THAT was a huge win by the Ateneo Blue Eagles over the Far Eastern University Tamaraws last Saturday at the Blue Eagle Gym. They got payback for the first-round loss where they were outplayed.
Ateneo returned the favor this time around, 75-72.
The team showed its potential and when locked in, playing with that kind of manic intensity and nearly four periods of harassing defense, what they can do. How far they go depends on how many more wins can they pull out and how the other teams fare.
Here were their keys to victory against the erstwhile league leader.
High intensity from the onset
FROM the opening whistle, they attacked that basket, took fewer outside shots, played 2-2-1 on the trap, switched on defense, and made FEU feel very uncomfortable (at least for the first 25 minutes of the game).
Ateneo is still far from the finished product. They sustained their defense and intensity for much of the game except for those unforced errors that allowed the Tamaraws back in the game.
It is all about handling the pressure and the inevitable run or runs by the opposing teams.
The Blue Eagles coughed up leads against UP and La Salle and nearly did to FEU-twice in fact. However, this time, they held fast through their defense and some timely plays.
Sultan Baruwa huge difference
SULTAN BARUWA has had his moments during Ateneo’s very brief pre-season and this UAAP campaign, but yesterday, he was more in control rather than playing out of it. If he works on that drop step and is quicker around the hoop-watch out.
While Ateneo registered zero blocks for the game, Baruwa did make FEU think a few times on whether they should challenge him inside.
I had a short conversation with him last Thursday when I dropped by before the team’s practice to share some anecdotes.
I didn’t want to give a pep talk and the usual, ‘kaya niyo yan’ and so-so. Instead, I shared true to life anecdotes where I worked with players from Ateneo, Adamson, San Beda, UST, and National University to help them look at their struggles from another perspective.
What I shared, I made it clear, take away from them what you can or want.
When Sultan came over to shake my hand, I pulled him aside and told him to ‘play with controlled chaos.’ The result was 13 points, 12 rebounds and two assists against four turnovers.
Need for further consistency
THIS is that weird collective stat just like in football where a team can have the most time of possession or even shots at goal but still lose.
billboards do the job socmed
Consider that FEU had more points off turnovers (20-13), rebounds (44-35), points in the paint (40-36), second chance points (17-11), bench points (31-12), and fastbreak points (20-16), but they still lost.
Ateneo had better statistics in the first half but when they coughed up that 18-point lead (48-30) in the third period, that really boosted FEU’s opportunity to steal the game. The Tamaraws’ collective body language was better in the second half (especially after the 26th minute).
When Ateneo got its second wind, they once more gained a double-digit lead late in the game. It was the unforced errors that allowed FEU to come back.
The Blue Eagles take on National University this coming Wednesday, October 28 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Ateneo upended NU 87-76 in the first round encounter. They will shoot for a repeat win while the latter will seek revenge.
Needless to say, this is a big game, and the Bulldogs are stoked more so after crushing Adamson, 79-43, also last Saturday. That mauling if Adamson saw the Bulldogs return to the top of the league standings with a 6-2 record. Ateneo is at 7th with an even 4-4 slate with percentage points separating them from four other squads with similar win-loss records.