In line with the ongoing University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 81 Women’s Basketball tournament, this series will delve on the state of the Ateneo Lady Eagles as they hunt for a Final Four finish.

Recap of the week (September 9 to September 26)

After ending with an unsatisfactory 4-10 record in UAAP Season 80, the Ateneo Lady Eagles hurdled over a slow start, numerous turnovers, and poor free throw conversion to begin Season 81 on a winning note against the University of the Philippines (UP) Lady Maroons, 64-60, last September 9.

The Lady Eagles’ defensive woes, especially in the half-court, were on display when they faced the University of the East (UE) Lady Warriors, but their shooting prowess from beyond the three-point line proved to be enough to afford them a second consecutive victory, 68-66.

With a 2-0 start to the season, the Lady Eagles looked to be on track to meet their Final Four expectations. However, the team was held back when they faced defending champions the National University (NU) Lady Bulldogs in a game they lost, 64-90, for their first defeat of the campaign.

The team’s inconsistency on offense and lack of discipline on defense was exposed by the Far Eastern Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraws in their fourth match. The Lady Eagles committed 21 fouls and gave up 24 free throws, plunging them to a 44-54 defeat and dropping the team to a 2-2 record.

Upcoming games

September 30, Sunday, 3PM vs. University of Santo Tomas (UST) Golden Tigresses

October 6, Saturday, 1PM vs Adamson University (AdU) Lady Falcons

October 10, Wednesday, 8AM vs De La Salle University (DLSU) Lady Archers

1. Ateneo’s supply and conversion of clean looks spells success or disaster

The ability to read the opposing defense has been rewarding for the Lady Eagles right now. Through their first two games, the Blue and White has had the most uncontested field goal attempts (8.5) and the lowest contested shot attempts (54) among the participating teams in the UAAP. In their opening game alone against UP, the Lady Eagles already tallied 10 uncontested field goals, eight more than that of the Lady Maroons. This sort of restraint from the team against chucking up wild shots was crucial for them in the final frame of their opening game as they were able to cushion their lead through open buckets in the paint.

In their second game, the Lady Eagles still continued to display their discipline on offense to find good shots. In their first possession, they got right down to business immediately as they punished the Lady Warriors’ 2-3 zone defense. The team would go on to make 18/38 of their shots from beyond the arc in the game. The Blue and White also had 7 uncontested field goals compared to UE’s 5. However, the challenge left to be accomplished by the Lady Eagles was to knock down the open baskets as they were only able to convert 6/17 (35%) of their uncontested field goals in the first two games.

Although the Lady Eagles’ half-court offense possesses the discipline and awareness to flourish, their ability to break loose and score in transition has been subpar. Through their first two games, they are last in the UAAP in fastbreak points, averaging only 3 per game. When a bad shooting day arrives, the team will have to step up their game in the open court to put up some points on the board.

The Lady Eagles will also be looking to improve on their shots from the stripe, with only 14 out of 33 attempts (42%) from the free throw line after their first two outings.

In their second week of UAAP action, the Lady Eagles struggled heavily on offense against the taller NU and FEU sides. The Blue and Gold’s defense made it hard for Ateneo to get open shots as the Lady Eagles garnered only three uncontested shots, significantly less than the 8.5 they averaged in their first two games.  

The Katipunan-based side’s offensive execution also took a hit as they went up against the Lady Bulldogs. Ateneo’s assist numbers saw a huge decrease as they only made 8 assists compared to their first and second games where they recorded 13 and 22 dimes, respectively.

Three point shots were also not falling for them, going 4/20 (20%) from deep. On the bright side, the Lady Eagles took advantage of their numerous opportunities from the free throw line, hitting 16/21 (76%).

On to their fourth game against FEU, the Blue and White showed signs of improvements from their previous match. In terms of execution, they dished out more assists, getting to double digits with 10.

However, it was a bad shooting day for the Lady Eagles as they only managed to sink 18/65 (28%) from the field, with 14/42 (33%) from inside the arc. Their shooting woes from downtown persisted as well, as they nailed only 4/23 (17%). Adding to that, the team’s struggles from the stripe resurfaced once again as they only converted 4/11 (36%) from the line.

