A lot of basketball fans equate good players through their offense and not their all around game. In his forgettable debut against the Adamson Falcons, Kiefer Ravena gave way to 7 foot rookie Greg Slaughter as the big difference in that game was a head above the rest as he willed his way for an Ateneo victory with co-rookie Kiefer shooting only the ball once and missing. The kid understands that his offense was not yet needed against Adamson since it was not Ateneo’s game plan for the guards to score but for the big boys to muscle their way in. Unfortunately because of that decision he was castigated and branded as all hype and no bite since almost all the other highly touted rookies debuted impressively. In his second game in the UAAP Kiefer Ravena showed what he can do when given the chance to score as he jump-started the Ateneo’s offense by scoring 14 first quarter points enroute to a 22 point first half explosion to help the Blue Eagles win over the Dela Salle Green Archers 81-72.
Ravena who came off the bench in his first game started this time around and scored six straight points in the opening minute to give the Blue Eagles a 6 – 0 lead and then torched the Green Archers with an array of shots that no rookie has ever done before. Its just like telling the league that this is what you are up to if he wants to score. Ravena ended up with a double double as he eventually scored 24 points added ten rebounds, five steals and two assists which shows his all around game and the great thing here is that he is only in his second college game. Ravena also showed how good his defense is as he tapped the ball off five year veteran Simon Atkins’ hands and scored on an unmolested lay up. At the end of the first half and the Blue Eagles ahead 41 - 30, the Green Archers never knew what hit them as they never found the formula that made them beat the Blue Eagles twice in the off-season.
If Kiefer Ravena owned the first half, the third quarter saw fourth year forward Nico Salva deliver the points and his defensive tenacity sparked the defensive intensity of the Blue Eagles . Salva continued where Ravena left off scoring on drives and jumpers. The Blue Eagles eventually got their biggest lead after Ravena stole the ball once again and fed off a sprinting Kirk Long to score on a fastbreak and take a 58 -39 lead with 2 minutes and 46 seconds left. At this point Coach Dindo Pumaren has had enough and sued for time. The Green Archers then regrouped and went back to their patented full court defense that produced two consecutive turnovers that sparked another De La Salle comeback. The Green Archers eventually closed out the quarter with a strong 10 – 4 run to cut the Blue Eagle lead to 13, 62 – 49 which gave the Green Archers more breathing room.
In the fourth quarter , comebacking guard LA Revilla singlehandedly willed the Green Archers comeback as he led the DLSU attack by scoring 12 fourth quarter points to cut the lead of the Blue Eagles to five 70 – 75 with 1:03 left.Revilla scored on lay ups, short jumpers and went 4 of 6 from the line as the Blue Eagles had a hard time stopping the comebacking point guard who led the Archers with 22 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals but could not get enough support from the rest of the Green archers the way Kiefer had with the Blue Eagles.
Emman Monfort closed out the Green Archers as he sank six consecutive free throws to give the Blue Eagles their second win in as many games. In the Blue Eagles first game rookie Greg Slaughter shined and now its another rookie leading the way. The thing that excites me the most is that this is just the second game of the Blue Eagles and is clearly an idication of finer things to come for the Hail Mary team.
The scores:
Ateneo 81
Ravena 24, Salva 18, Monfort 10, Long 10, Slaughter 7, Golla 6, Tiongson 2, Gonzaga 2, Chua 2, Capacio 0, Sumalinog 0, Austria 0
De La Salle 72
Revilla 22, Tampus 10, Torres 9, de la Paz 9, Marata 9, Van Opstal 5, Villanueva 4, Mendoza 2, Atkins 2, Sara 0, Gotladera 0, Vosotros 0, Paredes 0, Webb 0
Quarter scoring: 23-16, 41-30, 62-49, 81-72
thanks to diana moraleda for the pictures
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