Guard play Jun Reyes vs. Boysie Zamar
The second half started with a three-point play by Jojo Mariquit for the Warriors to move up by sixteen, 54 – 38. This time the
Blue Eagles tried to go inside as Jun Reyes orchestrated drive and drop plays
that made Eric Reyes puncture the hole and score inside the paint which was
non-existent in the first half. The Warriors offense on the other hand
flourished even though Jerry Codinera was still riding the bench. Mariquit
could not be stopped inside, Banares and Villarias were nailing countless
perimeter shots and even back-up point guard Restituto Ella was humming by
adding six points with his own jumpers. To make matters worse for
the Blue Eagles Jerry Codinera checked back in with 12 minutes left to finish
the job as he scored four straight points and looked unstoppable. Since Nonoy
Chuatico and JV Gayoso were bleeding for their points to be able to contribute
to the Eagles offense, Eric Reyes carried the load for the Blue Eagles as he
scored 14 points in the first nine minutes of the second half. The warriors
then capitalized on this again by erecting a commanding 83 – 63 twenty point
lead with 11 minutes remaining - their biggest lead of the
game. Since the Warriors came prepared for the Blue Eagles first
five, Ateneo made one final adjustment – next man up.
Nieto for three
THE RALLY
The next ten and a half minutes saw the Blue Eagles finally awake
from their slumber and showed why they are called the Hail Mary squad. After
Jerry Codinera’s turnover, Jun Reyes darted to the frontcourt and rifled a pass
to Jet Nieto on the right wing who drilled a three pointer 66 – 83 that made
the Ateneo Gallery erupt with cheers of “One Big Fight.” When the Warriors got
the ball Ella missed a jumper, Eric Reyes got the ball then gave it to Jun
Reyes whose speed enabled him to be at the paint in a single bound and sank a
layup with a foul from Vilmer Banares – and one play 69 – 83 then we were down
fourteen. In the next play the ball went to Vilmer Banares and this
time he missed his jumper and Jun Reyes got the ball and was about to replicate
the previous play but was fouled in the act of shooting, the result
two free throws made 71 – 83 and we were down twelve. With the momentum now on
the side of the Blue Eagles with eight straight points, the Warriors went to
their big man as Jerry Codinera scored inside the paint to give the Warriors
more leeway 85 – 71 with eight minutes left. The next play had the Blue Eagles
miss, while Eric Reyes blocked David Zamar’s shot. Jun Reyes once again
attacked the paint and this time dished it off to Eric Reyes who drilled in
another two points 73 – 85 for the Blue Eagles. As the Eagles transition to defense
the Ateneo gallery’s cheers of “Get that Ball” became louder and louder that
made the Rizal Memorial Coliseum seem like there was an earthquake inside the
Coliseum. Although Codinera scored, this did not dampen Blue Eagle’s spirits
because after another UE turnover, they came out with an executed play that saw
Jet Nieto sink his second three pointer from the same spot he shot his first to
make the score 76 – 85, the first time the Blue Eagles were down single
digits. This time the Blue Eagles were ready for Codinera as Alex Araneta bodied
him up that forced him to drive and try a hook shot that failed and Alex
himself skied high to get the rebound. As Jun Reyes came down he gave Nieto
another pass at his sweet spot that made two Warriors react to cover him that
made Alex Araneta free at the bottom of the basket. Nieto got the pass to Alex
then Boom Araneta scores and brings down the lead to seven 78 – 85! That field goal of Alex almost
brought the house down as the cheers kept getting stronger. In the next play
Bartolome was whistled for an offensive foul and the response was a baseline
jumper by Nieto 80 – 85, five points down.
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| Alex Araneta played the game of his life |
Then the Warriors tried doing a
drive and drop play that resulted in Jerry Codinera being whistled for a
travelling violation that cost them an Alex Araneta free throw in the ensuing
play 81 – 85 down to four. As the Warriors go on their next
offensive the cheers of “Get that ball” became much more louder. In
the next play Jet Nieto fouled David Zamar who was gifted with two free
throws. While Zamar was on the line, the crowd’s constant distraction tactics
probably worked as the once cool Zamar missed both free throws. Jun Reyes flagged
the rebound from the missed free throw and threw a cross court pass to Nonoy
Chuatico who scored on a lay-up that cut the lead to two 83-
85. After that both team’s defense became more tight that resulted
in botched plays and luckily Eric Reyes ended up getting fouled by Zamar and Eric canned the two free throws that finally tied the score 85 –
all. The chants have reached fever pitch as the Blue Eagles finally
equalized and the Warriors are feeling the pressure.
Eric Reyes was a solid force inside
THE TAKEOVER
The next Warrior to feel the pressure was Vilmer Banares who
missed the front end of a one and one while Vernie Villarias sank one of two
free throws to give the Warriors an 86 – 85 lead. As
Villarias missed his second free throw Jun Reyes got the rebound, dribbled to the
mid-court , was met by two defenders and passed the ball to Jet Nieto who
darted to the middle of the frontcourt, drove to the hoop and scored to give
the Blue Eagles the lead 87 – 86 with more than three minutes left in the game.