In week two, the Ateneo Lady Eagles struggled to replicate their glimmering offense from the first two games against the size and strength of NU and FEU. They were not able to move the ball fluidly and were limited to only a combined 5 uncontested shots against both the Bulldogs and Tamaraws as opposed to 17 clear shots versus the Lady Maroons and Lady Warriors.

  2. Tightening both their half court and transition defense

Angel Gino-gino proved to be a great asset for the Blue and White defensively in the closing stages of their first game as she took on the responsibility of guarding UP point guard Andrea Ferrer, going as far as forcing a turnover. However, in much of the Lady Eagles’ opening game, they were lacking in defensive intensity, allowing multiple easy baskets for their Katipunan neighbors.

Statistically, the Lady Eagles allowed a total of 48/130 (37%) shots from their first two opponents, UP and UE. In the Battle of Katipunan, UP shot an efficient 15/39 (38%) inside the arc, with 12 shots from the shaded area. The Lady Maroons looked quite comfortable driving the ball to the rack for a layup on several occasions. Whenever the Lady Eagles tried to pressure UP with full court man-to-man defense, Ferrer would easily blow past her defender and take it all the way to the hoop.

Against the Lady Warriors, the defensive lapses of Ateneo were again evident as UE made 23 out of their 46 two-point attempts, with 21 baskets from the inside. Lady Warriors’ star Anna Requiron alone finished the game with an efficient 9/12 (75%)  inside the three-point line. In addition, the Lady Eagles were punished heavily in transition through easy baskets in the open court with UE posting 11 fastbreak points.

Moving on to the second week of UAAP, the Lady Eagles faced the height and might of the taller and lengthier NU lineup. The Bulldogs took advantage of that and repeatedly looked for their bigs inside. The Lady Bulldogs’ twin towers Jack Animam and Rhena Itesi combined for 32 points on 14/19 (73%) clip inside the shaded area.

Ateneo also found it hard to defend the quicker and more agile NU side as their opponents were able to drive the ball inside for a layup on several occasions. The Blue and Gold’s emphasis on taking the ball in the paint allowed them to score 60 inside points and to tally a 32/59 (54%) clip from inside the three point line.

In the fourth game, Ateneo showed a much better defensive display, giving up only 26 inside points. They also managed to get a hand on the shooter’s face in 55/57 (96%) shots. In addition, the team also grabbed nine steals, six more than the Lady Tamaraws. Moreover, their defensive intensity forced 19 turnovers from FEU which resulted in 10 point off turnovers.

Despite the losing result, this kind of effort on the defensive end will be crucial to the Lady Eagles’ quest to claim a final four spot. Keeping up such a display on defense will certainly boost their chances of grabbing wins this season.

3. Controlling the boards to get more possessions

In a sequence that started with a Kat Guytingco defensive rebound, the ball quickly found its way to Cara Buendia who took it strong inside for a layup. This is one of the many instances where the Lady Eagles were able to capitalize on their opponents’ misses with rebounds that led to transition buckets.

Against UP, the Lady Eagles controlled the glass, posting a 47-41 lead in rebounds and edging UP by 6 more offensive rebounds. This amount of boards from the team allows them to set the tempo for their offense.

However, when the team faced UE, they allowed 9 more offensive boards this time out, leading to 15 second chance points. The Blue and White struggled so far over the two games in the controlling the boards. As a team, they are in the bottom half in the rebounding department and they will need to address this and take advantage of their efficiency on offense especially when they face the taller teams in the UAAP.

The team’s lack in height and deficiency inside are a weakness and NU exploited just that. When the Bulldogs fielded both Animam and Itesi simultaneously in the second half, Ateneo was unable to keep up in the rebounding department.

In the first half, the Lady Bulldogs were limited to just 7 offensive boards. However, the tides changed after the break and NU became more aggressive, ending the game with 22 offensive boards and 52 rebounds in total. As a result, the Lady Eagles were limited to just 57 field goal attempts in comparison to their opponents’ 79 attempted shots.

In their most recent game against FEU, the Lady Eagles were more aggressive on the offensive glass, grabbing 14 offensive rebounds that lead to 65 total field goal attempts compared to the Tamaraws’ 57 shots. Co-captain Cara Buendia dominated the boards with 14 boards including 5 offensive rebounds.

Though dealt a loss, the Katipunan-based side’s improvement in the rebounding department is something worth noting and the team will be looking to replicate their aggressiveness on the boards in the games to come.