Warriors outlast Blue Eagles

The University of the East Red Warriors proved steadier in the clutch as the Recto based squad squeaked past the Ateneo Blue Eagles 72 – 68 to add to the woes of the injury riddled Blue Eagle squad.  As with my previous posts, I think that the only way to get back from a 1 – 4 record is to describe  the game like movie sequels. Here are some movie sequels about the  recent Ateneo loss.

    1.      THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK – THE UE RED WARRIORS: After an almost humilliating loss to the Adamson Falcons, the RED Warriors vented their vengeance on the Blue Eagles.  UE Center Charles Mammie was a monster on the boards getting 12 boards off the offensive end and translating most of it to points that spelled the doom for the Eagles. Since Raf Olivares and Chris Javier didnt score much, it was the surprised package  Dan Alberto (Dan Who?) who was surprised that most of his shots went in, he went on to score 14 points. 

       2.      DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE - THE ATENEO BLUE EAGLES:  Yeah we lost, but this year’s Blue Eagles are relentless in coming back and hard to put away.  Just like John McClane who was hard to kill in the movie, the Blue Eagles fell behind but came back but unfortunately wasnt able to finish the job.  Although we lost, this kind of attitude will help the team and eventually lead to wins in future games. 

   3.      THE MUMMY RETURNS – CHARLES MAMMIE –  Imohthep is really hard to  STOP.   Look at his statline – 20 points and 23 rebounds! According to the UAAP Stat books the last time a UAAP cager did that was more than 7 years ago by the league MVP.  Coming off two consecutive losses with the last one with him suspended, Mammie came out strong as he willed the winds and rains inside the MOA Arena for him to get the rebounds and in the end, made one last spell - for the his free throws to sink for them to secure their second win. Tell everyone the UAAP that after his suspension, the Mammie Returns!

4.      THE BOURNE SUPREMACY : KIEFER RAVENA – Coach Bo must figure out a way to let him remember how he used to play.  Just like Jason Bourne, Kiefer is hampered with amnesia, he can’t seem to remember how good he once played. I hope that on the way to the next few games he slowly recuperates and remembers that he is head and shoulders the best player in the league.

      5.      PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEAN CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL : RYAN BUENAFE –  I am beginning to feel that this year, our team is cursed.  First it was Erram, then Capacio, Porter, Babilonia, then Von, then Kiefer and now its Ryan’s turn to get injured. The spain he had eventualy hampered his abilities to play in the second half and as the leading scorer it was hard to help out on getting those defensive rebounds.

    6. THE LOST WORLD: JURRASIC PARK - OUR BIG MEN - GOLLA/ERRAM/ENRIQUEZ – Well, they don’t come from Africa with well chiselled bodies and they are as Pinoys as you can get. But their heart to fight off the African invasion is bordering to heroism specially with the way they sacrifice their bodies. Funny thing though, this is the first time we have no big men to match up with the 6-8 big men around the league. Hope it wont be a lost world for the Blue Eagles

  7.      IRON MAN 3: JUAMI TIONGSON plays the role of Tony Stark since the Blue Eagles were torn apart by the Warriors, he started an odyssey of rebuilding and retribution.  To bring the Eagles back on track. He went 4 for 4 from beyond the arc in the third quarter that erased a 31 - 46 deficit that set up Pessumal’s trey to tie the count at 54 and the end of three to complete the Blue Eagle comeback. I hope as the Ironman he will continue to rain down threes.

8.      THE NAKED GUN 2 ½: THE SMELL OF FEAR - ROI SUMANG: Sumang has been aptly dubbed as the Recto Revolver. As we very well know his explosiveness is quite the reason why the Red Army is doing well since the Unigames.  In this game, Sumang went on to score in the five points in the first was quiet for 2 ½ quarters and eventually scored another five in crunch time to lift the Red Warriors once again. Where Sumang brings the Red Warriors, the others follow.

    9.      LETHAL WEAPON 2 – VON PESSUMAL. As displayed in this game, the Blue Eagle’s offense does not run on Kiefer, Juami, Ryan and Chris only, Von is a Lethal Weapon too.  Von scored 12 points and also helped out on defense.  I am quite excited on the player he will be this season. Hoping for more ball touches to another lethal weapon in the making.

