The UAAP Finals
I took a hiatus from writing and analyzing about the UAAP Finals when it was ongoing. This was because I was too superstitious (er, this is actually abnormally superstitious already) that I might jinx Ateneo. In 2006, I wrote a blog entry during the Finals that was why I prompted not to do everything I did in that upset year. Sorry to disappoint you. I just wanted Ateneo to win the crown badly this year for it is the sesquicentennial year of the university. It did not stop me from sharing my analysis on the games though. Thank God for Twitter.
Nevertheless, I am going to provide my analysis on how the Finals went. This year’s grand event had two teams of opposing characters dueling. On the red corner, the UE Red Warriors was a squad which thrives heavily on momentum. This is best punctuated by Paul Lee’s cries of glory after he shot the lights out when the Recto quintet buried their Morayta counterparts. They had a system of no system – it was a free-wheeling style which entails players to take the shot as soon as they get open even if the shot clock had just restarted. This strategy was a perfect fit for the team as anyone knows how to shoot from long distance. When they get hot, nobody is stopping them on the offensive side. Their 24-year drought and their ‘bridesmaid of the decade’ tag further reinforced their hunger. UAAP has always been about Cinderella stories through the years so having a team style like this would make us conclude that UE has a shot to win it all.
On the blue corner, the boys from Katipunan pride themselves with a smartass system that uses defense as the main foundation. They employ an old-school fundamental type of play that centers on dishing the ball to the big guy to get the easy points. This was pretty much the same version as last year’s champion squad with the difference that they are more confident and are more offensively-equipped this year. As this team lives on a system, one can compare them to a professional team that wins championships year in and year out. After all, defense wins championships. As much as the red corner is ripe to pick the crown, the blue corner is also well-suited to achieve it.
In the games the two teams won, they have exhibited their strengths at the fullest. In Game 1, Ateneo played hard-nosed defense. They clogged the lanes and they forced UE to take the low-percentage shots. Even if UE was able to muscle its way from a 17-point deficit, I felt that Ateneo could take the game because the Blue Eagles were playing the right way and UE just had a momentary spurt. It’s the kind of thing that you cannot do much about if you are defending them, but they cannot fully rely on it for the whole game as well. Ateneo combined their defensive mastery with their hot shooting and they took Game 1 by seven points.
If there was one thing I was concerned about Ateneo then, it was the fact that they are playing a fast-paced offense. My analysis as to why UE defeated FEU is that the latter fed the Red Warriors with high-octane offense in the first half. UE maybe down in the first half of their match against the Tamaraws but the fact that the score was quite high, the red shirted players have already gained some momentum and shooting touch for the second half. I believed that the Blue Eagles should play a slow-paced game to limit the number of possessions so as not to add fuel to UE’s fire in the early ongoing.
In Game 2, my concern became a reality. Ateneo, even if they led by the half, had already given UE the ‘warm up’ that they needed. The Red Warriors scored 38 freaking points by halftime! It was no surprise when the Recto Boys blazed in the second half. The Blue Eagles actually tried to play defense but with the way UE was waxing hot on offense, there was no chance for the Blue and White to win that game. Their attempt of breaking the zone by shooting gazillions of threes was also terrible. Ateneo got their dose of their own medicine when they forced themselves to shoot the low probability shots.
Coach Chongson also got my respect in Game 2. I never trusted his freewheeling offense in the elimination round because the Red Warriors were jacking up ill-advised shots. But his strategy of going small in Game 2 made the difference. It forced Rabeh and Nonoy to move outside the paint and made the Red Warrior defense scary as they could easily deny the pass to Rabeh in the inside because of their quick rotating guards. Chongson definitely outcoached Black in that game.
Game 2 strengthened a lot of people’s beliefs that UE could win. The huge deficit was a huge indicator. However, I still believed that the Hail Mary squad can prevail (after all, I said ‘Always Believe’ before). Ateneo is too talented and heavily relies on defense which is the best formula to win championships. Nevertheless, it did not stop many from predicting a UE win. The volume of crowd in Araneta also reflects it. We were outnumbered by the red crowd then.
