SPIRAL Restaurant at the Sofitel

They say it’s really great to have friends who treat you on their natal day and let you indulge in one of the best restaurants in town. A lot of people have been saying that if money is no object then one of the best buffets in town is the one at the SOFITEL Hotel which used to be called the Westin Philippine Plaza- the Restaurant's name is SPIRAL. The buffet includes dishes that are Meditteranian, Korean, Chinese,Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Filipino, American, Italian, Indian and many more just try to see what happened to me.

This is my first plate which consists of prawns, tuna sashimi, tuna maki, california maki, and a load full of my favorite - salmon.

Not content I tried another recipe similar to gambas, some grilled prawns, lechon, kani, steak that is medium rare and some lamb chops.

The theme for the third dish is Chinese with some dumplings, tempura, and a mixture of chinese goose wrapped in lumpia wrapper and also some peking duck.


After a few chomps I went back to the japanese table and got some salmon again and Baba added a slice of sumptuous eel to give additional flavor to what I got.

There were a lot of nice desserts but I decided to get a mango crepe which had chocolate syrup on it to give it another distinct taste.

I remember that the first time I saw Nella, Baba's sister, she was just in grade six. Now she is a fashionista.

Monique, Mark and I shared a lot of laughs and stories as we tried to give each other tips on what to eat and what is nice to have. Honestly, I got fed up talking about all that food!

Atty. Coco Dimayuga, one of Baba's buddies from College to Law school to after work was also there. I haven't seen him for almost two years. We missed the parties at their house. (hint, hint)

The variety of the food is quite great and the everything is simply one of a kind.

Times change and so do appetites. Buffets like these would definitely be a piece of cake for me, pardon the pun, but unfortunately four plates of food just shows that I have tapered off.

I thank my good Friend Atty. Milagros “Baba” San Jose who invited me for the second time around here in this place which houses the best meals in town. Its been twenty years since we started dating in High School...ooops wrong girl, since we became friends rather. She is really a dime a dozen! Here is to hoping that she will invite me back again next time. Happy Birthday Baba.

Ateneo gets win No. 12 and UAAP top spot

This year, there won’t be any more upsets that will rock the standings as the Ateneo Blue Eagles made sure of that as they crushed the upset conscious National University Bulldogs 83-54. Rabah Al-Husaini erupted for 20 points 6 rebounds and 3 assists as he was again the Blue Eagle’s tower of power with his impressive jump hooks and fastbreak lay ups. This is the fifth game that Al-Husaini has scored 20 points as he led the Eagles from stgrt AND finish as he scored 10 first quarter points and 1- fourth quarter points.

The Blue Eagles started the quarter smoking as Rabah started the game with a three point play. Rabah scored 1-0 first quarter points while Ryan Buenafe sank five free throws while the rest of the crew chipped in to give Ateneo a 23-7 lead. The NU Bulldogs then woke up as Edwin Asoro, Chuck Berry and Michael Luy presided on a 9 to 3 run to close the quarter only down by ten 26-16.

During the second quarter, the NU Bulldogs sharpened their fangs and came back as Aaron Galapon scattered 7 points and played good defense to frustrate the Blue Eagles which was forced to three turnovers and six missed field goals. Jonathan Jhanke, who was last year’s hero in their win against the Eagles scored on a fastbreak as he put the Bulldogs on top 32-31. The Blue Eagles then countered with a Jobe Nkemakolam basket and that was enough to wake up the Captain, Chris Tiu, who missed his first five field goals and two free throws prior to sinking his first three pointer which circled the rim for seconds before finally going in. That was enough to heat up Captain Chris as he sank another three pointer that fired up the Blue Eagles and paved the way for two more triples for the team courtesy of Jai Reyes and Eric Salamat that gave more breathing room for the Eagles at the half with a 49-37 lead. The Eagles only had three turnovers at the half but was outrebounded by the Bulldogs 29-18.

In the third quarter, the Blue Eagles missed 16 field goals, had three turnovers which the Bulldogs did not capitalize on. Instead, the Bulldogs missed 8 field goals, 5 free throws and had 4 turnovers as their runs were unsustainable and fizzled as the Blue Eagles defense choked the Bulldogs.Both teams played superb defense in the third which resulted in missed shots and turnovers for both teams.