    10.  ACE VENTURA – WHEN NATURE CALLS:  THE REFEREES: Since the DLSU loss the team has been on a series of bad calls from referees. As a result the lone big gun in the game Juami Tiongson was whistled for his fifth foul which eventually spelled doom for the Blue Eagles.   With these calls, another Jim Carrey comes to mind on the bashing the referrees receive “the Mask!”Guys – “Somebdoy stop me!”(or i’ll hit the refs!)

The scores:
UE (72) – Mammie 20, Sumang 14, Alberto 14, Casajeros 8, Noble 7, Olivares 5, Santos 2, Javier 2, Olayon 0, Sumido 0, Jumao-as 0, Guion 0.

Ateneo (68) – Tiongson 17, Pessumal 12, Ravena 11, Newsome 10, Elorde 5, Golla 4, Buenafe 4, Erram 3, Asuncion 2, Tolentino 0, Lim 0, Enriquez 0, Capacio 0.

Quarterscores: 18-12, 37-31, 54-54, 72-68.

Thanks to Philip Sison for the wonderful pictures posted at the FB page of the Ateneo Sports Shooters, Fabilioh

Blue Eagles nail first win!

Confidence and grace under pressure was what the Ateneo Blue Eagles displayed as the Katipunan based five time defending champions beat the host school Adamson Falcons with plenty to spare 70 – 58.   It was the first win of the Blue Eagles in Season 76 and just like that the Blue and white became contenders once again enroute to their fifth defense of the UAAP basketball crown.  Just like my previous posts, let’s liken some famous movies with what happened in this game.

1.      THE SIXTH SENSE” INGRID SEWA “I see dead people!” That is what he feels whenever he takes free throws. A lot people are saying that shooting free throws is all mental and you need to have focus for the task at hand.  In this game, Sewa missed all his 7 free throws and it felt like he was seeing dead people on the basket. Sewa will most probably pray that every trip to line can someday become a resurrection.

2.      APOLLO 13, - JERICHO CRUZ ”Houston we have a problem!” The only bright spot for the Falcons was the spirited effort of Jericho Cruz who literally carried his team but hardly had enough help from his team mates. Cruz lit up his stats by scoring 21 points, getting 7 rebounds, issuing 3 assists, getting 2 steals and even swatting 2 shots. He was the only one who was able to drive a dagger to the heart of the Blue Eagle’s defense.

3.      STAR WARS - JP ERRAM – “May the force be with you!” Poy was the big difference in this game and the driving force of the Blue Eagles. Erram scored 10 third quarter points with most of them from offensive rebounds.  Erram gave the Blue Eagles the inside presence it sorely needed in the three loses that they had and together with Golla outscored the Adamson big men.  His statline 12 points, 12 rebounds and one block shot.

4.      TOP GUN JUAMI TIONGSON - “I feel the need, the need for speed” I just like the way Juami paced his scoring and did a lot of quarterbacking.  The Blue Eagle Top Gun also pulled down 8 rebounds and shot relatively well as he sank 2 of 4 from beyond the arc and 3 of 5 from the 2 point zone which translates to 55.5 % shooting. The most important difference in Juami’s play is how timely his shots came and this time he was not forcing it.  

    5.      “LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING” KIEFER RAVENA “This will be the end of Gondor as we know it. Here the hammer-stroke will fall hardest.” The return of the King Eagle has the whole Ateneo community excited. Imagine your best player playing for only 11 minutes, scoring only four points and your team winning by a mile. Coach Bo did a good job in breaking in Kiefer and letting him feel his first legit game first and hopefully the King will do more wonders in the coming games. 

     6. “STEP UP 3 “- RYAN BUENAFE –“Single Single, Double Double!”  Ryan is still learning that dance step but is already putting up those numbers. Here is his stat line – 1 steal, 9 Assists, 11 points, 12 rebounds! So just like the patented dance step he had a single, single and a double, double.  A near triple double shows that Ryan has been stepping up and improving his game and more importantly his defense. He has added that occasional three pointer as he has shot at least one in the last four games. The fun thing is that Ryan will most probably Step up more in the coming games. 