Game 3 was the way the Blue Eagles should have done it in the first two games. Their defensive fort has limited the Recto-based quad to a measly 25 points in the first half. Ateneo kept on pounding the ball inside which is the fundamental way to do. Paul Lee and Elmer Espiritu had valiant efforts but it was all too late as the boys from Loyola have already built a secure lead. Blue corner wins and they got to protect the crown.
Blue Eagle the King
After enjoying at the Bon Fire last Saturday, I guess it is time for me to take a look at the season that recently concluded.
Game of the Year: Ateneo loses to UP. I tweeted this and I will state it again: Thank you, UP! The biggest turning point of the season for the Blue Eagles would have to be their fourth regular season game. UP proved the doubters wrong by beating the invincible defending champs. Whether this game be fluke or not, it was a win-win for both teams. UP had its temporary bragging rights while Ateneo became a trending topic on Twitter. OK, I was just kidding on the latter. Ateneo maybe humiliated after this loss but it set the thinking that any team can beat the Blue Eagles. Thus, some of their arrogance was removed in the process. It also unleashed the monster in the Blue and White team. But the biggest effect of this game was that, it took away the pressure of maintaining a flawless win-loss card. I always believe that losing in the early stages of the competition is necessary. Losing makes a team adjust.
Runner-up: Ateneo beats FEU in the 2nd round. Huge comeback victory. But more importantly, it produced the Mark Barroca issue which, if it did not occur, should have FEU battling Ateneo in the Finals.
Nonoy, Rabeh and Jai
I would like to say thanks to the graduating seniors for the back-to-back championships. The Four Horsemen of Ateneo’s championships have all finished their UAAP stints now.
Hey, they are just three. Why four? Here is why…
Chris Tiu is the first horseman. He is the leader of the pack. He may not be part of the 2009 team but his influence was still pretty much felt up to now. The reason why he is my favorite Blue Eagle is not because he was a transcendent scorer who wins games for his team. It was because he empowered his teammates to be better. Thus, the 2009 Blue Eagles fulfilled Tiu’s promise from last year’s Thanksgiving Mass that they will win it this year. Nonoy Baclao is the defensive guy. He defended the paint viciously which made it highly impenetrable for the past two years. Without him, I doubt that we are enjoying a second bonfire this year. Jai Reyes is the momentum guy. Some of my friends doubted his ability last year and this year when he had shooting slumps but I think he was integral in both championship runs. This was because he delivered when it counted the most. He proved that he is a Reyes (not only because he had the vocal prowess and the yabang ng Atenista) because Jainamite exploded at the right circumstance just like his tito, Jun Reyes in the 1987-88 championships. Lastly, Rabeh is still Ateneo’s MVP. He might be a hot-tempered guy but he has proved his critics wrong when he delivered when it counted the most. Amazing stats in last year’s Game 1 and this year’s Games 1 and 3 just showed that Rabeh is one of the immortal centers in Ateneo history. When Rabeh is focused, he is simply unstoppable.
The Four Horsemen may be gone but The Architect is still with Ateneo. Coach Norman, let’s go for the three-peat next year.
To Jessica Mendoza: Thanks for being our lucky charm. Good luck on your future career/s.
Story of the Year: The Ateneo Blue Eagles
Much has been said about the Blue Eagles on how they won the championship. But for me, the biggest plot they showed after another 16 win season is the fact that they are the prototype team. In almost two decades of watching basketball, I have observed various stories of champions. Some have the ‘peaking at the right time story’ while some have the ‘never-say-die’ plot. For the Hail Mary squad, it has got to be their strong foundation of a team. Normally, you see teams which have flaws but if you observe the Blue Eagles of 2009, you can notice that this team is special because it had the correct ingredients of a champion team.