The fourth quarter was just formality for the entry of the Eagles as the best team in the elimination round as Rabah Al-Husaini underscored his might by scoring ten straight points to put the game beyond recall and more importantly the no.1 spot in the final four which makes the game against DLSU a no bearing game.

This is the first time since 1988 that the Blue Eagles have won 12 games in the elimination and this bunch of Eagles are poised to match the 13-1 record of the 1987 champion team.

The scores:

Ateneo 83 – Al-Hussaini 20, Tiu 16, Salamat 12, Reyes 11, Buenafe 9, Baclao 4, Nkemakolam 4, Long 3, Burke 2, Salva 2, Baldos 0, Chua 0, Escueta 0, Gonzaga 0.

NU 58 – Asoro 19, Galapon 7, Luy 7, Jahnke 6, Aguilar 4, Tungcul 4, Berry 3, Batac 2, Catamora 2, Garcia 2, Magat 2, dela Cruz 0, Ponferrada 0.

Quarter scores: 26-16; 49-37; 61-48; 83-58

REDEEM TEAM REDEEMED.

The Gold goes back to TEAM USA

I saw parts of the game and Sky Cable was great enough to have problems during the championship. So I just got this report form Associated press that says what happened to the campaign of TEAM USA and how they won the game against the Spaniards.

BEIJING (AP) Arm-in-arm, they climbed onto the middle of the medals platform, the spot that for so long was U.S. private property. Some players flashed their Olympic medals to the crowd. One pretended to take a bite, just to make sure it was real. Yep, it was gold - the color the Americans always used to win but hadn't since 2000.

Pau Gasol played a monster game

Culminating a three-year mission to end years of embarrassment, the U.S. team survived a huge challenge from Spain, winning 118-107 in the gold-medal game Sunday. Order was restored in international basketball. "Much respect to Spain, but the U.S. is back on top again," LeBron James said at a press conference attended by the entire team. But not by that much anymore. After overwhelming everyone for seven games, the Americans led by only four points with under 2½ minutes to play. Then they proved they could handle a close game that it seemed would never come in Beijing.

LA Lakers Kobe and Pau square off

Their prize: the first U.S. gold medal since the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Argentina won the bronze with an 87-75 victory against Lithuania. Dwyane Wade scored 27 points for the Americans, who found a much gamer Spanish team than the one they humiliated by 37 points earlier in the tournament. Kobe Bryant added 20 points. In a game so devoid of defense that it felt more like an NBA All-Star game than one with a title at stake, the Americans had too much offense down the stretch. Bryant converted a clutch four-point play with 3:10 remaining, holding his finger to his lips to quiet the rowdy Spanish crowd behind the basket. Wade added another 3-pointer that made it 111-104 with just over 2 minutes left, and only then could the Americans relax a little. They began to celebrate during a break after some technical fouls on Spain with 26 seconds left, then partied at midcourt when it was over with "Born in the USA" blaring over the arena's speakers.

Kobe silences the Spaniards

"We played with great character in one of the great games in international basketball history, I think," U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski said. Nobody else had been close to the Americans in Beijing. This team's only Olympic competition had been history, in a Dream matchup with guys named Jordan, Magic, Bird and the rest of the U.S. team that dominated the Barcelona Games in 1992. Forget comparisons to those guys. The Americans were lucky to be better than Spain on Sunday.

Chris shows whose the BOSH!

Rudy Fernandez scored 22 points and Pau Gasol had 21 for the Spanish, the reigning world champions who were hoping to win their first Olympic gold. U.S. players appreciated the challenge, hugging the Spanish players afterward. Bryant had an especially long embrace for Gasol, patting his Los Angeles Lakers teammate on the back.

"They did what they were supposed to do," Gasol said. "We fought hard all the way." Seeming to appreciate the moment, after congratulating Spain, the team joined in a circle, jumping up and down at center court and waving triumphantly to the crowd as Krzyzewski applauded on the sidelines.

