn't find it's way in the the words sportsmanship, peace, and camaraderie.

THREE-POINT PLAY: Ateneo 100, UC 53

(photo source: philstar.com)

 
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

Getting my Ateneo fix

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with still a few more days from the start of the pccl final four, i decided to get my ateneo fix by watching the volleyball game between the lady eagles and the ue lady warriors at the blue eagle gym this afternoon.

i'm not really much of a volleyball fan, but i do watch volleyball games... well, women's volleyball games. i myself tried playing volleyball when i was in the minor seminary, to no avail. hahaha! but watching women's volleyball live is an entirely different experience from that of men's basketball: drums and cheers only done during dead ball, not so much complaints from the crowd on the ref's calls, and no fabilioh.com to pose for. but the "oohs" and "aahs" for every attempt from the blue and white keep the eagles' spirit alive.

it was also nice seeing my professor in philosophy during my college years in the venue. he was there to support his daughter, who is currently the captain of the team. well, so was i. hahahaha!

speaking of getting our ateneo fix, we will be seeing the blue eagles play once more to defend their pccl championship and have the mvp perpetual trophy (that's what it's called) stay in katipunan. here's the schedule:

taken from the pccl website

this will be an interesting pccl final four as ateneo is the only uaap team standing, as they are contending for a record three straight national championships with san sebastian golden stags (luzon-mm regional champion), san beda red lions (ncaa champion), and university of cebu webmasters (visayas-mindanao champion).

the blue eagles have been quite productive after winning their fourth consecutive uaap championship. coach norman black and his core players greg slaughter, kiefer ravena, emman monfort, and nico salva are coming off a gold medal finish with sinag pilipinas in the 26th sea games. the rest of the blue eagles and some "team glory b" players won the university games basketball title last month. if they get their acts together and shake the proverbial ring rust off, then the blue eagles are aiming to complete another "grand slam" of sorts by adding the pccl to their already championship-laced 2011 (which also includes the fil-oil pre-season cup).

as usual, there will be interesting match-ups to behold in this tournament. the university of cebu has man-mountain junemar fajardo, who have waged countless basketball wars in the visayas with greg slaughter. there's also the pinatubo trio of ronald pascual, ian sanggalang, and calvin abueva for san sebastian whose physical style of play might pose match-up problems with our starters. and of course, san beda would like to get some retribution from the blue eagles after losing to them in the fil-oil pre-season cup last march.

with a round robin format in the final four, it will be more interesting to find out who gets to play in the championship game, as it seems that the quotient system will be used to break ties in the standings. according to the ever-reliable chinoy hoops fan: "The team at the end of the round-robin phase with the highest record gets twice to beat in the Finals versus the team with the next highest record."

while everyone is waiting for nba to open in 26 days, we still have college basketball to watch and the ateneo blue eagles to root for in the pccl.