Ateneo is a very fundamental squad. Others use the term old school basketball. Ateneo employs a big man strategy by dishing it to the dominant big guy for the easy points. Scoring from the paint is usually on a high percentage. Ateneo settles with a controlled number of rainbow shots because it is lowly probable to convert such. What made Ateneo even more deadly this year is the fact that they rotate the ball with such discipline thus optimizing all their attempts. The Blue Eagles also have strong threats from all over the court whether it be on three point territory, slashing and fastbreaks. There are just too many offensive options that the bench mob can be a legitimate starting lineup on some teams. Last but not the least, the emphasis on defense further improved as the paint and the perimeter are well-covered.
The Katipunan-based quintet is also one of the finest disciplined teams. They may pale in comparison with other basketball champions’ talent and skill but the Blue Eagles’ discipline was so existent. From defense to offensive execution, you have to admire how they use their minds to control the situations. Furthermore, discipline was so much exemplified when they hit the short end of the stick. There were several occasions when the players were fouled hardly which could have caused altercations. But in most cases, they prevent it and just played on. There are exceptions but the general mood was to prevent things from worsening. Like what Jai Reyes mentioned in his Thanksgiving speech, “they try as much as possible to be role models for the kids even if they are not perfect individuals.” That, my friends, is sportsmanship at its best.
If there is mind, there is also heart. That is what I like in this year’s team. They have the fighting will. They may be disciplined but they also have the swagger. This was not very much existent on previous Ateneo teams but for this year, I have to give a huge salute to Salamat for his intimidations. Let’s accept it, it is part of sports. I can still remember the Little Giants movie where the protagonist kids used the medicine for acid indigestion to intimidate their opponents. One can psych out his opponents without resulting to physical harm or overboard taunting and the Blue Eagles have done this quite well on certain occasions. Basketball is not just an athletic sport – it is also a mind and emotion game. With the proper gulang techniques and the appropriate emotional outbursts after crucial shots, the Blue Eagles of 2009 have affected their fans in unbelievable ways. With a supporting crowd that makes Norman Black feel that all their games are played in the home court, the swagger factor has gave the team the morale boost and their opponents the chill at the same time.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is how you win a back-to-back.
I took a hiatus from writing and analyzing about the UAAP Finals when it was ongoing. This was because I was too superstitious (er, this is actually abnormally superstitious already) that I might jinx Ateneo. In 2006, I wrote a blog entry during the Finals that was why I prompted not to do everything I did in that upset year. Sorry to disappoint you. I just wanted Ateneo to win the crown badly this year for it is the sesquicentennial year of the university. It did not stop me from sharing my analysis on the games though. Thank God for Twitter.
Nevertheless, I am going to provide my analysis on how the Finals went. This year’s grand event had two teams of opposing characters dueling. On the red corner, the UE Red Warriors was a squad which thrives heavily on momentum. This is best punctuated by Paul Lee’s cries of glory after he shot the lights out when the Recto quintet buried their Morayta counterparts. They had a system of no system – it was a free-wheeling style which entails players to take the shot as soon as they get open even if the shot clock had just restarted. This strategy was a perfect fit for the team as anyone knows how to shoot from long distance. When they get hot, nobody is stopping them on the offensive side. Their 24-year drought and their ‘bridesmaid of the decade’ tag further reinforced their hunger. UAAP has always been about Cinderella stories through the years so having a team style like this would make us conclude that UE has a shot to win it all.
On the blue corner, the boys from Katipunan pride themselves with a smartass system that uses defense as the main foundation. They employ an old-school fundamental type of play that centers on dishing the ball to the big guy to get the easy points. This was pretty much the same version as last year’s champion squad with the difference that they are more confident and are more offensively-equipped this year. As this team lives on a system, one can compare them to a professional team that wins championships year in and year out. After all, defense wins championships. As much as the red corner is ripe to pick the crown, the blue corner is also well-suited to achieve it.
