ugh.
of course we've been wanting this.
"Look ma, no hands!"
It was those hands that caused us problems against the FEU Tamaraws.
We just had what I call "the poor touch" today. The Eagles let easy scoring opportunities pass. They bricked crucial free throws and missed to grab boards for second chance points. Early foul troubles were called on key players. And because of the way the referee saw Nico Salva against Knuttel, he was sent out of the game during the 3rd quarter. All throughout, no one heard the name "Rabeh Al-Hussaini" after an Ateneo basket, because he was not able to score any until the second half.
And the Tams were just so mad and desperate about winning and getting a chance at number one. Most of the outside shots that Ateneo forced upon them went in. Aldrech Ramos' turnaround jays and Sanga's (chance) three-pointers lifted FEU up by double digits both in the first and third quarters. It seemed that Lady Luck had been in their favor. It seems that the win would be in their hands.
But skill and proper handling took over during the fourth quarter.
Down 57-42 entering the final canto, the Blue Eagles woke up, stormed the Big Dome, and brought the game as close as no one expects it to be. Indeed, a 15-0 run seems to be an impossible feat that could be done in 10 minutes; however, the Hail Mary squad proved that getting out of a big dump could be done with such short time. The Eagles turned the tables and came up with their second lead of the game, 63-61 a little more than 2 minutes left in the game. This miracle was made possible by perhaps the greatest fourth quarter performance of this season. The crucial treys made by Ryan Buenafe, Eric Salamat, and the sniper duo of Eman Monfort and Jai Reyes were big leaps over FEU. Nonoy Baclao played consistently on both sides of the court. Rabeh made up for his absence by scoring crucial inside scores. The guys who wasted charity shots earlier were able to give free points during the late phase of the game.
The last stroke of luck for FEU came late in the game. They were able to at least catch up and take the lead again at 69-68, but of course, Ateneo won't allow that. It was the same slash-and-pass play between Salamat and Al-Hussaini that broke the tie and had Ateneo hold on to 74-72 during the dying seconds of the game. Afterwards, Al-Hussaini was called for his fifth foul, ejecting him, and sending Reil Cervantes to the line with only 2 seconds to go before the end of the game. From this point on, we go haywire. After getting in the first free throw, he terribly missed the second and allowed Kirk Long to get the ball and secure the win. As to why he misses (either he is such a choker or he intends to miss it to let Ramos tip the ball in and secure the win for them rather than go through overtime) is a noumenal concern, but what matters now is that they lost and gave up the number one spot because of that missed free throw. After all, miracles are still miracles: sensible, yet left unexplained.
Well, this is quite close as to what everyone will expect two weeks from now, when Ateneo would have a chance to repeat and grab the crown.
And in sealing this win, there are things needed to point out:
-I agree with my dad when he said that the first half (and even the second) was really about testing the waters, or as to how FEU would react to the usual offense and defense of Ateneo. If such, then it would be just normal to let the team screw up at first and then correct its errors later on. An experimental game, indeed.
-Nonoy Baclao coast-to-coast reminds me of the 2009 Lakers championship (remember Pau "Jesus Christ" Gasol?)
-Andy Barocca and RR Garcia: how are they going to mix up? It seems that the "Pretty Boy" couldn't gain momentum because he had been sharing minutes with Garcia. Coach Glenn, better fix that up. [and no, it's not because of other matters such as… never mind.]
-Sanga and Ramos are certain threats. No question about that. Ateneo has to adjust the defense in order to stop them from shooting in their spots. Likewise, Nonoy and Rabeh have to be always ready to box Aldrech out and prevent him from getting second chance opportunities.
-Eric Salamat still sets the tone for the Eagles game. I predict that he will be the fulcrum of the Blue Eagles during the Finals.
-The Eagles did a good job of making JR Cawaling and Andy Barocca non-factors for the Tams.
-So far, this has been the best game of Ramos and Sanga (damn those two treys), all spoiled by the Blue Squad.
-The Ateneo crowd for this game is so far the wildest since this season's AdMU-DLSU first round clash.
Sunday is when we will make it to the Finals.
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