After splitting the first two games of the University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 80 Finals, the Ateneo Blue Eagles and the De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Archers face a decisive Game 3 to determine the championship. This piece will preview Sunday’s match-up and what the Blue Eagles need to do to take the crown.
Finals Recap:
The Ateneo Blue Eagles drew first blood in the best-of-three Finals series when they pulled off an impressive 76-70 Game 1 victory. A balanced offensive effort stirred the charge for the Blue and White, with four players scoring in double-figures led by Thirdy Ravena’s 12 points. On the other end, Ateneo limited back-to-back UAAP Most Valuable Player Ben Mbala to a career-low eight points on just seven field goal attempts.
Ateneo continued to outplay La Salle in Game 2, jumping out to a lead of as much as 21 points in the first half. However, the Green Archers leaned on the support of their raucous crowd to storm back in the third period. La Salle eventually pulled away in the pay-off period, winning 83-92 and tying up the series to force the rubber match this Sunday, 4:00PM at the Araneta Coliseum.
Keys to Victory
1. Ateneo needs to play better defense. To do that, they must control the pace.
Colin: One of the more documented differences between the two UAAP Finalists entering this series is the pace at which both teams play at. With 81.69 possessions per game, Ateneo played at the league’s slowest pace in the Elimination Round, while La Salle played at the second fastest pace in the UAAP at 88.72.
Looking at this statistic, it seems that the winner of the first two meetings in the Finals was decided by whichever team controlled the game’s pace. Game 1 finished at a grinding pace of 74.93, a game which the Blue Eagles controlled for the most part. Game 2 saw a stark contrast in pace at 88.92, as La Salle breezed past Ateneo in the second half.
While a faster paced team playing their preferred style usually forces plenty of turnovers and scores more fast break points, both Ateneo and La Salle finished fairly even in both categories in Game 2. Moreover, the two squads finished dead even in the battle of the boards, another category that could explain the pace advantage favoring La Salle.
However, the faster pace helped La Salle break down the Ateneo defense; The Green Archers won Game 2 by simply shooting the ball better than the Blue Eagles. After hitting an abysmal 26.32% from the field in the first period, La Salle shot at least 50% from the field in the next three quarters of the game and finished at 48.48% against Ateneo’s 38.36%.
Ateneo Assistant Coach Sandy Arespacochaga pointed out the team’s poor defense in the loss: “One of the problems we had [during La Salle’s run] was we didn’t play as well defensively.”
The Blue Eagles’ disciplined defensive system benefits in a slow-paced environment, often forcing opponents into taking perimeter shots late in the shot clock. With a faster pace, the Ateneo defense was clearly unable to lock-in as they normally would in a half court set. The breakneck pace also unleashed superior athletes like Mbala and Ricci Rivero, who had his imprints all over his team’s second half surge (12 points, four assists).
Perhaps, fatigue came into play in the disappearance of Ateneo’s defense in the fast-paced game with the Blue Eagles playing their fourth game in 11 days. Whatever the reason may be, Ateneo must find a way to dictate the flow of the game if they are to walk out of The Big Dome with the crown on Sunday.
2. Breaking through the ‘Mayhem’ defense will unlock Ateneo’s potent offense.
Kirby: Conceding baskets to La Salle presents a twofold problem: Not only does the team rack up points, it also gives them time to set up their stifling press defense from their opponent’s inbound. This was the recurring theme during the third period of Game 2, when the Blue Eagles only managed to score eight points (including zero perimeter baskets) compared to La Salle’s 26.
The Green Archers’ “Mayhem” defense forced Ateneo to stray away from its half-court offense–which is arguably the best in the league. Coach Tab Baldwin normally has the Blue Eagles run their motion-heavy offensive sets for most of the possession, resorting only to isolation basketball when the shot clock hits single-digits. However, DLSU’s smothering full-court press eliminated a big chunk of the shot clock, disrupting the Blue Eagles’ offensive rhythm and changing their style of play.
The Blue Eagles need to revert back to their ball-movement-heavy offense, which entails breaking down their rivals’ “Mayhem” defense. This is easier said than done. When the Green Archers execute this “Mayhem” defense to the letter, crossing the half court line is a small victory. The Taft-based side also uses the sideline to their advantage. La Salle Head Coach Aldin Ayo has his quick perimeter defenders (like Kib Montalbo and Andrei Caracut) double the ball handler stationed at this area, creating a pseudo-triple team with the out-of-bounds line as the third defender. Their long and rangy bigs also know where to help, clogging immediate passing lanes and coaxing the Blue Eagles into flinging risky cross-court passes.
Ateneo must not fall into these traps. Braving through La Salle’s “Mayhem” defense for a long enough stretch will eventually gas out their rivals, creating a situation similar to Game 1 wherein Thirdy Ravena escaped a lazy double-team by DLSU with ease, leading to the Isaac Go clincher. The adjustments that Baldwin and his coaching staff have prepared to counter La Salle’s “Mayhem” will dictate the outcome of Game 3.
