With the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 88 Men’s Basketball Tournament in full force, this weekly takeaways track the progress of the Ateneo Men’s Basketball Team (AMBT) on their way back to the UAAP summit.

APPROACHING THE end of a highly competitive elimination round, the Ateneo Men’s Basketball Team now finds itself in a precarious position down in seventh place with a record of 5-7. Contrary to their strong start, the Blue and White have since struggled to replicate their early-season glory, seeing themselves now on the brink of elimination. Although facing an uphill climb, Ateneo’s semis bid remains in their hands with two more games to play in the elimination round.

Ateneo’s penultimate week of action first saw them falter against the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers, 59-67. It was during this outing that the Blue Eagles’ shooting slump was highlighted, wherein most of the team struggled to get into double-figure scoring.

Following their defeat, the Blue Eagles were also unable to halt the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons. Despite a fiery first quarter where the Blue and White led by as much as 16 points, a late comeback effort from the Diliman-based outfit ultimately spelled defeat for Ateneo, 75-79.

Taking on the Adamson University (AdU) Soaring Falcons and long-time rivals the De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Archers, the Blue Eagles must go flawless to keep their Final Four hopes alive.

With pressure beginning to mount, here are three key takeaways as the Blue Eagle Band of Brothers gear up for a stretch that will make or break their season.

Trigger troubles

Ravi: Haunted by abysmal shooting efficiency in their recent defeats, Ateneo now ranks last in the league in both two-point and three-point field goal percentage. Despite opening games with hot starts, the Blue and White have often failed to sustain consistent production, especially when the misses begin to pile up.

Head Coach Tab Baldwin has labeled shot selection as a culprit of their poor percentages, calling his troops to make smarter decisions. Their game against UST highlighted a tendency to get trigger-happy, recording 6.9% from distance. Some of those misses proved to be costly as Ateneo wasted several chances to cut their deficit with a fastbreak layup. Instead of capitalizing on their numbers advantage whenever Collins Akowe appeared left behind in transition, they decided to settle for three-pointers.

Perhaps, the bigger issue revolves around how the Blue Eagles have become dependent on Jared Bahay and Kymani Ladi to spearhead their offense amid shooting struggles. This was seen against UST, where Ladi was the only Blue Eagle to score in the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter—ending as the lone Atenean in double-digits. Meanwhile, a similar narrative transpired in the UP game with both captains attempting the majority of the shots down the stretch.

While both stalwarts remain as the designated closers, Ateneo will need to figure out a way to involve more players on offense as opponents continue to clamp down on Bahay and Ladi. If the AMBT can draw more contributions from the rest of the roster, cleaner looks should follow, relieving the pressure from their captains to take forced shots against heavily-contested defense.

Facing Adamson next, who leads the league in field-goal percentage allowed, Ateneo will have their hands full trying to break down the defense. With each possession being more crucial than ever, committing to the same discipline and selfless basketball that characterized their victories early on will be a key response from the AMBT moving forward.

Struggle on the boards

Edge: Regardless of how basketball has evolved and expanded throughout the decades, whether in amateur games or professional bouts, a pivotal facet dictates most of the games—the team that controls the board also controls the game. Despite Ateneo’s adaptability to level or outcharge the tempo of opposing squads, the Blue Eagles’ struggle to establish command in the paint has become their Achilles’ heel, leading to their back-to-back defeats.

In their clash with the Growling Tigers, Ateneo’s 28 defensive rebounds were outnumbered by UST’s 38 defensive boards after allowing Collins Akowe to tally 16 rebounds, which include two second-chance grabs. In addition, due to the Blue and White’s defensive focus to contain the paint-dominant Akowe, Nic Cabañero and Gelo Crisostomo saw several opportunities and sneakily combined for 10 rebounds plus three offensive boards apiece.

On the other hand, no player from the Katipunan-based squad reached double figures in rebounds, as Dom Escobar led the charge with only eight rebounds, followed by Josh Lazaro’s six.

The same narrative unfolded in the Battle of Katipunan, where Ateneo was once again outworked on the boards by UP, 37 to 51. The Blue Eagles struggled to find a dominant presence inside, with Ladi and Divine Adili leading the team with eight rebounds apiece. Meanwhile, Fighting Maroon Francis Nnoruka nearly matched Ateneo’s frontcourt output on his own, grabbing 15 rebounds, including a decisive eight on the offensive glass.

Considering the close finishes against UST and UP, 59-67 and 75-79 respectively, one may ponder how different the results would have been if Ateneo were able to close the gap in the glass. To prevent this poison, the Blue Eagles must collectively and aggressively crash the boards every possession while they attempt to tame rebounding monsters in the league. 

Disciplined possessions

Diego: Amid a challenging stretch of games, a positive trend that has gone under the radar is how the Blue Eagles are able to protect the ball. Considering that this season is defined by the finest of margins, every possession counts.

Currently, Ateneo averages 12.9 turnovers a game, the lowest in the entire UAAP. Additionally, the Blue Eagles also lead the league in points allowed from turnovers at just 11.42. Credit must be given to guards Bahay and Ian Espinosa, whose ball-handling prowess has allowed the Katipunan-based squad to create plays that turn into points, while mitigating the opposition’s scoring potential. 

The Blue Eagles’ ability to protect the rock has also been evident in their last three games, wherein Ateneo has consistently committed fewer turnovers than their rivals. Their disciplined ball control has allowed the Blue and White to remain in contention for victories despite struggling to generate on the offensive end.

Case in point, Ateneo’s 11 turnovers in contrast with UP’s 12 errors proved how minimal turnovers provided opportunities that might not have materialized otherwise. Based on points off turnovers, granted that the Blue Eagles caved in to the Fighting Maroons in the second half, it was very much all to play for in the final few seconds of the matchup.

Ultimately, while a minor detail, turnovers have proven to be a bright spot that can keep the Blue Eagles in the Final Four race. Should Ateneo improve on its shotmaking ability, it can perfectly complement their ability to maintain possession, meaning fewer chances for opponents to score in transition and more opportunities on offense for the Katipunan-based squad.

From here, almost every game dictates the fate of the teams gunning for a ticket to the Final Four. On a good note, the Katipunan-based squad’s final tests are against teams that they dominated in the first round of eliminations, DLSU and AdU, further flickering hope for the Blue and White.

However, the volatility of this stretch and the ever-improving performance of their competitors put the Blue Eagles in a must-win scenario. If the AMBT wants to secure a 10th Final Four appearance in 11 years, they must go all out and fight with the heart that they have shown throughout the season.

Remaining elimination games:

Sunday, November 23, 1:30 PM, vs. AdU Soaring Falcons at the SM Mall of Asia Arena

Wednesday, November 26, 4:30 PM, vs. DLSU Green Archers at the Smart Araneta Coliseum