S75 Game Discussion: ADMU vs UP - 08/02/2012 [ADMU won, final score: 76-70]

[Jesuit]

In fairness kinabahan ako sa game na ito. Good Job eagles.

[PEx_UAAP]

Blue Eagles Survive Rampaging Maroons




Ateneo started slow and almost paid the consequences as they survived a close game 76-70 against the Fighting Maroons, who were on a rampage and looking for the upset victory.

UP coach Ricky Dandan included rookies Chris Ball and Henry Asilum in the starting lineup in the Fighting Maroons, who then had their way with the Blue Eagles. The Blue Eagles committed numerous turnovers forced by the Fighting Maroons, with the determined Fighting Maroons taking full advantage, leading 40-32 at the end of the first half.

Cyberspace went crazy with UP's performance against the heavily-favored Ateneo with various schools rooting for the Fighting Maroons, who incidentally last beat the Blue Eagles on July 26, 2009 with 68-58.

“They shocked us in the first half. But what is important for us is to settle down and get back in the second half.” said Ateneo coach Norman Black.

The Blue Eagles then got their act together at the start of the second half, who turned to Nico Salva, big man Greg Slaughter and Chris Sumalinog who lead the Blue Eagle surge, tying the game at 47-all after a 12-5 rally. The Blue Eagles never lost steam and continued their momentum with a 17-10 run in the 3rd quarter. ADMU were then leading by 10 points with a little over 2 minutes remaining courtesy of Chris Sumalinog. Unfazed, the Fighting Maroons fought back to trim the Blue Eagle lead to 6, but it was not enough to beat the Blue Eagle lead.

Despite the victory, coach Norman Black wasn't happy with his team's performance. “Today we weren’t able to control the perimeter shooting of UP who shot 50 percent from three-point range and I think they shocked us a bit in the first half after taking a big lead. What was important for us is we settled down at half time and got back to play what we do best, which is playing defense." said Norman Black.

Nico Salva scored a game-high of 21 points for the Blue Eagles, while Greg Slaughter chipped in 13 points and 9 rebounds and Kiefer Ravena added 11 points and 6 rebounds.

On the Fighting Maroon side, Mark Lopez added 13 points and Chris Ball added 11 points and 7 rebounds.




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[zoman114]

The Games That Play Us: Un-Neighborly



AdMU BLUE EAGLES over UP FIGHTING MAROONS, 76-70

The Ateneo Blue Eagles and the UP Fighting Maroons have not really been good neighbors of late, at least in terms of how one-sided their relationship has been for the past several seasons.

Needless to say, Ateneo has owned UP in the past five years. In their 10 previous meetings, UP beat Ateneo only once, 68-58, back in 2009. In the other 9 times they’ve met dating back to Season 70 (2007), Ateneo has CLOBBERED UP by an average of 21.1 points.

This means that, in the past 5 years, whenever Ateneo plays UP, it tends to be a blowout win in favor of the Blue Eagles. This rivalry, often billed as the Battle of Katipunan, almost always ends up as the Massacre of Diliman.

This is the reason why yesterday’s edition didn’t exactly go the way many people expected.

First, it wasn’t a blowout – far from it!

Second, the Fighting Maroons were the ones actually controlling the game, at least in the first half.

UP really took it to Ateneo right from the get-go. Despite having similar shooting percentages in the first twenty minutes (both teams shot between 34-35% from the field), UP was ahead mainly because they had significantly more attempts, and they made all but one of their three-point shots. Coach Ricky Dandan’s wards also defended pretty well, forcing 10 Ateneo turnovers by halftime.

It was clear that UP came to play, and that whatever they were doing was actually working. Most impressive was newcomer Chis Ball, who scored all 11 of his points, grabbed 6 rebounds, and blocked 3 shots in the first two periods. His frontcourt partner, Raul Soyud, also had a nice first half with 7 markers and 2 blocks. In the backcourt, it was Jelo Montecastro and rookie Henry Asilum wreaking havoc in transition.

For one whole half, it seemed like UP might actually be able to pull one over the Eagles.

Coach Norman Black’s boys, however, are known as a second half team, and they showed it anew here.

With Ateneo shooting blanks from long range in the first two quarters, Coach Norman took a risk by sending in Oping Sumalinog, who hadn’t seen much action after the UST loss. Immediately, this move paid dividends, as Sumalinog scored 5 points and collared 5 rebounds in the third stanza. The Loyola five’s other guns also caught fire, with Nico Salva and Greg Slaughter combining for 20 points in this period. After Alvin Padilla stretched UP’s advantage to ten at 42-32, Ateneo just piled on the pressure. The Eagles outscored the Maroons 23-12 in the next 6 minutes to take the lead, 55-54, after Sumalinog’s first triple. Former Eaglet Mike Gamboa would hit his own three right after, but the momentum had clearly swung the other way. Ateneo eventually enjoyed a 4-point bubble, 61-57, to start the final frame.

The Blue crew just played keep away from that point on, with Kiefer Ravena, Ryan Buenafe, and Slaughter taking turns frustrating every attempt of UP to close the gap. Sumalinog scored 5 straight to peg the lead at ten, 74-64, with under 3 minutes remaining, which was more than enough for the Katipunan quintet to hold on for win number 4.

Though the thought of what-could-have-been might sting a little bit for UP, the Maroon faithful can take solace in the fact that their team was very game in this encounter. They not only put a scare in the Eagles, but they served notice that nobody can simply prance all over them this season. They almost beat La Salle on opening weekend, were just one shot away from dumping Adamson, and now pushed Ateneo farther than anyone really anticipated. Someday the dam will break for UP, and when it does, the joy of victory will flow in droves.

On the other end of Katipunan Avenue, the Ateneans cannot be faulted for feeling a little fortunate to nab this win. They were more listless than usual in the first half, and never convincingly blasted UP anytime in the whole game. Was it simply because erstwhile starter Juami Tiongson didn’t play (ankle injury), or are some cracks in the championship armor beginning to show?

At the end of the day, Slaughter, Salva, and Ravena continued to be Ateneo’s top guns. At the end of the day, the game will still be remembered as a win for the five-peat seekers. At the end of the day, they were still quite un-neighborly, and that’s the way they like it.


Scores:

AdMU 76 – Salva 21, Slaughter 13, Ravena 11, Sumalinog 10, Chua 7, Gonzaga 5, Buenafe 5, Erram 2, Elorde 2, Pessumal 0, Capacio 0
UP 70 – Lopez 13, Ball 11, Padilla 11, Gamboa 10, Soyud 9, Monteclaro 6, Asilum 6, Silungan 2, Romero 2, Mbah 0, Manuel 0, Hipolito 0, Gallarza 0
QS: 17-19, 32-40, 61-57, 76-70
Notable Performers:
Nico Salva (AdMU) – 21pts, 5rebs, 3asts
Greg Slaughter (AdMU) – 13pts, 9rebs, 3blks, 2asts
Chris Ball (UP) – 11pts, 7rebs, 3blks

Source: HoopNut.blogspot.com