Finish 2nd in pool of 16
“IT’S HARD to tell if we’re going to be able to defend the championship this year,” confessed Blue Eagle Rabeh Al-Hussaini (IV AB IS) during the early games of the Philippine Collegiate Championship (PCC).
Al-Hussaini’s words were prophetic as De La Salle University’s (DLSU’s) Green Archers forced the Blue-and-White to relinquish their crown, last December 8 at PCC.
In what was another anticipated duel between the country’s favorite sporting rivals, the Blue Eagles struggled and suffocated to DLSU’s defensive presence, losing via a 71-62 beating.
Sanctioned by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP), the PCC is the country’s most prestigious tournament, inviting all the top basketball universities in the nation. This year, the winner will book themselves a trip to the 2009 Summer Universiade or the World University Games in Serbia in July and also bag a cash prize of one million pesos.
Sloppy basketball
With history, momentum and confidence on the UAAP champions’ side, the Blue Eagles were hoping to bag their fourth Philippine Collegiate Championship (PCC) championship crown this year, as well as reclaim the PCC championship trophy they won last year.
The defending champions played sloppy basketball, failing to surpass DLSU’s daunting full-court pressure and slumped down to their biggest deficit of 14 points with only six minutes to go in the last period.
Al-Hussaini, who was leading the MVP race of the tournament prior to this game, failed to show up and banked in a low of 10 points.
They also had no answer to tournament MVP JV Casio who finished with 20 points and elegantly sang his swan song for his alma mater. The lone bright Eagle was starting guard Jai Reyes (IV BS CTM), who has consistently put up key numbers throughout the tournament, finishing as the game’s highest scorer with 22 points.
Some of Ateneo’s key players Jobe Nkemakolam (IV AB IS), Ryan Buenafe (I AB IS), and Team Captain Chris Tiu (V BSM AMF) did not play in this year’s PCC.
Early victories
Before this game, the Eagles were tested by NCAA 2008 runner-ups Letran Knights. The Eagles narrowly escaped with a 61-60 win.
In what seemed to be a one-way battle after the first quarter, the Eagles started to commit errors and the Knights pounced, with three-point bombs and points off turnovers. Coming back from a huge gap of 15 at halftime, RJ Jazul gave the Knights their first lead with less than a minute to go in the game.
Buenafe, who did not play with the Eagles in the first two games of the tournament as well as the last, came back and converted what proved to be the game winner, banking off a fade-away jumper with over 40 seconds remaining.
“Parehong defensive ang Ateneo at Letran (Both Ateneo and Letran are defensive teams), the difference is their game is much more physical [and that was our advantage],” Buenafe said.
The Katipunan-based squad also beat Lyceum-Manila in the group of 16, 77-56, and the Mapua Cardinals in the quarterfinals, 67-53.
Pressure to step up
However, not everything is lost in the tourney.
While many sports commentators credited Ateneo’s winning streak to Team Captain Tiu, the rookie-laden team was able to dodge the expected early elimination in the PCC.
Al-Hussaini led the gang and averaged 20 points per game prior to the finals; while last year’s PCC MVP Nonoy Baclao (III AB IS) was a reliable presence on defense.
With co-captains Tiu and Yuri Escueta (MBA) graduating this school year, remaining co-captain Baclao disclosed that there’s pressure to step up because the other captains are graduating.
“Pero hindi ko muna iniisip yan kasi marami pa naman akong teammate na (But I don’t think about this just yet since I still have teammates who are) leaders like Jai, Eric [Salamat] and Rabeh.”
With the nonappearance of usual scorers Tiu, Buenafe, and Nkemakolam, Coach Norman Black relied more on the younger members of the team. Second-string players such as Luis Gonzaga (II BS CTM), Nico Salva (I AB IS), and Bacon Austria (II AB MEco) were given more playing time and proved to be next season’s go-to players.
“There’s pressure that every game you have to play well especially since it [PCC] is in a do-or-die format,” said Salva.