"I know that we had a tough road ahead of us. We knew that these guys weren't going to roll over and give up that easily," U.S. forward Chris Bosh said. "So we had to be men, and that's what it takes to win." The Americans had won their first seven games by 30.3 points, including a 119-82 rout of Spain. But they never had control of this game, giving up open looks from the perimeter and plenty of points in the paint against the defending world champions, who were playing without injured point guard Jose Calderon. Bryant, who waited so long to finally wear the red, white and blue, hit two 3-pointers in a big fourth quarter to add the gold medal to his collection of basketball hardware. The three-time NBA champion and league MVP pounded his hands toward the floor in celebration at the end.

Americans end the Reign of Spain as the World's best

James scored 14 points, while Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul had 13 apiece for the Americans, who had won bronze medals in their last two international events, the 2004 Olympics and '06 world championships. The U.S. started planning for this game after the Athens Games four years ago, the low point in its hoops history, following a sixth-place flop two years earlier in the world championships. Jerry Colangelo was given control of USA Basketball and constructed a national team program in 2006, requiring those who wanted to play to commit to three years. He got Bryant and James quickly on board and landed almost everyone else he asked for, finding a group of NBA stars eager to give up their summer to get back what they felt belonged to their country.

Team USA helped each other get this victory

And he needed all of them against a Spanish team that on this day would have likely beaten any other recent U.S. squad. "Being a part of the '04 team, we really didn't get the opportunity to showcase our talent," said Wade, one of four holdovers from Athens. "We really wanted to come in and help lead this team." Jason Kidd ran his record to 56-0 in senior international play and collected another gold to place alongside the one he earned in 2000, becoming the 13th U.S. player with multiple golds. That elite list, which includes Michael Jordan and seven other Dream Teamers, could grow in 2012. Paul and Dwight Howard said they would be in London if asked, and perhaps half this team could join them.

It this really gold?

James ran out for pregame warmups with his finger in the air, already believing the U.S. was No. 1. But even though the Americans were shooting better than 70 percent for most of the first half, it would take a long time to prove it. James and Bryant were both on the bench after picking up two fouls in the first 3½ minutes, and though Wade came in and picked up their scoring load, the U.S. reserves couldn't open their usual cushion. Spain hit seven of its first nine shots, leading for much of the first quarter. A quick burst of 10 points by James and Wade had the U.S. advantage up to 14 points with 4 minutes left in the half, but Spain chipped away and trailed only 69-61 at the break.

"We faced some incredible teams here," Bryant said. "We knew coming in that Spain was going to be a big problem." Fernandez's 3-pointer cut it to 91-89 with 8:13 remaining in the game, but Bryant answered with a bucket and then a 3, and things seemed safe when James scored to make it 103-92. Spain made one last push to close within 108-104 on Carlos Jimenez's 3-pointer, but Wade hit one on the other end, and the final score became lopsided when the Americans hit a bunch of free throws after the Spanish became frustrated and were called for the technicals.

The Scores

USA (118)
Wade 27, Bryant 20, James 14, Paul 13, Anthony 13, Howard 8, Bosh 8, WIllaims 7, Prince 6, Kidd 2, Boozer 0, Redd 0

SPAIN (107)
Fernandez 22, P. Gasol 21, Navarro 18, Jimenez 12, M. Gasol 11, Reyes 10, Rubio 6, Garbajosa 3, Mumbru 2, Rodriguez 2, Lopez 0

Quarter scores: 38-31, 69-61, 91-82, 118-107

Ateneo gets win no.11

The Ateneo Blue Eagles closed out the Battle of Katipunan with a win once again as they buried the centennial hosts, the UP Maroons, with a masterful 79-58 win at the Araneta Coliseum.

The Ateneo Blue Eagles seized the upperhand rightaway but failed to sustain it as the Maroons ended the quarter strong as they kept the Blue Eagles at bay 12-11. The Blue Eagles then called on Rabah and Chris to give the Blue Eagles enough distance as they padded the lead to eight by the end of the first half. The game was quite boring from then on since the only thing that was not final was the score.Rabah Al-Husainni scored 177 pts in the past three seasons he played for the Blue Eagles, this year he is averaging 17.83 points per game for the Blue Eagles as he scattered 24 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in another double-double effort to lead the cause of the Eagles. Supporting After sitting out the last three minutes of the game against UE with cramps, team captain Chris Tiu was 4 rebounds short of a triple double. Chris scored 14 points, grabbed six rebounds and issued 10 assists, the most assists in the UAAP for the past two years. The confidence of Tiu in his teammates showed in this game as he was there to spot the open man and was content in doing so. Just like in the game against Adamson in which he just took three shots, the captain was more satisfied with making his team mates get their games going and just spot up when needed.

