UAAP Jrs. Action: DLS-Z wins over Ateneo 77-74

Historic battle of unbeaten teams

For the first time in UAAP Juniors history the undefeated Ateneo de Manila Blue Eaglets faced the also undefeated de La Salle –Zobel Jr. Archers for the right to be the best team in the first round. Riding on their 2007 conquest on the Blue Eaglets, history was not on the side of the Junior Archers as they have never beaten the Blue Eaglets three consecutive times. But like most die hard fans would say, “there is always a first time for everything!”The Blue Eaglets on the other hand are aching to get back at the team that took the title away from them last year via 2-0 sweep of the best of three finals series. If there were non Ateneans and Lasallians watching they would have said that the game was the championship of the UAAP Juniors but unfortunately, both teams were fighting only for bragging rights on who would be the “first round kings!”

Ice Reyes flies in the air

Nico Elorde capped his game long brilliance by sinking four free throws to give his team a six point lead and eventually the 77-74 win to become the only undefeated team in the UAAP Juniors division with a 7-0 record. Elorde started flat as he missed a couple of jumpers and free throws, but like his famous name connotes Elorde rose to the occasion by sinking three triples in the game as he led the DLS-Z assault to knock down the Blue Eaglets.

JV Dumrique scores on a drive

Both teams have lost key players with DLS-Z missing the services of last year's MVP Joshua Webb, Jed Managuera and Jeric Fortuna while the Blue Eaglets let go of center Frank Golla. The Blue Eaglets opened up the first half with a 10-4 lead as JV Dumrique and Ael Banal went to work early while the Junior Archers just kept afloat and was just within striking distance. Keifer Ravena showed flashes of brilliance as he scored on drives to the hoop and also showed his defensive prowess when he went up in the air top block a lay up by one of the Junior Archers. He led the Eagles to a precarious 20-17 lead after one quarter of action.

Keifer Ravena scores on the break off a steal

The second quarter was a see saw battle as the Blue Eagles would try to pull away but La Salle would counter right away. The Eaglets started off with six straight points to lead 26-17 which awakened the Junior Archers who cut the deficit to two 28-26. Kiefer Ravena scored four straight points to give Ateneo a 34-28 lead which Nico Elorde cut down with a three pointer. The play of the first half was during the last 2.9 seconds and Ateneo got the ball back on a DLS-Z traveling call. Ateneo called a timeout, mapped out a play and went to Kiefer Ravena. Keifer got the ball on the post and like a center spun around his opponent to beat the halftime buzzer and give Ateneo a 41-37 halftime lead.

Charles Dumrique shows what he can do

In the second half both teams stepped up their defense and there suddenly began a drought of points until DLS-Z silenced the Blue Eaglets. Al Bugarin was a turnover magnet as he bungled countless opportunities under the basket that gave life to the Junior Archers. In a blink of an eye the Junior archers were suddenly up by four 47-43 after Luigi dela Paz scored on an unmolested lay up. Suddenly the momentum has shifted to the DLS-Z side and their defense was quite unforgiving as they forced the Blue Eagles to an array o f turnovers.

Keifer floats in the air for a twinner

The DLS-Z called on the steady inside play of Gwyne Capacio and the hot shooting hands of Nico Elorde and Ridge Santos to silence the Ateneo crowd with their avalanche of three pointers while Juami Tiongson seemed to be the only offensive option of the Blue Eaglets which was what the Junior Archers anticipated. Before you know it DLS-Z ended the quarter with a 58-52 lead and the momentum shifted to the side of DLS-Z as their interior defense led by 6-3 center Ikey Herrera gave Ateneo lots of problems inside the paint. With five minutes left in the game DLS-Z had already erected a 69-54 lead, thanks to the avalanche of triples by Elorde and Santos which gave DLS-Z and their crowd many reasons to shout for joy.

Juami scored tons of points in the 4th Qtr.

After Ateneo called a time out, Juami Tiongson scored four straight points, while Kiefer Ravena scored again on plus a bonus free throw when he was fouled on an AND one play. The Eagles refused to give up and was suddenly within striking distance 64 - 70 after forcing the Junior Archers to so many errors and converting them to points. Juami Tiongson was blowing hot and cold as he missed on two crucial free throws in the stretch, but inspite of that he still had the guts to take over, unfortunately it was not widely received by the rest of the team as his ball hogging tactics attracted two or three defenders whenever he drove to the hoop. Kiefer Ravena scored on a three pointer to cut the deficit to three 69-72 while Juami scored again to make it just two points 73-71. Unfortunately there was not much left in the bag of tricks of the Ateneo offense as they became too predictable again that the Junior Archers had an easier time defending which gave them crucial stops and the win.

Ivan Enriquez battles Aiki Herrera for the rebound

Eversince Boris Aldeguer started handling the Junior Archers, their Basketball program suddenly became the talk of the town. Gwayne Capacio is a steady offensive player and a sound defender. Nico ELorde has good range and good court wizardry, Aiki Herrera is an excellent inside defender that prevented Ateneo’s big men to conquer them. Lastly, Luigi dela Paz and Ridge Santos ably supported their team with timely hits from the outside. Everyone was an offensive threat depending on what defense the Blue Eaglets would give and the Junior Archers responded with clutch plays to stamp their class over their archrivals.

The DLS-Z defense starring Aiki Herrera

The only bright spot for the Blue Eaglets was Keifer Ravena. He was a highlight reel waiting to happen as Juami Tiongson was not even a factor during the first half. JV Dumrique on the other hand was a non entity in the second half. Ivan Enriquez, Paolo Pe, Al Bugarin and Tim Capacio were outclassed by their all-heart opponents as put backs and offensive rebounds were a rarity for the Ateneo. The Blue Eaglets only have themselves to blame as Tiongson was very predictable in the fourth quarter after ball hogging too much which wasted a lot of opportunities. In contrast the Lasallians handled the Ateneo zone well as they found the open man consistently who more often either buried a three or a two point field goal.

The DLS-Z Jr. Archers
Ridge Santos (7) Nico Elorde (9) Luigi dela Paz (12)
Aiki Herrera (19) and Gwyne Capacio (11)

The Blue Eaglets have lost to the Junior Archers three straight times since last school year. Like what I mentioned it’s a rarity for DLS-Z to win three straight against Ateneo. Now the tables have been turned, the Blue Eaglets are pressured to win their second round encounter because if they lose again, I think it would be harder this time to beat this team three straight. Winning against the DLS-Z team before used to be moot and academic but now the Blue Eaglets are in a bind and winning against the has suddenly become hard to achieve. Lets just hope the Blue Eaglets learn from this loss and more importantly use it as something to build on to in the second round of the UAAP.