Blue Eagles clip FEU, maintain solo UAAP leadership
Saturday, 9 August 2008 32 Comments
ATENEO de Manila managed to convert only a single field goal in the final three minutes of its game against Far Eastern University. Fortunately for the Loyola faithful, it was more than enough.
Big man Rabeh Al-Hussaini delivered the only field goal for the Blue Eagles in that crucial stretch, but was decisive enough as his squad averted a near endgame collapse and preserved a tense 78-74 win over the Tamaraws in the 71st UAAP seniors basketball tournament last August 9, 2008 at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
“When you lose a big lead, the best thing you can do is to win a game at a crucial stage,” said Ateneo coach Norman Black. “You can’t control things like that when you are at the sidelines. But we won it in the endgame and that’s the important thing.”
Al-Hussaini’s 16-point, nine-rebound effort was complemented by the efforts of Eric Salamat, who scorched the Tams with a game-high 18 points, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc.
The Blue Eagles saw their nine-point lead in the final 3:32 wiped out by a
determined charge from the Morayta-based squad. By way of a 1-2-2 halfcourt zone trap, FEU was able to force Ateneo to commit costly miscues.
That resulted to an 8-0 blast capped off by an Andy Barroca basket off a Benedict Fernandez feed, which shoved the Tamaraws within striking distance, 74-76.
Instead of panicking, though, Black sued for time and mapped up one important play at the low block for Al-Hussaini. Sensing the Tamaraws’ lack of height at the post, he scored easily with 51 seconds remaining to give the Blue Eagles a slightly larger advantage at 78-74.
The Tamaraws had several chances to rescue the game. Forward Aldrech Ramos was fouled by Ryan Buenafe with 35 seconds to play, but muffed both charities that could have cut the deficit further.
In FEU’s next possession, Barroca was called for a travelling violation, which enabled Ateneo to secure its seventh win in eight matches to keep the Blue and White atop the team standings.
“We didn’t come out prepared against FEU’s 1-2-2 halfcourt press. That’s why we lost our big lead,” said Black. “But the good thing we did today is we challenged their perimeter shooting pretty well. We also hammered them inside because we knew we had the advantage, with FEU lacking big men.”
So effective was FEU’s trapping defense that it resulted to 33 points off turnovers. But Black has Salamat to thank for.
The 2005 NCAA juniors MVP, along with Kirk Long, hit back-to-back treys that opened up a fourth period upsurge for Ateneo, which took its biggest lead of the game at 67-52 with still 8:10 left.
The Tamaraws rallied though. A 13-4 run capped by Reil Cervantes’ inside bucket moved FEU to within four, 67-71. Salamat, however, responded quickly and knocked down his fourth three-pointer of the game to give Ateneo a 74-67 advantage, with 4:52 remaining on the clock.
“Eric is the anchor of our second team. He could have been the starter, but Chris Tiu is still playing with us. The good thing about him is he makes the most out of the time given to him and he can always be counted on when called off the bench,” said Black.
Cervantes led FEU with 14 markers, while Paul Sanga had 12. FEU dropped to third place as it absorbed its third loss in eight meetings.
The scores:
Ateneo 78 – Salamat 18, Tiu 16, Al-Hussaini 16, Buenafe 10, Long 5, Reyes 5, Baldos 3, Baclao 3, Salva 2, Austria 0, Nkemakolam 0, Escueta 0.
FEU 74 – Cervantes 14, Sanga 13, Fernandez 11, Barroca 9, Cawaling 7, Knuttel 6, Alisbo 5, Adolfo 4, Ramos 3, Tanuan 2, Macazo 0, Cabagnot 0.
Quarter scores: 13-15; 36-33; 57-51; 78-74
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