The win gave the Blue Eagles another chance to finish no.1, the Blue Eagles have won 11 games in the eliminations in 1987, 1988, 2000, and 2003. This is the 10^th consecutive season that we will be in the final four while in contrast, the Figthing Maroons who were sporting new Black uniforms have missed the final four for the 11^th straight year. The last Maroon team that played in the final four were led by the troika of Paolo Mendoza, Bryan Gahol and Ogie Gumatay.

The scores:

Ateneo 79 – Al-Hussaini 24, Tiu 14, Buenafe 8, Baclao 6, Reyes 6, Baldos 5, Long 4, Escueta 3, Gonzaga 3, Salamat 3, Salva 3, Burke 0, Chua 0, Gonzaga 0, Sumalinog 0.

UP 58 – Co 10, Sison 10, de Asis 7, dela Victoria 6, Sorongon 6, Lopez 5, Astorga 4, Braganza 3, Gamboa 3, Hipolito 3, Reyes 1, Maniego 0, Marfori 0, Pajela 0.

Quarter scores: 12-11; 36-28; 54-42; 79-58

Picture CIty pictorial of NAASCU Beauties

Girls: L-R Angelica, Miles, Jenny
Guys: Roy & Xander

Pictorials are always fun to do especially when you are already viewing the beauty of the pictures you have just shot. One of the sponsors of the NAASCU is Picture City and one thing funny about Picture city is that I discovered that the owner is an Assoc mate and barkada from the Ateneo – Paul Santos. Paul was with his sister Tess who i got to meet years ago when she was a freshman in college, now she has her own family and heads the Marketing of picture city. Looking at her you would still mistake her as a fresh graduate considering that she still looks very young and shy.

Just this morning we had a pictorial at the picture city studio in Timog where 5 students who vied for Mr. and Ms. NAASCU during the opening were called upon by the Picture city management for another photo shoot. If you were to visit Picture City centers you are in for a treat with their 10 +3 promo for digital photos for it gives you a chance to get freebies specially when you have lots of your photos printed. The pictures in this pictorial will be sent to various picture city branches that they will in turn post in their branches. Besides the usual solos they students also posed as a barakda.

Jenny, Angelica & Miles

Like what they say we all have our favorites, well the fave of the Picture city crew were these five lovely and lively students from various NAASCU schools. The students who were picked to join this crazy 5 barkada were Jennifer de Guzman of Informatics North Avenue Branch, Xander Galisim a Nursing student from the University of Makati, Roy Sincoza and Angelica Reyes of San Sebastian Cavite and Miles Cajumban of who is a BS Nursing student from STI College Sta. Cruz.

The gals smile at the handsome photographer

The guys were a little bit tight at the start, what do you expect they only saw each other during the opening of the NAASCU and never had a chance to talk to each other. Eventually the tightness tapered off and they somewhat began to get a little bit of chemistry in their photos. Your typical ordinary students learning and starting to become photo shoot professionals. Its hard to put five unfamiliar faces and expect them to have a sense of chemistry rightaway most specially when they shot the group shots first. But eventually they got it.

Miles with the Real Aga Muhlach

As usual I myself tried to practice by getting some shots also and I am quite happy with the results of my shots.

ATENEO WINS OVER UE 61-57

As the season progresses the UE Red Warriors become hungrier and focused on beating the Ateneo Blue Eagles. After that Chris Tiu jumper in the NSL and first round loss to the Eagles, the Red Warriors thought that this was one game that won’t slip away until Ateneo got its act together just in the nick of time to eke out an ugly 61-57 overtime win over UE. This is as ugly as any game could get as the Blue Eagles crawled back from an eight point deficit and shooting slump to nail four three pointers in the payoff period to beat the hard fighting and hard defending Red Warriors.

The first quarter started with both teams scoreless for almost two minutes as Mike Baldos found the bottom of the net with a lay up off the UE press with 8:10 to go. Ateneo led 4-0 until UE leveled at 6-all when Paul Lee who did not play in the first round against Ateneo and James Martinez sank two consecutive triples to level the count. Both teams were electrified on defense as the Eagles were forced to four early turnovers while the Red Warriors got five offensive rebounds but no putback points. The Chris TIu paced the Eagles with 6 first quarter points as Rabah struggled because of the immediate double team on him by the Red Warriors as the quarter ended with the Warriors on top 13-12.

