Additional thoughts on the ADMU-DLSU game

ON THE TOP GUNS

CHRIS TIU

Sensing that his three-point shooting is not at its usual best, he found other ways to score and create opportunities for the Eagles. His 17 of 19 Free throws made was more than what the whole La Salle team scored from the stripe. In the crucial moments of the game he was 6 of 7 from the stripe to give the Ateneans the win.

JV CASIO

He was simply amazing! JV Casio is fun to watch and he is just as cool as ice. He started the game with a triple and his 19 points paced the Archers. Ateneans panic when he gets a clear line from the arc and every time he squeezes in the lane for a lay up (which he did twice) everyone prays that he misses- but he barely does. Add to that the fact that he was not 100% in that game. Yes he was defended well in the homestretch but he will be back.

ON TEAM DEFENSE

ATENEO – The Ateneo defense, although very effective during the last seven minutes of the game still had a lot of loopholes, Ryan Buenafe for one doesn’t play defense. Maui Villanueva scored four points, his first field goal was an unmolested undergoal shot, his second was an uncontested jumper and Ryan was guarding him. How many open shots did Ateneo give? LA Revilla was open and he sank a three, same with Simon Atkins and James Mangahas. Consistency wins games and I hope with a couple of games the Blue Eagles can address their inconsistency with their defense.

LASALLE – In this game, La Salle still showed that it is the better defender. Their defense is what kept them in the game and I can’t remember any Ateneo shot that was not contested. Ateneo has found an answer to their pressure defense but that’s just half the story, their very active zone defense was effective in negating Ateneo’s inside presence since their shooters were off.

ON THE DEFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE GAME

NONOY BACLAO

FLYSWATTER is his middle name. Rico Maierhofer came into the game with confidence brimming in his smile. After a few plays Rico goes into the lane and gets swatted away. In what can be described as the defensive play of the game with the score tied at 71-all, Nonoy reacts right away when he saw PJ Walsham open and about to score two points and give DLSU the lead– BAM! The points were never scored and the ball was recovered in the bleachers section. Almost everyone thinks twice when confronted with the flyswatter!

YURI ESCUETA

It was almost 5 minutes into the second quarter and I was asking myself, “Is Yuri going to play?” Then I pondered upon that question and then I said to myself, “Coach Norman might be reserving him for JV Casio for crunch time!” Lo and behold, during the last few minutes of the 4^th quarter it was Yuri who took on JV and because he was quick enough to fight through screens he disrupted Casio’s rhythm and forced JV to take bad shots. The rule is you never let JV take a good shot because you will pay dearly! Add to that his block of LA Revilla that would have turned the game around.

ON THE ROOKIES

RYAN BUENAFE

Ball Hog. He is probably the first Ateneo rookie to start in the UAAP on opening day and I think he had moments but was not brilliant. He had some lousy plays and turnovers. He has to be reminded about the fact that offense is just a part of basketball, you still have to play defense. But then again it’s just the first game of the season.

NICO SALVA

I love the way he plays. He is a sound defender and I like the way he takes the ball to the whole. He will still fight for some playing time but I believe his time will come. I hope this guy will mature ripely.

VINCE BURKE

He looked liked he was lost in the woods and a turnover waiting to happen. But Alas, Vince managed to score 4 points and had a block shot. I believe that’s better than what Doug Kramer did when he was a rookie – does anyone remember what Doug did in his debut besides play “patintero” on the shaded lane? I heard that German Moreno offered to give Vince a tree that he now calls Burke’s Tree…from Holland.

OTHER ROOKIES

JOSHUA WEBB – I watched him play while he was still in DLS-Z and his energy is infectious that it rubbed off his teammates. He leaps like Rico and has a strong move to the basket. Has good timing with his jump and is fit for DLSU’s type of play and defensive system. He is not your average go to guy but will score and more importantly defend well when challenged.

LA REVILLA – He signaled his entry to the UAAP by nailing a three pointer. He is cat quick and I think even quicker than TY Tang, just give him some time and seasoning and he will give us lots of problems in future Ateneo vs. La Salle games.

ON SOME OTHER THOUGHTS

… Is the three referee rule in effect every game? That must be the reason why so many fouls were called and so many players shot free throws that resulted in the game ending a little over 7pm.

… I believe that the two Technical fouls were uncalled for.

….Ateneo only sank one three pointer and that was in the first few minutes of the game. So what happened to Jai Reyes, Kirk Long and shall we say Chris Tiu?

...Free throw shooting was clearly the deciding factor of the game as the Blue Eagles shot better on the stripe (around 80%) while the Archers missed more than 50% of their shots.

…I hope Dick Gordon will not blame me for being responsible for the death of his Eagle in 1991.

...Pop Quiz…How many pounds did Jobe Nkemakolam lose?

….Did I remember it right, Chris Tiu’s three-pointer in the first few minutes of the game was the only three-pointer we made? Some light on this please.

... I hope Jai Reyes and Kirk Long will both bounce back from their sub par shooting game.

… I hope MVP will not confuse me as Norman’s brother or Jobe’s uncle

…Congrats Coach Norman, at least we are winning … I hope the team becomes more consistent in the other games that they will play. Whatever happens I will always BET ON BLACK!!!

But then again that’s just me.