LIFE GOES ON –
THE SECOND ROUND
After much controversy on
the Gayoso issue, the Blue Eagles continued the second round without their top
scorer as JV skipped practices and eventually the rest of the season. What does
a team do when your top scorer leaves – next man up. The next game of the Blue
Eagles were the hot and cold UST Glowing Goldies and the last time these two
teams met Gayoso burned them with 21 points. This time, its Mel Basa 's turn on the
spotlight as he showcased his scoring abilities by netting 17 points plus the
hustle he brought to the game as he combined with Jun Reyes who got 18 points
himself. The result was an 86 – 75 win for the Blue Eagles that were beginning
to pick up the pieces after a humiliating loss to their arch-nemesis in their
previous game. The Taft based archers beat NU 76 – 65 and are tied with the
Blue Eagles on top of the standings with similar 7 – 1 win loss cards. As life
went on again, the Blue Eagles face the FEU Tamaraws who Gayoso previously
torched with 25 points. As the men in Blue and White would say “No Gayoso, No
Problem!” Jun Reyes made a basketball clinic on how a scoring point guard
should be as he ran rings around the Tamaraws and clawed his way to score 32
points. In their previous game the Eagles won 106 – 97 with Gayoso, this time
it was 108 – 94 without him. Next man up – the Ateneo Blue Eagles
just simply played as a well-oiled machine and no matter who they faced brought
the best out of them as Joseph Canlas added 17 points, Jet Nieto scored 14
points, Danny Francisco had 12 points, Eric Reyes added 11 markers to
underscore the balanced scoring once again of the men in blue. The
Eagles built their lead by outscoring the Tamaraws 17 – 2 that gave them a 51-
33 lead from a slim 34 – 31 margin. After the Eagles ended the half up by
sixteen points, 53 – 37, the tamaraws could not get closer than 13 points as
the Blue Eagles stamped their mastery over the team from Morayta for the second
straight season. What made the win more satisfying was the upsets by UST over
La Salle and the win of Adamson over UP. This gave the Blue Eagles an 8 – 1
slate and has a one game lead over the Archers (7- 2) and two games over UP 6
-3 who they will face next.
GAME 8: ATENEO vs UST 86-75
DLSU 76-NU 65, FEU 99- AdU 87, UP
111-UE 102
ATENEO (86) G.
Reyes 18, Basa 17, E. Reyes 12, Francisco 8, Canlas 8, Mendoza 6, Nieto 5,
Afable 4, Araneta 4, , Racela 2, Habana 2
UST (75) Tomacruz
18, Babilonia 15, Sichon 10, Jose 9, Latoreno 7, Mercadillo 6, Dela Cruz 5,
Salvador 5, HT 40-44
ADMU, DLSU 7-1, UP 6-2, AdU FEU 4-4, UE 2-6,
UST, NU 1-7,
GAME 9: ATENEO vs FEU 108-94
AdU 101 –UP 90, UST 75-DLSU
70, 93 UE 118-NU 78
ATENEO (108) G.
Reyes 32, Canlas 17, Nieto 14, Francisco 12, E. Reyes 11, Araneta 9, Basa 7,
Afable 2, Racela 2, Mendoza 2, Morales 0,
FEU (94) Postanes
23, Latoreno 22, Pablo 15, de Cruz 13, Tiu 10, Codinera 5, Guzman 4,
Calungcauin 0, Gaspas 0, Burden 0, HT 53-37
ADMU(8-1) DLSU(7-2) UP(6-3) AdU (5-4 )FEU
(4-5)UE(3-6),UST(2-7) NU(1-8)
MORE TROUBLE AT THE EAGLE’S NEST
After their textbook win
over the hapless FEU Tamaraws, the Blue Eagles were back on track and looked
like they have found a way to offset the loss of their star forward. Next on the list are the UP
Maroons, a team the Eagles blasted by 30 points in the first round looked like easy
pickings for the men in blue. As the game started it was evident that the team
the Eagles beat in the first round is not the same team they are facing as the
Maroons who were coming from a loss against the Adamson Falcons tightened their
screws and played physical all the way. This time Benjie Paras was his usual
unstoppable self, Ramil Cruz their defensive anchor came out sharp while Joey
Guanio and rookie Sammy Marata where both firing accurately. With
things going physical the Blue Eagles bled for their points and trailed the
Maroons 28 – 40 after twenty minutes of action. To make matters worse Danny
Francisco twisted his ankle and was taken out of the game. In the second half