The second quarter saw defense settle in with a lot of turnovers and missed shots. The Blue Eagles averaged 14 turnovers per game but was forced into 15 turnovers in the first half alone. Credit it to the intense defense of the Warriors. The only thing that kept the Eagles in the game was their ability to get inside, get some fouls and score on the line. The Blue Eagles lead the league in most free throws attempted while in contrast the Red Warriors are the last in that department. The period ended with the Warriors still on top 22-21.


In the third quarter, Ateneo threatened to pull away by erecting an eight point lead 30-22 mainly through the efforts of Nonoy Baclao< style=""> The third quarter ended with the Warriors still on top 42-36.

Ateneo has never trailed a game going to the fourth quarter, the only time they did not was on a 47-all tie with guess who – the Warriors. As the game progressed it was looking like an upset in the making. The Warrior’s zone defense has done wonders since Ateneo was shooting 0 of 11 from beyond the arc. After Eric Salamat scored on a drive Marcy Arellano scored four consecutive points to give UE an eight point lead 46-38 which signaled another Ateneo timeout by Coach Norman Black. After that timeout the Blue Eagles were a different team as they uncorked their own run courtesy of the two three pointers by Captain Chris and another one by Ryan Buenafe that suddenly saw the Eagles cut the UE lead to one 47-48 with 2:59 left to play. The most crucial play of the game came when Chris Tiu got the ball, almost lost it, dribbled past two defenders off a screen, faked the shot and nailed the three pointer from beyond the professional three point line and tied the score 50-all to send the game to overtime.

By the time the overtime came, Captain Chris cramped out as his muscles took its toll after playing for nearly 40 minutes. After he left, Rabah, Ryan and Nonoy took matters in their own hands. Rabah scored four, Nonoy four and Ryan the most important three points of the game most specially his dipsy doo over three UE defenders that gave the Eagles back the lead 59-57 with 21 seconds left. After Nonoy stamped his defense over the high flying Elmer Espiritu by bothering his shot, he scored the insurance baskets with two free throws to give the Blue Eagles a league leading 10-1 slate.

MVP candidate Rabah Al-Husaini experienced a rough night but still scored 19 pts and pulled down 11 rebounds. Nonoy Baclao also had a double by scoring 10 pts hauling down 13 rebs and getting 2 blocks. The win was really an ugly one since the Blue Eagles shot an excruciating 29 % from the field, the worse FG % to win a game in the UAAP. As they say, a win is still a win however ugly it may be. Nesxt stop, the UP Maroons, GO Ateneo. Thanks Nono for the pictures.

THE CLONE WARS

The Clone wars was just another chapter in the never ending saga of the force. It’s a good thing that the movie was made in animation since there were really some things that I believe were good in animation. Unfortunately the story line if you put it was just a simple save the huttlet plot. The story is somewhat STAR WARS 2.5 if you would remember that the second editon of the movie ended with General Kenobi discovering the cloned army but when the third edition of the movie started it was already in the middle of the clone wars.

A lot stories can be made about the war but this time as always Anakin Skywalker takes centerstage again with another character Ashoka Tano, a young kid who is Anakin’s padawan learner. Imagine the hot headed and rebellious person that he is Anakin is given someone with which he shares his learnings. And like him, Ashoka is also belligerent, does things first without thinking and is always emotional.

STAR WARS has always brought in new characters everytime they have a new saga, most notable character besides Ashoka is Asajj Ventress, another one of the Count Dokku’s trusted assassins. Trained to duel with dual light sabers Ventress is just like Darth Maul in the phantom menace. If this movie would have not been an animation I would have casted Angelina Jolie for this role. At the same time the separatists army robots were all humorous which was something not seen in the other Star Wars movies.

In the end, watching Star Wars even in animation is a joy. I believe that there are a thousand and one stories that one can write in this saga to which I commend George Lucas. Hope there will be another one like it.

