Standing Ten Feet Tall

 July 21, Thursday

One sequence that I remember the most from the Ateneo W [86-62] over NU yesterday is that of a missed Blue Eagle field goal attempt which was punctuated by a gutsy offensive board by the smallest man on the court, Eman Monfort, over NU's tall Bobby Ray Parks Jr.   Yes, Monfort even added 4 steals [I remember 2 in particular:  one was from NU's other big, Mbe, while the other was from Terso, wherein Joseph ended up fouling Eman after the latter had swiped the ball from him]  and 6 assists [that's what good guards usually excel in, not so much on offensive boards].   Eman might as well have been ten feet tall yesterday afternoon.

Hands down [no pun intended],  this is now one of my favorite images from 

the UAAP Season 74's basketball wars.

Monfort's 3-pt. shooting was off but he more than made up for it 

with his defensive contribution.

The Loyola boys registered an assists high of 30.  They practically outdid their opponents in every department.  Among the 13 Blue Eagles who scored, only Chua had a 2-pt. field goal percentage below 50 [16%].  When the 3rd Quarter ended the Bulldogs had been shackled to a 32 point deficit [69-37]. Mbe had lost his bite due to fouls.  Parks had hardly gotten into his groove.  The Bulldogs confidence had been shattered. The most that the NU boys could hope for was a respectable, [possibly less than 20] [is that respectable?],  deficit by the end of the match. [They lost by 24].

Finally, after 2 matches, Sumalinog regained his touch.

Ompong scored  7  pts in the 2nd Quarter.

He hit his trey and all of his 4 free throws: he had 2 boards, 

an assist, a steal, and a block.

Pogi points.

Salva made 6 of his 11 field goal attempts and clawed 10 boards.

 

 One can never really prevent the Junior from hitting double figures

[Bobby Ray made 5 of his 7 field goal attempts and 10 of of his 13  foul shots]

but if you slow him down enough and intimidate the rest of his team

then, chances are, you will beat the Bulldogs. 

Some notable stats:

                                           ADM                           NU

Field goal %                 32-63 = 50.8%             22-60 = 36.7%

Rebounds                              43                               31

Fastbreak points                     23                               9

Turnover points                       29                              11

Assists                                  30                               9

Quarter scoring:

                             1st       2nd      3rd       4th

ADM                       16        22       31        17     =86

NU                         11         9        17        25     =62

brosi gonzales