The Rizal Coliseum almost exploded with that basket from Nieto and the cheers
of "Get that Ball" rattled the Warriors more because they have never experienced
something like this. First the cheers were loud, then it got louder and then much more louder and by this time the cheers were getting louder than much louder! When the Warriors got the ball back Barile was whistled
with an illegal pick. That offensive foul made UE coach Roehl Nadurata blow his
top that resulted in a technical foul given by referees Rado Mercado that meant
free throws and ball possession for the Ateneo. Jun Reyes sank one of two free
throws and scored on a another jumper after he got free when Zamar gambled for
the steal and the Blue Eagles surged ahead 90 – 86 with 3:03 left. After that
play the last three minutes became a battle of who had the steadier free throw
shooters. Banares then missed another field goal attempt and Jun Reyes missed his
layup and Codinera got fouled on the rebound. As the Ateneo crowd got wilder in
their distraction tactics, the once steady Jerry Codinera missed the front end
of a one and one. After botched offensives by both teams Jun Reyes soared high
to get the rebound off a Villarias miss and was fouled by Hojilla – easy two
points for jun and the Blue Eagles were up six 92 – 86. As the
Warriors came back to retaliate Villarias got fouled by Chuatico and was given
a one and one. This time the Warriors got lucky because as Eric Reyes was
fighting for possession for the ball on the front end of Villarias’ free
throws, he was whistled for a foul on Barile. Villarias then canned his last
free throw and Barile was given two more that he eventually sank that got the
Warriors closer 90 – 92. As the ball went back to the Eagles Jun
Reyes drove to the hoop and passed the ball to Nonoy Chuatico who missed on a
drive. The Warriors got the ball and rifled a pass to Villarias who was ready
to score on a fastbreak but got sidelined when Jun Reyes suddenly came out to tap
the ball. The Recto based squad had one lucky break as Jun Reyes
fouled former Juniors MVP Modesto Hojilla who was taking a shot from the three
point area. Hojilla was given three free throws but unfortunately missed the
first, luckily he got the second to go in and canned the third one that tied the score
92- all with 55 seconds left. Jun Reyes then tried to milk the clock
down and when he was about to drive to the hoop, the ball hit his foot and the Eagles
had a turnover.
Jun Reyes had 15 points and 13 assists
THE WIND-UP
The Warriors, proud owners of 18 UAAP titles, had a
chance to win the game but when Hojilla came off a screen to shoot the ball he
shot an airball and then fouled Nonoy Chuatico who got the rebound. Hojilla
embraced Chuatico which was an automatic intentional foul that merited two free
throws and ball possession. Chuatico missed his first free throw but sank his
second for a slim 93 – 92 lead with 16 seconds left. The Blue Eagle
possession saw the Ateneo team milk the clock again as Nonoy passed the
ball to Jun then back to Jun then to Eric Reyes who was fouled by Jerry Codinera. That infraction was the fifth and last foul of Codinera that ended his UAAP career. When Codinera’s last foul
was whistled as an intentional foul, the Ateneo gallery went wild and unfurled
various “We’re No. 1” banners to signal their inevitable win with 3 seconds
left in the game. Reyes then sank one of this two free throws and
the team from Katipunan wasted the time as the final buzzer sounded with the
Ateneo Blue Eagles winning their first UAAP Men’s Basketball title. It was the
first championship for all sports for the Ateneo in the UAAP and this one did not come out overnight because it was a long process of putting the right pieces together. Finally the Blue Eagles have redeemed themselves from that NCAA debacle ten years ago and this championship is the hardest one to get.
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| The Comeback Kings! The 1987 UAAP Champs - Ateneo Blue Eagles |
THE LEGACY
The Blue Eagles win will go down in Philippines basketball history
as the best comeback in all of basketball. The Blue Eagles limited the Warriors
to one field goal in the last eight minutes of the game. The defense of the
Blue Eagles made the Warriors miss four field goals, commit five turnovers and
missed five free throws in crunch time. Eric Reyes had a solid game by scoring
23 points and providing the inside presence that the Eagles needed. Alex
Araneta put the cuffs on Jerry Codinera, outhustled him, out jumped and had the
national team starting center useless in the final six minutes. Jet Nieto sparked
the run by scoring eight of this 15 points in the magical 22 – 2 run of the Blue Eagles. Prior to Nieto’s three pointer he had missed his shot before,
and like all shooters the only thing in his mind is that he has to make
baskets, hit the shot and not think of missed opportunities, thankfully he
ignited the rally. Lastly, Jun Reyes was all heart by scoring 15 points,
issuing 13 timely assists and grabbing five important rebounds to offset
whatever advantage the Warriors had. The Warriors were ready for the
game, their defense was good, their offense was great but what they weren’t
ready was the Ateneo crowd. I had a casual talk with Seph Canlas after their last game in the eliminations and I told him in jest "hope someone gets injured!" Referring to the non bearing UE vs UP game after theirs. He answered with a big NO!!! Then he added! "It would be best that we beat them that they are complete so that they don't have any excuses that they lost!" Seph Canlas is a man of this word.The Ateneo Blue Eagles not only has a champion team
but a champion crowd as well. The monumental victory helped
resuscitate the Ateneo Basketball program that was dormant the past decade and
the win just showed that one should always be ready when called upon – next man
up!
THE FINALS
ATENEO (94) E. Reyes 23, G. Reyes 15, Nieto
15, Chuatico 9, Gayoso 9, Canlas 8, Jeongco 6, Araneta 5, Basa 4, Racela 0,
NEXT BLOG: THE 2ND
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