Basketball Crazy gets crazier

Basketball crazy crew Marko, Joseph and Guia

Tracy had the flu but that did not deter her from being her bubbly self. I myself had a lot on my mind since next week is the grand event that all STIers have been waiting for and we are quite lacking in preparation. The show started late since technically there were some problems and we had to wait for some technical stuff that arrived a little after 9pm. Guests for this evening were Fil-Am Solomon Mercado who played for the PBL Champs Harbour Centre, Two Time PBA MVP Willie Miller of the Alaska Aces and Yuri Escueta and Nico Salva of the Ateneo Blue Eagles.

TThe crazy Trio with Solomon Mercado

SOLOMON MERCADO

Solomon’s story is somewhat very inspiring. His father was a junkie and got jailed, he was on drugs even before he became a teenager and he was a troubled teen. His Father is Puerto Rican while his mom Filipina and he was raised by his mom and sisters. Luckily he got good guidance from his mom and other Christian guardians who straightened him up. Back in high school Solomon was a two sport athlete who played point guard in basketball and running back for their football team. When he went to college he decided that he’ll concentrate on basketball which has a lot less contact as opposed to football. One of the life turning incidents in his life was the accident he got into with which a vehicle cut him and he spun around and got hurt. Although not that serious, the bumps and burns did not deter him to run more than 200 yards and two touchdowns in their playoff win. He is lucky he said since he got good advice from friends for him to play in the Philippines. He said that the only difference is that the big guys in the US are really big as to the 6’7’s and 6’8s that he gets to face here. Solomon has set his sights on the PBA draft and we hope that he can fit in a team that will fully utilize his strengths and hopefully inspire other kids to be athletes first and do not be involved in drugs. Good Luck Solomon.

Bill the thriller with Willie Miller

WILLIE MILLER

He said that he was first discovered in General Santos playing for Region 3 in the Palarong Pambansa. Willie has an American father and a Filipina mother and he hails from Olongapo city. From there he went to Letran and played for then Coach Molet Pineda. IN Letran, although they never did win a title, his most notable team mates back then were Chris Calaguio and Kerby Raymundo. From the Knights he went on to play for the then Tanduay Rhum amateur team with the likes of Eric Menk and Renren Ritualo. Then he went to star for the Nueva Ecija Patriots in the MBA and later on he was picked first overall in the 2001 rookie draft. He became rookie of the year and is now a two time MVP. At first glance I never thought that he spoke straight English, it was nice to note that when you talk to him in English he automatically answers you in straight English and if you ask in Tagalog he answers you in Tagalog. He is quite jolly and fun to interview and he even said that he is a natural off guard whose instinct is to shoot first. Since he was transposed by Coach Tim Cone to point guard he had a lot of adjusting and is often scolded by Coach Tim. He is just sad that their team came to gel at the latter part of the ongoing Fiesta Conference in which they were eliminated. He told Alaska fans to wait for their resurgence in the coming conferences. With that we bid him good luck and hope that the Aces Ace the next conference.

Willie joined our interview with the two Eagles

YURI ESCUETA AND NICO SALVA

They were once San Beda Boys but now they are now Ateneo Men! Yuri Escueta is happy that the Eagles are on top but said that they are not content with what they have accomplished since the season is not yet over and they have not yet dethroned the reigning champs. Nico on the other hand is slowly getting to the groove of things as a Blue Eagle. He is happy with his role as a person who hustles, gives energy and plays good defense as he understands that his time will come. He said that he decided to go to the Ateneo since he values his education well and that he believes in the coaching philosophy of Coach Norman. Yuri said that he has already recovered from the knee injury he suffered in the game against UE and are looking at DLSU as still the team that they have to beat to get the crown. One thing nice is that Yuri and Jayvee Casio were former classmates and team mates back in San Beda. On the other hand Nico shares the same sentiment because his team mate LA Revilla is now with the Green Archers. Both mentioned that they are still friends and nothing has changed since they focus more on what they can bring to the team. To end the interview, Nico Salva said – “To all Blue Eagles fans please watch us for this year we will go all the way!” Hope that the Basketball Crazy luck will rub on you Nico. Good luck to the Eagles.