In the games the two teams won, they have exhibited their strengths at the fullest. In Game 1, Ateneo played hard-nosed defense. They clogged the lanes and they forced UE to take the low-percentage shots. Even if UE was able to muscle its way from a 17-point deficit, I felt that Ateneo could take the game because the Blue Eagles were playing the right way and UE just had a momentary spurt. It’s the kind of thing that you cannot do much about if you are defending them, but they cannot fully rely on it for the whole game as well. Ateneo combined their defensive mastery with their hot shooting and they took Game 1 by seven points.
If there was one thing I was concerned about Ateneo then, it was the fact that they are playing a fast-paced offense. My analysis as to why UE defeated FEU is that the latter fed the Red Warriors with high-octane offense in the first half. UE maybe down in the first half of their match against the Tamaraws but the fact that the score was quite high, the red shirted players have already gained some momentum and shooting touch for the second half. I believed that the Blue Eagles should play a slow-paced game to limit the number of possessions so as not to add fuel to UE’s fire in the early ongoing.
In Game 2, my concern became a reality. Ateneo, even if they led by the half, had already given UE the ‘warm up’ that they needed. The Red Warriors scored 38 freaking points by halftime! It was no surprise when the Recto Boys blazed in the second half. The Blue Eagles actually tried to play defense but with the way UE was waxing hot on offense, there was no chance for the Blue and White to win that game. Their attempt of breaking the zone by shooting gazillions of threes was also terrible. Ateneo got their dose of their own medicine when they forced themselves to shoot the low probability shots.
Coach Chongson also got my respect in Game 2. I never trusted his freewheeling offense in the elimination round because the Red Warriors were jacking up ill-advised shots. But his strategy of going small in Game 2 made the difference. It forced Rabeh and Nonoy to move outside the paint and made the Red Warrior defense scary as they could easily deny the pass to Rabeh in the inside because of their quick rotating guards. Chongson definitely outcoached Black in that game.
Game 2 strengthened a lot of people’s beliefs that UE could win. The huge deficit was a huge indicator. However, I still believed that the Hail Mary squad can prevail (after all, I said ‘Always Believe’ before). Ateneo is too talented and heavily relies on defense which is the best formula to win championships. Nevertheless, it did not stop many from predicting a UE win. The volume of crowd in Araneta also reflects it. We were outnumbered by the red crowd then.
Game 3 was the way the Blue Eagles should have done it in the first two games. Their defensive fort has limited the Recto-based quad to a measly 25 points in the first half. Ateneo kept on pounding the ball inside which is the fundamental way to do. Paul Lee and Elmer Espiritu had valiant efforts but it was all too late as the boys from Loyola have already built a secure lead. Blue corner wins and they got to protect the crown.
Blue Eagle the King
After enjoying at the Bon Fire last Saturday, I guess it is time for me to take a look at the season that recently concluded.
Game of the Year: Ateneo loses to UP. I tweeted this and I will state it again: Thank you, UP! The biggest turning point of the season for the Blue Eagles would have to be their fourth regular season game. UP proved the doubters wrong by beating the invincible defending champs. Whether this game be fluke or not, it was a win-win for both teams. UP had its temporary bragging rights while Ateneo became a trending topic on Twitter. OK, I was just kidding on the latter. Ateneo maybe humiliated after this loss but it set the thinking that any team can beat the Blue Eagles. Thus, some of their arrogance was removed in the process. It also unleashed the monster in the Blue and White team. But the biggest effect of this game was that, it took away the pressure of maintaining a flawless win-loss card. I always believe that losing in the early stages of the competition is necessary. Losing makes a team adjust.
Runner-up: Ateneo beats FEU in the 2nd round. Huge comeback victory. But more importantly, it produced the Mark Barroca issue which, if it did not occur, should have FEU battling Ateneo in the Finals.
Nonoy, Rabeh and Jai
I would like to say thanks to the graduating seniors for the back-to-back championships. The Four Horsemen of Ateneo’s championships have all finished their UAAP stints now.
