Actually, it's hard for us Ateneans to take a deep breath now and say that "everything's gonna be damn fine." It was just our second loss of the whole season, and yet this was the one that left us aghast.
The Eagles left Araneta Coliseum with such heavy load after suffering from a humiliating 88-68 loss against the UE Red Warriors, all in Game 2 of the Finals, something that most of us expect as a game which would bring home the bacon.
Remember Season 70? When Ateneo battled a rookie coach, Pido Jarencio? The Eagles fortunately took Game 1, was dumped in Game 2, and broke down in Game 3. Now, only one has not yet happened. But we all wish that it wouldn't.
Totally, it was a shocker, and it's something that we never expect. Now we have to take the long road to the crown, perhaps the longest one for Season 72. Now, the pressure is on us. The top team now faces the underdog on almost equal grounds. Will we stage a comeback and eventually win it, or will we give in to the pressure and break down at this very essential moment?
But of course, we need to see things and circumstances that will greatly affect the outcome.
Ateneo wins if:
-it shrugs off the pressure and continue to play their A-game
-Rabeh al-Hussaini will do his job
-the treys will keep on clicking
-they check Elmer Espiritu and prevent those alley-oops
-keep Val Acuna cold from behind the arc
-Eric Salamat will continue to poke through significant steals and spark scoring runs
-the bench will step up and keep the game afloat, most especially those who are expected to take major roles next year (I'm talking about Ryan Buenafe and Nico Salva)
-Paul Lee will be locked and down for good (defensively, I mean)
-they play the same team game that they have always done season long
On the other hand, UE wins if:
-they are consistent inside the paint
-Paul Lee and Val Acuna get their hands hot on shooting
-Elmer Espiritu is all over Nonoy Baclao
-they checked al-Hussaini, Reyes, and Salamat
-ball handling will be as efficient as game 2
-the hole in the zone will be discovered
-they could run breaks without being stopped
-Rabeh was kept at foul trouble
-they are afloat by the fourth period
So much reasons to either keep the faith or give it up. What will be yours?
One big fight.
--
*again, thanks to NFP for the picture
No comments:
Post a Comment