ASSISTANT COACH Ronnie Magsanoc was drawing up a play from the Blue Eagles’ huddle with less than a minute left to play in their second round match-up against the University of the East (UE) Red Warriors at the Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena on August 20.
This has been a scene all too familiar for both the Blue Eagles and their opponents throughout Season 77.
The referees call the players back on the floor. Everybody inside the Mall of Asia Arena knows that the ball will somehow land in the hands of Kiefer Ravena.
Chris Newsome serves as a decoy and receives the ball from the inbounds play. Ravena shakes off his defender and has the ball near half-court. After a quick glance at the shot clock, Ravena makes his move, sizing up his defender before soaring up in the air for a jumper, with a hand in his face.
In those few seconds that the ball is nearing the basket, everybody freezes. Swish. Red Warrior fans in the stands stand in awe and simply wonder how he made that shot. Kiefer simply smiles, knowing that the game is now theirs, escaping with a 78-73 thriller.
In an article written by Carlo Pamintuan of Yahoo! Sports Philippines, Ravena shared his intentions in the game. “You’d want to bounce back after a loss,” Ravena said of the victory, which puts them at solo lead at 7-2. He further continued to describe his added motivation, “I can hear the UE crowd say ‘one big flop.’”
The King Eagle, who posted a stat line of 16 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, struggled early on in the game. After picking up his third personal foul midway through the second quarter, he was glued to the bench for most of the first half.
The game’s leading scorer, Chris Newsome, kept Ateneo within striking distance, recording a new season high in points with 23 markers. Most of his points came from trips to the charity stripe, along with six boards, two steals and two dimes.
However the UE duo of Roi Sumang and Paul Varilla answered back, chipping in with a combined 18 points on an array of putbacks, jumpers and drives to the basket. Charles Mammie bullied the Ateneo frontline, using his heft inside the paint en route to a double double output of 15 points and 18 boards.
Both squads employed their signature full court pressure defensive schemes which resulted in a low scoring first half, 35-32, in favor of the Blue and White.
Sharpshooter Von Pessumal was up to his usual exploits, scattering three point bombs all over the UE defense, racking up 13 markers, including the free throws that sealed the deal for the Katipunan-based squad in the end game.
Contributions from floor general Nico Elorde and big man Ponso Gotladera also proved to be important, coming away with 11 points each, as the Red Warriors were breathing down the necks of the Blue Eagles all throughout the game.
In the same article by Yahoo! Sports Philippines, Head Coach Bo Perasol shared the effort his boys put in to come away with the win. “Kiefer [Ravena] laid the frosting after the team baked. The better start helped, everybody contributed. Kiefer was just on the side,” Perasol quipped. “We’re trying to work on improving the bench production but I am relieved that we got through this and arrived at our seventh win,” he added in a mix of English and Filipino.
Next up on the Blue Eagles’ sights is the National University (NU) Bulldogs, the team that handed Ateneo its first loss of the season on July 24. The Bulldogs are currently in third place with a 6-3 win-loss card and will look to add another win courtesy of their match-up on August 24 at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