    

   7.    THE DARK KNIGHT RISES - CHRIS NEWSOME  “ A hero can be anyone. Even a man doing something as simple and reassuring as putting a coat around a young boy’s shoulders to let him know that the world hadn’t ended.”  Chris is a silent worker, he is a good defender and is versatile as he sometimes brings down the ball, rebounds relentlessly and scores when needed. The Dark Knight was let loose in the third quarter as he patiently waited for his time to come by teaming up with Ryan on the post. 

     8.      A FEW GOOD MEN – BLUE EAGLE BENCH “…You can’t handle the truth" – Gwynne Capacio, Von Pessumal, Isaac Lim,  Ivan Enriquez, Vince Tolentino – for the past three games our bench was outgunned by the opposing teams which leads us to conclude that they cannot handle the second team chores. A little adjustment by Coach Bo and finally our bench came out scoring clearer than a crystal.  This time around we had better numbers 44 - 27 against the Falcons. Here's hoping to better minutes and better numbers to the second team.

    

   9.      THE GODFATHER – FRANK GOLLA “Keep your friends close but keep your enemies closer!” By sticking close to the muscular 6’8 behemoth Ingrid Sewa, Frank was able to box him out, contain him and even outscore him. No one can question the heart of Frank as he never let down in shoving the beast visibly bigger and stronger than him.

  10.  40 YEAR-OLD VIRGIN – COACH BO PERASOL – The first WIN is usually the hardest to get especially when you are on a losing spell. Coach Bo had the right formula in the past three games but was unfortunately undermanned. Now that the team is 95 % complete (G-Boy Babilonia is out for the season) expect better results from the team.  Coach Bo extended his rotation by giving Isaac Lim and Ivan Enriquez adequate time to play and hopefully by the second round the Blue Machine is a mean team.

The Scores:

ATENEO (71)

Tiongson 15, Erram 12, Buenafe 11, Newsome 10, Golla 6, Ravena 4, Capacio 4, Pessumal 3, Tolentino 2, Lim 2, Elorde 2, Enriquez 1

ADAMSON (59) Cruz 21, Cabrera 14, Brondial 8, Sewa 4, Inigo 3, Agustin 3, Rios 2, Monteclaro 2,

Abrigo 2, Trollano 0, Petilos 0, Julkipli 0

Quarter scores: 13-16, 32-28, 57-47, 71-59

Blue Eagles now 0 - 3

The De La Salle Green Archers beat the Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles 82 – 73 in another nerve wrecking game at the MOA Arena to send the five time champions to the bottom of the cellar with a  0 – 3 record, their worst start in 16 years.  So to ease up the pain of the  0 – 3 start of the Blue Eagles here are 10 songs that would remind you of the classic down the wire game that put the Green Archers to  2 – 1.

1.   A STAR IS BORN – Chris Newsome  He's a hero who can please the crowd, A star is born Come on ev'rybody shout out loud, A star is born, Just remember in the darkest hour Within your heart's the power, For making you A hero too, So don't lose hope when you're forlorn, Just keep your eyes upon the skies, Every night a star is right in sight a star is Burning bright a star is born. This game will go down in Ateneo history as the finest moment in Chris Newsome’s UAAP career. Newsome led the Blue Eagles by scoring 18 points enroute to a surprising 40 – 28 halftime lead.

2.    I DON’T WANNA MISS A THING – JERON TENG’S FREE THROWS – (I don’t wanna close my eyes I don’t wanna fall asleep coz I miss you baby and I don’t wanna miss a Thing). If Jeron would have scored more free throws then the Blue Eagles would have lost by a mile. JT went 1 for 7 in this game and was 6 of 16 from the field. The hack a Jeron would be a nice strategy in future La Salle games.

3.    ON THE FLOOR -  JASON PERKINS – “If you go hard you gotta get on the floor” JP drew Ryan Buenafe in his match-up and just when he was just starting to do good he was whistled with two fouls and was seen sprawling on the floor several times as his hard-nosed defense took its toll.

4.    SMOOTH CRIMINAL – RYAN BUENAFE – “you’ve been hit by, you’ve been struck by a smooth criminal”  Check song #3 if Perkins went sprawling down the floor he was most probably struck by a smooth criminal.

