“It’s not how you start, but how you finish” was the cliché on full display during the tight contest between rivals Ateneo Blue Eagles and the De La Salle Green Archers, on Sunday, October 4, 2015, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
A tale of two halves
In the first two quarters, the Ateneo defense was able to shackle De La Salle University (DLSU) scorers like Jeron Teng, who was held to just four points. The Blue Eagles played high intensity half court defense as they showed hard on picks and doubled aggressively in the post. This would have forced the Archers to kick out the ball and take shots from the outside. At this point, members of the Taft-based squad were unable to make their threes just yet.
On the offensive side, the Blue Eagles were executing their sets and consistently making their shots. Unselfish passing was on display for the Ateneo, summed up by Ravena giving the ball up to a wide open John Apacible to give the Blue and White a 15-point lead at 37-22 in the second quarter.
The first half ended with the following sequence: Capacio blocked King Archer Teng while sharpshooter Von Pessumal following it up by nailing a triple for the Blue and White. This was quickly answered by Jason Perkins with a three of his own, which proved to be a foreshadowing for what would come in the next half.
The Blue Eagles played superb basketball in the first half, which resulted in a 46-36 lead heading into the halftime break. It was quickly undone, however, by an 18-4 run from the Green Archers to begin the third: A corner three from swingman Josh Torralba, fast breaks manufactured by Thomas Torres, and back-to-back threes from Perkins were the highlights of the run which gave the Archers a 54-50 lead.
It was then that the Blue Eagle bench decided to step up. A putback by Ikeh Chibueze and a triple from Arvin Tolentino gave them back the lead. Back-to-back assists by Jerie Pingoy–first to Ikeh for a flush and then after, to Tolentino for a layup–pushed the lead to 61-56. The third quarter ended with an easy lay-in by Abu Trater courtesy of a Teng assist that was part of a 5-0 DLSU run to tie the game up at 61-all.
Comeback completed
Down two points with 3:52 left in the game, Kiefer Ravena stepped to the line for three free throws. The King Eagle however, was uncharacteristically unable to convert, missing the first two while being called for a five-second violation on the third. Chibueze was then given the chance to tie the game up, but split his charities as the scoreboard showed 70-71 in favor of DLSU.
King Archer and King Eagle would then trade baskets: A steal and finish for Ravena was answered by a three-point play by Teng. One of the highlights in the clutch moments was a perfectly executed play out of a timeout, which resulted in an easy go-ahead basket for Ikeh and forced the Archers to call a timeout of their own. Chibueze again came up big on the defensive end, using his quickness to get ahead of Abu Tratter and force a DLSU turnover. Ravena would end up trying to ice the game for the Blue Eagles, going one-on-one against Teng to watch as his leaner fell short.
The door was left open for Teng to bring the ball up and ask for a pick from Tratter. The play caused the Ateneo defense to scramble, as the ball was rotated from the right side of the court to the far left corner, where Joshua Torralba was perfectly positioned.
Torralba’s corner three began the Archer comeback in the beginning of the third quarter, and the exact same shot launched them into the lead late in the final quarter, 77-76.
With 15 seconds left in the game, the Blue Eagles were forced to foul to keep their chances of winning the game alive. Tolentino chased Prince Rivero, DLSU’s freethrow shooter, on the floor in order for the latter to take the free throws. This plan, however, came to no avail as a communication error cost the team a full five precious seconds off the clock. Fouled by Ravena to stop the clock, the King Archer calmly sank both free throws to give the Archers a 3-point advantage, 76-79.
With one last chance, Ravena took it upon himself to send the game into overtime. He received the ball, put one crossover on Teng, and rose up for a top-of-the-key three. Again, his attempt fell short, and the game was effectively over.
Ravena led the Blue and White with 19 points on 7/24 shooting. Chibueze and Gwayne Capacio were both key players off the bench, finishing with 13 and 10 points, respectively.
For the Green Archers, Teng led the charge, as he ended the game with 18 points on 6/15 shooting. Torres was also crucial in leading DLSU’s 2nd half charge, as he finished with 15 points and 9 rebounds.
This loss puts the Blue Eagles at 4-3 in the elimination round standings of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Men’s Basketball tournament.
Box Scores:
DLSU 80 – Teng 18, Torres 15, Perkins 13, Rivero 10, Torralba 9, Caracut 6, Tratter 4, Navarro 3, Muyang 2, Sargent 0
Ateneo 76 – Ravena 19, Ikeh 13, Capacio 10, Gotladera 8, Pessumal 8, Tolentino 7, Pingoy 6, Apacible 2, Babilonia 2, Nieto Ma. 1, Cani 0
Quarter Scores: 13-25, 36-46, 61-61, 80-76.
Updated 10:40am, October 4, 2015.
