Note: This is an old post from my Multiply site last August 9, 2009.
First round over. I just arrived home from the first Ateneo-La Salle game this UAAP season. As usual, I have a hoarse voice after all the cheering and my body aches in several parts after standing, jumping and cheering for 95 percent of the time. That is the Ateneo Die-Hard Fan way. The game awhile ago was arguably the most memorable Ateneo-La Salle regular season game I have attended ever. My current running count is twenty four Ateneo-La Salle games (including Final Four matches) and Ateneo has a 15-9 record. I started watching from 2002 onwards and there were several notable ones like the come-from-14-point-deficit during the Fonacier Era and the 13-1 game with Mike Cortez’s Archers. Of course, we cannot count out the Chris Tiu buzzer beaters in 2007. Today’s game stands out for me though. Here are ten reasons why:
1) It was the Cory game. That in itself makes it legend – wait for it – dary!
2) Both Ateneans and Lasallians united with the color yellow. Save for some shameful deeds from the Green Side of things, the game was a heartwarming treat for all of us.
3) Ateneo came back from an eight-point deficit and win the game in overtime.
4) La Salle showed that they are our arch-rivals by giving their best shot against our veteran-led squad.
5) The two triples that forced overtime left me stunned. Is this possible?!
6) La Salle enkindled the lethargic cheering of Ateneo’s Sixth Man. It was really loud when we chanted One Big Fight and Get That Ball awhile ago. Now, that’s the Ateneo way!
7) Fr. Nemy Que is my first teacher to appear in national TV by leading the prayer with Fr. Oca
8) I got the best seats in Upper B (middle and frontmost seat).
9) I got to cheer with the never-say-die attitude (when we were down by ten) and I got to experience celebrating like a champion (in the last 3 seconds of overtime period).
10) This was the only time when I used the ‘Laban’ sign during the last Ateneo freethrow and after the Ateneo Hymn instead of pointing up with my index finger.
The game was actually a win-win for both schools. Ateneo got the W and proved that they have the higher upside as they were able to pull through despite losing Rabeh and Nonoy in critical stages of the game. Salva, my manok last year proved that he is for real. La Salle, on the other hand, showed that they can match up well against Ateneo and they have gotten a good crop of rookies this year. They really had strong momentum in the early stages of the game when they mounted a strong lead.
However, there were boo-boo’s as well. Here they are:
1) Rabeh is not acting like he is the reigning MVP. He is complaining a lot. Suck it up and adjust, dude. A lot from the crowd shared my sentiments. A lot of them were even complaining on Rabeh’s attitude. His defensive approach (even if it had some shining moments) is mostly prima-donna-ish. He does not defend his area that well that was why Joshua Webb was able to garner a lot of points than he should have.
2) Joshua Webb’s kick on Bakon Austria. That was a WTF moment. Kicking someone on his neck/head is not humane. He already had a great scoring game and he even had to do that unsportsmanlike act.
3) Someone from the green gallery shouted after the prayer to Cory. That was a big act of disrespect.
4) The Green Archers cemented their spot in being the most polarizing team of the decade (in a bad way) with the emergence of Joshua Webb’s trashtalking and in-game kicking. There is a reason why most schools tag them as villains/antagonists. Here are some examples: Mac Cardona, Joseph Yeo, Manny Salgado, Franz Pumaren, Suspension, THES-QS banner, Rico Maierhoffer, and the latest – Joshua Webb. I know that Ateneo has its share of bad eggs but if you have majority of your lineup using trashtalking as a form of intimidation, you will be hated by a lot. Yeah, it is part of the game but it is also the major reason why La Salle Basketball is vilified by many. Don’t get me wrong… DLSU basketball is not DLSU the institution.
5) Referee misses. I actually do not want to complain despite some of the missed calls (after all, the refs are just humans) but in my opinion, Webb should have been ejected from the game. Man, that was a kick in the head. NBA players get ejected when they tackle their opponents as they get charged with a Flagrant-2. UAAP is about college basketball and we should be fostering sportsmanship and you just give an unsportsmanlike foul to someone who kicked his opponent on the head? By the way, they already saw the instant replay of that incident as well.
[I was informed that Webb’s kick was not on the head. My bad on that one. I should get glasses while watching live. Nevertheless, a kick is still a horrible way of retaliating. As what the Ateneo crowd chanted, Webb should be SUS-PEN-DED]
The recent game put Ateneo tied to FEU in the first place while DLSU gets tied with UE and UST. Climbing back from a ten-point deficit is a notable feat for the Blue Eagles but I have to put FEU in the top spot of my quarterly power rankings (2nd quarter) Here are the rankings for the 1st half of elimination round:
1) Far Eastern University Tamaraws. (6-1) Dominating! Six game winning streak. After their opening game loss to the defending champions, the Tamaraws have proven why they are the preseason favorites. Aside from the Smart Gilas trio, FEU boasts of quality rookies in RR Garcia and Pipo Noundou. They demolished Final Four contenders UST Growling Tigers and De La Salle Green Archers. The scary thing is that they are not peaking yet.
2) Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles. (6-1) The UP loss surely blemished their pristine record thus depriving us from having a possible 15-0 record that would signify the 150 years of existence. Ateneo has bounced back from it with a new three game winning streak but last year’s defending champions are nowhere from their dominating form last year. Rabeh gets out of control for a lot of games. Ballhandling was not that superb as before. New diamonds in the rough have been uncovered with Salva and Monfort but Team Ateneo is starting to feel the effects of losing Chris Tiu. Nevertheless, the team has tons of upside as shown in the recent win against the Greenies. Defense is also superb (if Rabeh is not playing).
3) De La Salle University Green Archers. (4-3) They had two embarrassing losses against UE and FEU but they have gained their composure by toppling the next four. It could have been five but their archrivals took advantage of their inexperience. They have promising rookies and they can shoot the lights out. They even managed to come back from a 17-point deficit against UST. The question though is, have they peaked?
4) University of the East Red Warriors. (4-3) They dominated DLSU but they lost to the rampaging Tigers. Nevertheless, they have a more solid lineup than the latter. Also, UE was able to cut the huge FEU lead to four. They even had shining moments against Ateneo. However, they do not have that much of an upside as a team because we have pretty much seen what Llagas, Espiritu and Lee can do. Acuna is promising, though.
5) University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers. (4-3) Pido’s wards squeaked out of a game against UP and were disappointing against FEU and DLSU. The offensive machine is starting to show its weaknesses. Jarencio crumbles again when he saw his 17-point lead against La Salle diminish. The team lacks a big man and their defense is weak. Has Pido lost his charm? He has become a whipping boy of systematic teams as they have proven that brain beats heart.
6) University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons. (1-6) This would be the first time that I would put a lower team standing-wise on top of the better because UP has shown enough evidence that they are threatening to pull off upsets every now and then. FEU, UST and UE had hard times in disposing the Maroons. They also beat top-seeded Ateneo with their hard-nosed defense. Unfortunately, they were just able to get one win in the span of seven games.
7) National University Bulldogs. (2-5) I should be putting the Nationals at the bottom of my rankings because they play lousy basketball. Ateneo even fielded its third unit with some minutes remaining in the game when they faced NU. The team just struggles a lot offensively and defensively. Is this investment gone wrong for Henry Sy? Nevertheless, they were able to eke out two W’s (last was against Adamson) so I will put NU on seventh.
8) Adamson University Soaring Falcons. (1-6) As much as I love their fighting spirit and competitiveness by giving major thrills against UE, FEU, DLSU, and UST, Leo Austria’s team wounds up last because they lost to the Bulldogs recently. AdU’s win against UP was not convincing either. They can pose a challenge but it seems that they ‘just do not want to win.’ Is this the culture of losing haunting them every time they get the golden opportunity to bag the W?
Courtside Reporter Power Rankings: (I am not putting Job de Leon in this list so that I won’t be biased on his gender)
1) Jessica Mendoza. (Ateneo) No challenge at all. She is beautiful and smart at the same time. Je delivers eloquent reports. I think she excels when she researches/interviews. I observed that when I watched from Patron. Best of the batch. However, she should prevent stuttering. Even if she is the best this year, she is still miles away from Lia Cruz when the latter was at that stage of her courtside reporting career. I love the informative Jessica but I guess she can show some of the bubbly side that she brings in Magic 89.9’s Top 5@5. That makes her more natural. The reason why Lia, Patty, Tracy, Sharon and Rheena were great was because they did it naturally and confidently. That or add some flavor and personality like Gretchen.
2) Kryzelle O’ Connor (FEU). She handles her reports confidently and is a bit pretty at certain angles.
3) Maan Panganiban (NU). Very informative reports. I like the content a lot.
4) Tiff Atendido (UE). Same as Maan… she is slowly going up the list because she is providing quality reports.
5) Riki Flores (UP). I initially thought that she could battle Je in the beauty department but as days go by, I was actually mistaken. Riki, other than ‘not being able to battle Je in the beauty department’, can still be funny though. I can still remember her mentioning “yung pilay niyan malayo pa sa tiyan kaya maglalaro pa siya.”
6) Pach Cansana (UST)
7) Erin Torrejon (DLSU)
Most Valuable Player Power Rankings:
1) Dylan Ababou (UST) – if UST gets eliminated, goodbye MVP dreams.
2) Nonoy Baclao (Ateneo) – I said it before and I will say it again. (oops! That was on Twitter) Nonoy is Ateneo’s MVP. The effect is clearly seen with the number of altered/blocked shots from the opposing team. With the way Rabeh has been lazy in the defensive end, I have appreciated Nonoy more. Defense wins games. ‘Nuff said!
3) Aldrech Ramos (FEU) – stat-wise
4) Paul Lee (UE)
5) Mark Barrocca (FEU) – leadership-wise
Rookie of The Year:
1) Jeric Teng (UST) This kid was supposed to be ours!
2) RR Garcia (FEU)
3) Arvie Bringas (DLSU) This kid was about to be ours as well
That’s all for now. Go Ateneo. One Big Fight! =)
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