5.    BIGLAAN – JP ERRAM “Di ako sanay sa biglaan, unti unti na lang sanang nawala!”  JP Erram’s statline, 6 points, 0 Rebounds, 0 blocks, 5 fouls in 6 minutes !

6.    YOUR BODY IS A WONDERLAND – FRANK GOLLA – He was all banged up and then eventually all fouled out! Refer to # 5 – Gone too soon!

7.    OVERDRIVE – THE DLSU TEAM 2^nd half - You have to give credit where credit is due. The DLSU Green Archers went to maximum overdrive in the third quarter by scoring more points than they did in the first half. The Green Archers turned the momentum to their side and by the fourth quarter their arrows hit their mark.

8.    EDGE OF GLORY – AVO,“I’m on the edge of glory and I’m hanging on the moment of truth!” Finally DLSU figured out that they are better off with Arnold Van Opstal manning the slot and playing low. AVO was a monster in the paint and was the big difference in the game. He single handedly changed the complexion of the whole game and in time he will be the next big thing in the UAAP.

9.    IRREPLACEABLE – ALMOND VOSOTROS – “You’re irreplaceable” Almond Vosotros is the most potent weapon that the Green Archers have. He has taken charge of the team by just scoring not in bunches but orchestrating first and then sniping when needed, Vosotros eventually topscored which shows why in the DLSU team he is totally irreplaceable. To the left to the left.

10. WITHOUT YOU – KIEFER RAVENA “I can't win, I can't reign, I will never win this game Without you, without you I am lost, I am vain,I will never be the same Without you, without you”  Imagine the impact he would have had if he played. On the other hand, imagine the impact of the game if the Blue Eagles would have won without him? Whatever happens Kiefer will be the force that will bring the Blue Eagles to the top. The Blue and White hopefuls are praying that he can play sooner.

Win or Lose, this is the Ateneo Way!

 still belieVIng

While listening to the eulogy of a friend who recently died, I told my High School  classmate Bong Berbano that in the event that my time comes, and he will be talking in front about me, I want him to say that I want  to be remembered for the three things I love! I said that the three things I love deeply and passionately starts with my family, then comes my work and lastly there's my undying love for the Ateneo Blue Eagles! That is why when our beloved Blue Eagles lost a heart breaker yesterday my world stopped for five minutes then after refocusing I was okay again and ready to face the world. Here are some tips, stories or simply just things you can do or share on how to handle a 0 – 2 season start.

GO Blue Eagles

1.  IT’S NOT HOW YOU START BUT HOW YOU END IT – talk about slow starts. In 2003 we started 0 -2 but still made it to finals. In 2006 we started 6 – 0 but lost steam. In 2002 we were 4 – 5 at one point and ended up winning the title. It’s not the start, but in previous years a great start helps the team a lot.  In 1994 we started 0 – 6 and if not for a Red Camua basket we would have been 0 - 7 in the first round that year. In 1979 we never got things started since we were 0 -12.

When will he really play?

2.  LET’S PLAY WITH WHAT WE HAVE – WE CAN WIN WITHOUT KIEFER RAVENA – If you think we can win without Kiefer then you must be kidding me. Yes we can but not all games. If the UP Maroons have 7 teams then we should be shoo – ins for the final four but honestly we have to win more games before he finally heals. Kiefer is the big difference we have against all the pretenders and he needs to be there to energize the team, pass, score and win. MORE ENERGY MAS HAPPY! Let us have faith on the team whoever plays with or without KR.

Coach Sandy and Coach Bo

3.      PUSH – (Pray Until Something Happens) HERE WE GO AGAIN aren’t we supposed to have endured the time when all we do is blame the coach and every player. Let us trust our coaches and players and let them do what they are supposed to do. We are not coaches so let’s stop saying why didn’t he do this and why did he do that. Now if you can answer that question might as well apply for the coaching job. Let us also pray for the walking wounded of the Hail Mary squad.

4.BE PREPARED – There are 10 seconds to go and we are down one point and have no more timeouts. WHEN all is lost, throw a ballpen on the court, it might lead to Victory…or a pentel pen.

"Mary for you ..."