the Maroons sustained their physical defense and that defense kept the Blue
Eagles from nailing easy baskets that resulted in the UP team countering every
offensive attack that the Ateneans made. Coach Fritz Gaston asked Danny if he
can still play and Danny said YES he was good to go! With his ankle
swollen and the leukoplast plaster taped directly to his skin Danny managed to
get back but was taken out again because the other team got him in the ankle
again. All the physicality of the game took its toll because in the
last 1:21 of the game with the Maroons comfortably ahead 81 – 69 when Joseph
Canlas was called for a tripping foul on Sammy Marata that led to a fight
between the two players. The fight almost escalated into a free for
all and while both teams were about to engage someone from the stands fired a
gun. Because of that the Blue Eagles were told to go back to their dug out as
their officials wanted to protect their players from any harm since the crowd
watching the game was also about to engage. Coach Fritz Gaston sent word that
the Blue Eagles will not continue the game and will concede to the Maroons and
absorb their second loss of the season. After the game word got out
of what happened and there were speculations that the act of not continuing the
game is technically a walk out and the penalty is a suspension for one
year. It was also mentioned that a suspension could materialize if
the UAAP board will invoke rule #43 of the league constitution. Rule 43 states
that “Any team or athlete who walks out or refuses to play for the duration of
a UAAP athletic competition in that particular sport may be suspended for as
long as one year in the UAAP sponsored athletic meet as may be determined by
the athletic board." The board debated on this and then commissioner
Romy Fernandez said that with what happened in that game, was a fight and a gun
being fired caused the Ateneo team to discontinue and concede. Fernandez
proposed that Ateneo be credited with a defeat and not a forfeiture.
GAME 10: ATENEO vs UP 83-69
DLSU 100-UE 94, FEU 99-UST 82, AdU 128-NU 91
UP (83) Paras
25, Cruz 20, Guanio 14, Marata 13, Mendoza 5, Vergara 2, Manlulo 2, Dy-Reyes 2,
HT 40-28
ATENEO (69) E.
Reyes 21, Canlas 15, G. Reyes 10, Francisco 10, Nieto 8, Racela 6, Mendoza 5,
Araneta 2, Morales 2, Afable 0, Basa 0,
ADMU, DLSU (8-2), UP (7-3), AdU (6-4 ), FEU
(5-5),UE(3-7),UST(2-8) NU(1-9)
THE REDEEM TEAM
As the board debated on the issue of the forfeiture, the Blue Eagles went back to business and faced an NU Bulldogs team minus Joseph Canlas who was serving his one game suspension after being thrown out in the game against UP. The Blue Eagles wasted no time and dispatched the Bulldogs 91- 72 with Alex Araneta as the top scorer with 21 points. Then the Blue Eagles escaped another close game against the UE warriors 81 – 78 with Eric Reyes providing the muscle by scoring 23 points. After that win, the Blue Eagles had some sigh of relief as the UAAP board met and reversed their earlier decision that the Eagles forfeited their games against the UP Maroons. Acting on the appeal of Coach Fritz Gaston, the reversal gave the Blue Eagles equal footing with the De La salle Green Archers who had 10 wins and 2 losses. The news gave the Hail Mary squad something to be happy and then they pummeled the giant killing Adamson Falcons with Danny Francisco scoring 22 points and Joseph Canlas adding 21 of his own in a masterful 90 – 73 win. La Salle ended the day by beating UP that ousted the Maroons from the finals picture. That win meant that the Ateneo Blue Eagles and the De La Salle Green Archers will meet in the finals of the 1988 UAAP Men’s Basketball Championship. With one more game left in the elimination round, Ateneo and La Salle have similar 11 – 2 win loss cards and that means the last game of the eliminations between these two teams will determine what team will be twice to beat in the finals. To others its just like having a best of three series in which the first to win two games will be declared champions.
