Araneta Coliseum
Obviously
brosi gonzales
Monday, August 8, 2011
Eagles Take Number Six
Aug. 4, Thursday
Tigers Losing Their Bite ?
Ateneo buried the Growling Tigers from Espana with 26 fastbreak points on route to a 66-53 win. Surprisingly, UST outrebounded Ateneo [53-42] but in field goal and free throw percentages, turnover points, and bench scoring Pido's boys were beaten by Black's.
Salva and Ravena combined for 32, almost half of Ateneo's
final count of 66 points.
Karim Abdul outrebounded Slaughter, 10-7.
Half of the Cameroonian's rebounds were offensive.
Coach Pido wasn't hard on his boys. this time around. [I've seen him get furious in the huddle] Unlike other coaches, this guy occasionally uses his
sense of humor to motivate his team.
The Defending Champs are always quick on the help defense.
It's always a treat to watch great clutch shooters take on each other.
Fortuna knows he has the smarts to outwit Ateneo big, Greg Slaughter.
Jeric contributed 18 points while Greg only had 6.
Jeric Teng, again, topscored for his team, bringing in 18 points.
It is easy to say how fearsome Ateneo's offense is with three years of Championship Ball and 2 star rookies to more than make up for the absence of Buenafe and Salamat . . .
but the Eagles' D has ALWAYS been the key, which has kept its opponents'
field goal percentages down and has always created opportunities for the
Ateneo to score in clusters.
Jarencio's team slid down to 40% with a 2-3 win-loss slate. But he is putting his faith on the likes of inexperienced rookie, Karim Abdul, and former UAAP Juniors Mythical Five member Kevin Ferrer , to help UST make the Final Four.
Seeing V-League Champs -->Bea Tan, Mona Bagatsing, and Amy Amohiro way up in Upper B brightened my Thursday afternoon even more.
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UP's Big Upset Over FEU
Aug. 4, Thursday
Mbah's Breakout Game
The end of the 1st Quarter saw a deadlock between UP and FEU, the end of the half saw a 3-point UP lead, and the end of the 3rd saw a 9-point UP lead. Something was not right, I said to myself -- I had the feeling that a major upset was very, very possible, the way the Maroons were executing - with a lot of confidence and a lot of hunger. One could feel that "kaba" I'm sure every Tamaraw fan felt as it was very clear that the momentum was on UP's side. The body language of the Diliman boys, the look of the Morayta boys on the bench, the "kunot" on Coach Flores" forehead -- all pointed to, at least, a cardiac end game, if not a shocking loss for the Tams.
Be prepared to face bruiser Mark Bringas whenever you play FEU.
One shouldn't be intimidated because that's just part of the Tamaraws' game.
.
Mike Silungan chipped in 16 points while Jelo Montecastro and
Ifeanyi Mbah contributed 14 points each.
Mark Bringas was summarily ejected from the game and metted
a one game suspension for his rough housing tactics.
When UP's "Jett" Manuel is in the zone - he is simply deadly.
This was one of the most impressive putbacks of the match where Manuel outhustled two Tamaraws, contorted his body to avoid a block by Ramos
[who he knew was ready to pounce on his shot], and scored on a scoop shot
on the way down !! This rising star gave UP its biggest boost by converting on 4 of his 5 2-pt. attempts and 9 of his 11 free throws.
He was the top scorer for UP with 20 points.
As they say in Tagalog, "Matira ang Matibay", and after four quarters, it was UP on top by 13 [76-63]. The Fighting Maroons had outshot the Tamaraws; the UP boys registered a 46.6% field goal clip while their victims could only manage 38.7%. Coach Dandan's charges rebounded better and had more second chance points - they also beat the opposition 14 to 4 on
fastbreak points. As Coach stated at the post game interwview,
"We were due for another win".
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Mud On Their Wings
Aug. 3, Wednesday
The Lady Eagles' Second Straight Loss
During Ateneo's 53-32 loss to FEU that afternoon, veteran Sarah Mercado
never got her game going. She made only 1 of her 12 field goal attempts,
and 5 of her 14 free throws. Here, her fastbreak lay up is thwarted by
never got her game going. She made only 1 of her 12 field goal attempts,
and 5 of her 14 free throws. Here, her fastbreak lay up is thwarted by
FEU's Elise Yazon.
Mercado tries to save the ball in this first half sequence.
The Lady Tamaraws got the better of Ateneo rookie Danica Jose. She had to work doubly hard every possession just to get into good scoring position.
Jose managed a total of 9 boards [5 of which were offensive]
but she converted only 3 of her 11 field goal attempts, all from close range.
but she converted only 3 of her 11 field goal attempts, all from close range.
Gutsy Jennifer Dimaano failed to score from the field but
shot 66% from the stripe to contribute 4 points.
shot 66% from the stripe to contribute 4 points.
Allana Lim, the Queen Tamaraw, put in 18 markers, 5 points more than
Lady Eagles Mercado and Jose combined. Tamaraw team mate Raiza Palmera
Lady Eagles Mercado and Jose combined. Tamaraw team mate Raiza Palmera
added 15 points. Lim's clutch baskets in the 4th [she scored 8 in that quarter] helped seal the fate of the slumping Lady Eagles.
Even wide open, Sarah just couldn't find her touch.
Sami Bo-ot, here, attempting a three sometime during the first half,
scored Ateneo's lone field goal at the 4th Quarter [a 3-pointer].
In the 4th, the girls in blue and white managed a measly 5 points as compared to their opponents' 19. Ateneo totalled only 9 conversions out of 51 attempts as compared to FEU's 23 conversions out of 66 attempts.
In the 4th, the girls in blue and white managed a measly 5 points as compared to their opponents' 19. Ateneo totalled only 9 conversions out of 51 attempts as compared to FEU's 23 conversions out of 66 attempts.
Four days after this heartbreaking loss which gave the Lady Eagles a 2-win, 3-loss record, they bounced back to defeat the Lady Archers [60-53]. Mercado and Jose combined for 33 points. The Ateneans also improved on their field goal % [from an all-time low of 17.6%, during their loss to FEU, to a respectable 29.4% during the La Salle match].
Was it Jose's breakout game ? Yes. She contributed 17 big ones with a 46.7%
field goal clip. Mercado's field goal % wasn't her best yet she complemented Jose's 17 with 16 of her own. [My schedule had me at the Araneta that Sunday afternoon, Aug.7, covering 2 UAAP Men's basketball matches -- The Ateneo Girls Volleyball team had a Shakey's V-League match at the same time too at the Arena in San Juan which I would have loved to cover -- as if !]
I had a brief chat with Coach Quimpo during the Ateneo-UST Men's basketball match at the Araneta, Aug.4, a day after the loss to FEU, and mentioned the diffuculty rookie Danica Jose had, trying to score. Coach commented that there are simply no short cuts [to becoming a good player, that is]. Well, having a breakout game on one's 6th game is a big step.
Congrats Coach. Good Luck to the Lady Eagles !
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