5.      LET US CHEER WHEN WE ARE DOWN and DON’T LEAVE UNTIL THE FAT LADY SINGS – Very reminiscent of the Miami fans, I think if the team loses and you did not even get hoarse cheering, its best you watch the next game on television so that you won’t jinx the Blue Eagles once again. Chances are you are just there for the ride and not for the long haul. And don’t even dare to leave while our opponent is leading by 20 points.   We watch to cheer for the team and not to take pictures while watching just so you have something to post in your twitter or FB account.

What's a nice RB nickname? Can you think of one?

6.      THINK OF GREAT NICKNAMES FOR OUR PLAYERS - From the time athletes represented the Ateneo in the NCAA, the old monicker has always been a part of describing players which sometimes stick to them until they have retired. Here are some SUGGESTIONS and the players themselves can adapt or drop their suggested nicknames, alias or monicker. Let’s categorize them: 

RHYMING NAMES or SOUNDS LIKE:  Chris “Awesome” Newsome, Fran “Action” Asuncion, Frank “the Crank” Golla, Ivan “Dalizer” Enriquez, Earl “the Twirl” Murphy, Vince “the Rinse” Tolentino, An “Taunt” Assistio

GIVE AN ALIAS: Kiefer “The Phenom/Blue Mamba” Ravena,  Gboy “Universal Shoulder” Babilonia, Von “Baby”Pessumal or LeVon “James” Pessumal, Nico Elorde “Tugade” or  Nico “the Plus” Elorde

HAVE AN NBA SLANT NICKNAME: Juami “Magic” Tiongson, JP “the Erram-Tula”, Matthew “Gwynne-Sanity” Capacio,

JUST FOR LAUGHS: Isaac “Lolo” Lim (You know that Help is on the way), MIGHTY RYAN Buenafe. Because like what people say, in offense “May Tira yan!” and on defense “May Tinira Yan!” Fits him.

Going for the sixth

7.      THINK OF SIX PEAT SLOGANS – By the time you read would’ve read this blog we would have won our sixth title so what’s a nice Six-peat theme?   Last October I’ve thought of Anim-oh Ateneo but someone had the same idea and posted it in the forums right away. I also came out with the infamous FIX the SIX and the Fellow6 of the ring. My good friend AA Aquino thought that still believing is also a good 6-peat slogan. What’s yours?

8.      LET THE PLAYERS DO THE TALKING – After getting hit by NU’s Jeoffrey Javilonar and having his nose bloodied, Nico Elorde responded by scoring eight straight points on two three pointers and a jumper. After getting treated, Elorde ALLEGEDLY SAID “I got this guys! Count on me!” Then his nose bled again and the rally happened.  We need this kind of spunk and scoring from Nico Elorde so let him do the talking.

32/3 < 10 

9.        IT IS ALL IN THE MIND - WE HAVE TO SCORE: – Because of social media, the Ateneo Coaching Staff is figuring out a way to score less than 10 points per quarter but still come out with 32 points after three quarters. If you have the answer to this equation kindly email me.

10.  LET US BE THANKFUL OF OUR BLESSINGS – When we lost to UST in 2006 my co-hosts asked me why wasn’t I sad? I said, during the dark ages (90’s) we ate losses for breakfast. Imagine being at the other end of a 30 point rout? A win or a loss in basketball should not define our world, as LeBron James said “Win or lose, it’s just a game of basketball!” But it would not hurt if we would be on the winning end.

Fight Blue & White

May it be a 0 – 2, 0 -3 or 0 – 7 start, only one fact remains, WIN or LOSE, I am here to support the Blue Eagles! I pray they play well regardless if they play good or bad, to me the result will just be a bonus because to me what is important is that they gave their all.  I was thrilled to watch the Ateneo win 4 Juniors titles when we were in High School and another two more Seniors titles in college. Then I was humbled to watch during the dark ages of the Ateneo basketball as our “Donut team” lost for years until the sun came shining in 2002. To me, the Blue Eagles is Ateneo’s representation of our community and through joys and tears to the laughing and crying years we will remain strong and cheer on as the Hail Mary squad takes the court. To the Ateneo community - Let’s fight for the Blue and White.

Thanks to Fabilioh.com (specially Philip Sison) for the great pictures.