GAME 11: ATENEO vs NU 91-77
UP 99-UST 77 DLSU 93 -FEU 90 UE 94-
ADU 90
ATENEO (91)
Araneta 21, Nieto 12, E. Reyes 12, Basa 9, G. Reyes 8, Afable
6, Mendoza 6, Racela 6, Habana 5 , Santiago 2,
Francisco 2, Morales 0,
NU (72) Bautista
Rey 27, Artificio 15, Edades 8, Morales 7, Wilson 7, Lascano 4, Bolado 4,
Ballesteros 3. Dikono 2, Balotro 9, HALFTIME: 45-39
ADMU, DLSU (9-2) UP (8-3) AdU (6-5
)FEU (5-6)UE(4-7),UST(2-9) NU(1-10)
GAME 12: ATENEO vs UE 81-78 (NO BOXSCORES
AVAILABLE)
GAME 13: ATENEO 90 - ADAMSON 73
FEU 122-NU 112, DLSU 83- UP 79, UE
94- UST 92-
ATENEO (90) Francisco 22, Canlas 21, Nieto 17, E. Reyes 12, Racela 6, Mendoza
5, Araneta 4, Basa 3, Afable 0, Santiago 0
ADAMSON(81) Garcia
34, Orillosa 20, Yao 6, Francisco 4, Doromal 4, Cruz 3 Valdez 2,
Ablaza 0, Banez 0, Naluz 0,
HALFTIME: 46-all
ADMU, DLSU (11-2), UP (9-4), AdU (6-7 ), FEU (5-8),
UE(5-8), UST(2-9), NU(1-10)
GLORY ROAD: THE CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW 2.0
We have
mentioned it before, that Coach Fritz Gaston was ahead of this time. In their
match against the Green Archers game time will be at 12:00 noon at the Rizal
memorial coliseum. In order to simulate the game the Eagles added additional
practice at 12:00 noon. At the same time during the practice Coach Fritz asked that
loud speakers and music be added to the Loyola Center to somewhat accustom the
players to playing in a loud area. Since their first round loss, the Blue
Eagles were aching to get back to the court to avenge their only loss to the
Archers in the UAAP and this time they were ready.
 |
| Danny Francisco had 18 points and tons of rebounds |
When game
day arrived, the Ateneo crowd looked like it was going to the beach or pool
party as they got ready to brave the heat of the oven hot Rizal Memorial
coliseum that was occupied by a predominant La Salle crowd. But like in
previous encounters, the Blue Babble battalion were outnumbered but never
outcheered. Again, winner of this final elimination round affair will get the
twice to beat advantage in the finals. Tip off came at 12:00 noon and everyone
in the venue was cheering their hearts out with the blue side was chanting
their “One Big Fight” and “Get that ball” cheers while the green side were
answering their “D-L-S-U” and “Go La Salle” cheers that energized the players
of both schools. Like in the first game the DLSU Green Archers started strong
but Ateneo was just a stone’s throw away and did not give out a big lead to La
Salle like in their first round encounter as La Salle took the first half 38 –
36. The Green Archers surged ahead again at the start of the second
half to take a 50 – 42 lead and was threatening to pull away. As the Green
Archers surged ahead Jun Reyes, Eric Reyes and Seph Canlas helped the Blue
Eagles to get back by conspiring on a 21 – 12 run that put the Blue Eagles
ahead for the first time at 63- 62. From that point on both teams would battle
on equal ground until Dindo Pumaren scored his final free throws in the last 25
seconds to put the Green Archers ahead 72 – 71. In the next play Jun Reyes
milked the clock and in the last 8 seconds attacked the basket. As Jun drove to
the right side of the goal he was met by three La Salle defenders and only God knows
how he squeezed himself through those three defenders and how he eluded them
since they all ganged up on him. All we saw was that the ball went through the
goal, then the swish, then the roar of approval from the Blue Eagle
gallery. Dindo Pumaren lost the ball in the return play as the Blue
Eagles swarming defense forced the King Archer to a turnover and gave the team
from Katipunan a hard earned 73-72 win and the twice to beat advantage.
GAME 14: vs DLSU 73-72
ATENEO (73) G. Reyes 20, Francisco 18, Canlas 10, E.
Reyes 10, Nieto 8, Araneta 4, Basa 3, Racela 0, , Mendoza 0,
LA SALLE (72) PUmaren 34, Bachman 10, Lim 8, Peralta 6,
sta. Maria 6, Cardel 3, Monasterio 3, Viaplana 2, Del, Rosario 0,
halftime 36-38
 |
| Ateneans celebrate after Jun Reyes' miracle shot |
NEXT BLOG: THE 1988 UAAP CHAMPIONSHIP
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