Hey, they are just three. Why four? Here is why…
Chris Tiu is the first horseman. He is the leader of the pack. He may not be part of the 2009 team but his influence was still pretty much felt up to now. The reason why he is my favorite Blue Eagle is not because he was a transcendent scorer who wins games for his team. It was because he empowered his teammates to be better. Thus, the 2009 Blue Eagles fulfilled Tiu’s promise from last year’s Thanksgiving Mass that they will win it this year. Nonoy Baclao is the defensive guy. He defended the paint viciously which made it highly impenetrable for the past two years. Without him, I doubt that we are enjoying a second bonfire this year. Jai Reyes is the momentum guy. Some of my friends doubted his ability last year and this year when he had shooting slumps but I think he was integral in both championship runs. This was because he delivered when it counted the most. He proved that he is a Reyes (not only because he had the vocal prowess and the yabang ng Atenista) because Jainamite exploded at the right circumstance just like his tito, Jun Reyes in the 1987-88 championships. Lastly, Rabeh is still Ateneo’s MVP. He might be a hot-tempered guy but he has proved his critics wrong when he delivered when it counted the most. Amazing stats in last year’s Game 1 and this year’s Games 1 and 3 just showed that Rabeh is one of the immortal centers in Ateneo history. When Rabeh is focused, he is simply unstoppable.
The Four Horsemen may be gone but The Architect is still with Ateneo. Coach Norman, let’s go for the three-peat next year.
To Jessica Mendoza: Thanks for being our lucky charm. Good luck on your future career/s.
Story of the Year: The Ateneo Blue Eagles
Much has been said about the Blue Eagles on how they won the championship. But for me, the biggest plot they showed after another 16 win season is the fact that they are the prototype team. In almost two decades of watching basketball, I have observed various stories of champions. Some have the ‘peaking at the right time story’ while some have the ‘never-say-die’ plot. For the Hail Mary squad, it has got to be their strong foundation of a team. Normally, you see teams which have flaws but if you observe the Blue Eagles of 2009, you can notice that this team is special because it had the correct ingredients of a champion team.
Ateneo is a very fundamental squad. Others use the term old school basketball. Ateneo employs a big man strategy by dishing it to the dominant big guy for the easy points. Scoring from the paint is usually on a high percentage. Ateneo settles with a controlled number of rainbow shots because it is lowly probable to convert such. What made Ateneo even more deadly this year is the fact that they rotate the ball with such discipline thus optimizing all their attempts. The Blue Eagles also have strong threats from all over the court whether it be on three point territory, slashing and fastbreaks. There are just too many offensive options that the bench mob can be a legitimate starting lineup on some teams. Last but not the least, the emphasis on defense further improved as the paint and the perimeter are well-covered.
The Katipunan-based quintet is also one of the finest disciplined teams. They may pale in comparison with other basketball champions’ talent and skill but the Blue Eagles’ discipline was so existent. From defense to offensive execution, you have to admire how they use their minds to control the situations. Furthermore, discipline was so much exemplified when they hit the short end of the stick. There were several occasions when the players were fouled hardly which could have caused altercations. But in most cases, they prevent it and just played on. There are exceptions but the general mood was to prevent things from worsening. Like what Jai Reyes mentioned in his Thanksgiving speech, “they try as much as possible to be role models for the kids even if they are not perfect individuals.” That, my friends, is sportsmanship at its best.
If there is mind, there is also heart. That is what I like in this year’s team. They have the fighting will. They may be disciplined but they also have the swagger. This was not very much existent on previous Ateneo teams but for this year, I have to give a huge salute to Salamat for his intimidations. Let’s accept it, it is part of sports. I can still remember the Little Giants movie where the protagonist kids used the medicine for acid indigestion to intimidate their opponents. One can psych out his opponents without resulting to physical harm or overboard taunting and the Blue Eagles have done this quite well on certain occasions. Basketball is not just an athletic sport – it is also a mind and emotion game. With the proper gulang techniques and the appropriate emotional outbursts after crucial shots, the Blue Eagles of 2009 have affected their fans in unbelievable ways. With a supporting crowd that makes Norman Black feel that all their games are played in the home court, the swagger factor has gave the team the morale boost and their opponents the chill at the same time.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is how you win a back-to-back.
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