The Blue Eagles with the Black Eagle

The show ended with me drinking a third of a glass of Datu Puti Vinegar which was poured into a glass by Willie Miller. Remember our bet? What came out was that JRU won over Letran which means I lost since I thought LEtran will come out on top. Next week, Game 7 of the Finals, I picked Air 21 over Ginebra. So as we say, “Life is a ball so just shoot and score!”

Eagles soar higher than Falcons 78-59

The Blue Eagles, ready to win it all

“Ateneo on the fastbreak and the Blue Eagles score on a pass to…to…Rabah Al-Husaini???” How often does one see a 6-7 Center run the floor and become the recipient of the fastbreak play? The Ateneo Blue Eagles has just showed that as their Fil-Kuwaiti Center Rabah Al-Husaini ran the floor like a gazelle and was the recipient of a lot of fastbreak passes. Al-Husaini, running second in the MVP race, scored 29 points, pulled down 6 rebounds, issued 2 assists and had 2 blocks as he led the Ateneo Blue Eagles to a 78-59 over the Adamson Soaring Falcons to add on to the winning streak against this team to 23 games.

Rabah scores 29 pts, pulls down 6 rebounds and has 2 blocks

The first quarter is basically the story of the game as Rabah Al-Husaini stamped his height and might rightaway. Jai Reyes drives to the hoop and passes the ball to Rabah, the big guy scores and gets fouled- he sinks the bonus for a 3-0 count. Dejavu, Jai passed the ball to Rabah again and he scores. Then the next play Ryan passes the ball to Rabah who drives to the hoop, scores and then gets fouled again- Rabah sinks the bonus 8 – 0. To cap it all up Rabah scores on a jumper as Ateneo opened the quarter with a 10-3 lead thanks to the Al-Husaini scoring tutorial. The game plan was that Rabah was suppose to score the first 78 point, but unfortunately he got tired. Rabah scored 14 first quarter points as Ateneo led 22-11 after one quarter of action.

Nonoy scores

Inconsistencies marred the play of the Falcons as they buckled in some stretches with the Eagles going to Eric Salamat and Jai Reyes who scored 5 and 4 points respectively while the rest of the team added 10 points on different set of plays. The Falcons just matched the scoring of the Eagles and was not organized on defense and relied more on some steals by Jeric Canada and the nearest they got was at 6 points 31-37. The only thing nice with what the Falcons were doing was that they had a 9-2 edge on offensive rebounds but unfortunately failed to capitalize on it.

The Falcons started the third quarter with renewed energy as they threatened the Blue Eagles as they cut their lead to just six 39-45 as Jan Colina, Jerick Canada and Paul Gonzalgo showed that they are not about to be shut down. Ateneo calls a timeout and goes back again to their prized center. In the first game between these two teams, Rabah Alhusaini scored only 2 points and in this quarter Rabah scored another 10 points off the passes of Chris and Eric on the fast break. From a six point lead the Eagles shut down the falcons to take a 59-41 lead. Alex Nuyles helped weather the storm as he conspired to a 7-0 wind up to be within striking distance after three quarters as they face a 48-59 deficit.

Nonoy blocks another shot

The Blue Eagles had the luxury to experiment and put in some of its other players with the Blue Eagles led by Mr. Intangible Eric Salamat who sank two three pointers enroute to 10 fourth quarter points and 17 overall. Eric also had a record six steals that went along with his 3 assists and 3 rebounds. The biggest lead of the Eagles came after a three point play by Nonoy Baclao off an offensive rebound from a miss by Rabah that gave the Eagles a commanding 74 – 55 lead with less than four minutes remaining. The Falcons never really recovered or put up much resistance as the defense of the Eagles were complemented by their offense. Eleven Eagles scored with Vince Burke and Mike Baldos being the only ones who did not come up with a basket. For the 23^rd straight time the Eagles flew higher than the falcons.

Chris took only three shots but we still won

Notably missing in the scoring parade was Mike Galinato of the Falcons who was scoreless in this game. Chris Tiu, who scored 29 points against UST and averages almost 15 points per game, took only three field goals and scored only two points from two free throws in the 2^nd quarter. With nine wins and only UE and DLSU standing in their way, the Blue Eagles are poised to get the number seeding for the eliminations, the last time they were in this position was in 2006 with which they entered the finals and lost to the Growling Tigers. Hope springs eternal as we pray for a good wind up of the Blue Eagles in the eliminations.