Eagles soar higher than Falcons

Are the rumors true that his mother
is a Movie star named Amy?

Blue Nation is in jubilation as the Ateneo Blue Eagles soared higher and continued to haunt the low flying Adamson Falcons with a 72-45 win in the resumption of the 71^st UAAP. Bacon Austria, the 2006 UAAP Juniors MVP was all business in helping the Blue Eagles get one win over his father Leo Asutria's team as they shut down the Falcons in the last five minutes of the game enroute to the 27 point win. It was a nightmare for the Falcons as the Eagles showed which bird flies higher.

Even though Chris was not his usual self,
He was just Tiu good Tiu be true

Coach Norman started with Nonoy Baclao, Jai Reyes and Rookie Nico Salva together with Chris Tiu and Rabah Al-Husaini and they immediately made an impact by leading 9-5 and forcing Adamson Center Michael Galinato to two early fouls. Unfortunately the Eagles could not sustain their blistering start as their sloppy play and anemic shooting made the Falcons come alive and end the quarter at 14-13.The second quarter was an exhibit on how not to play basketball as the Ateneans led by Chris Tiu who shot 1 of 6 from the field misfired most of their shots. The Eagles ended the half with a 30-27 lead which came from a rim rattling 13 of 34 shooting and 1 of 8 from beyond the arc. The Falcons were worse with 9 of 33 from the field but was 4 of 13 from the three point area. The only bright spot for the Eagles was their 9 fastbreak points as against none for the Falcons. The Falcons and Eagles had 10 and 8 turnovers respectively.

Surprisingly Nonoy Baclao,
who started the game,
was not in foul trouble.

The third quarter was not much better but nevertheless the Eagles still found the basket as Chris Tiu led a 10-2 run on 3 of 5 shooting to take a 40-29 lead. The Falcons then countered with a 5-0 run on a buzzer beating triple by Jeff Olalia and a fastbreak by Alexander Nuyles trimmed the Eagles lead to six. The Eagles managed to stem the tide as the quarter ended with them padding their halftime lead to 7 as they go to the final 10 minutes with a 44-37 lead.

Nico will be an Ateneo hero in the future...the Salva - Bida!

The fourth quarter saw both teams grope for form once again as the defense of both teams tightened. The Falcons closed the gap as Michael Galinato scored on a drive to cut the Ateneo lead to 50-43 after Chris Tiu scored on a hard drive on the other end. After Galinato missed his bonus free throw, everything suddenly went sour for the Falcons as they had a hard time converting a field goal in the last five minutes. The Eagles then took advantage - Ryan Buenafe scored on two free throws, Nico Salva scored on a drive and fake move plus a bonus free throw, Bacon buries three free throws, Jai Reyes scores on a jumper plus two more free throws, Oping Sumalinog drops a three pointer, Justin Chua drops a basket and Ryan Buenafe ends the Falcons misery with a three pointer – all that in the last 5 and a half minutes. The Falcons groped for form as the Eagles clipped their wings because when they woke up they were already down 27 points!

Jai-namite exploded for 7 points

The Blue Eagles thus extend their winning streak to 22 games against the hapless Falcons. The last time the Falcons beat the Eagles the dollar rate was at P 33.6 and gasoline was still at P 12.10 while the population of the Philippines then was 69 Million, now it’s over 90 Million. Three Presidents have already served the country and from the looks of it this one streak might be hard to stop. Kudos to the good low post moves of Nico Salva, the sweet shooting of Jai Reyes, the lane incursions of Eric Salamat, the defense of Nonoy Baclao and the leadership of Chris Tiu. Fifteen Eagles saw action with only Tonino Gonzaga sitting it out as Coach Norman continuously shuffled his men looking for someone to come out with a good game. In the end it was a total team effort on both sides of the floor. Thanks to Aaron V. for the pix.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE ATENEO BLUE EAGLES!!!