Ateneo destroys NU, captures top seed in Final Four
Saturday, 30 August 2008 1,138 Views / 28 Comments
ATENEO de Manila will be the top seeds heading into this year’s Final Four.
The Blue Eagles found National University an easier prey than they did last season after an 83-58 triumph to formally secure their twice-to-beat advantage in the semifinal round of the 71st UAAP men’s basketball tournament last August 30, 2008 at the Philsports Arena.
Ateneo masterfully executed its game plan against NU in the early goings, sprinting to an 18-5 first quarter advantage.
The Blue Eagles, though, evoked memories of their bitter defeat against the same Bulldogs quintet last season that cost them the twice-to-beat cushion. They squandered a 16-point first quarter lead and found themselves trailing by one, 31-32, inside the four-minute mark of the second period.
But the perimeter troika of Chris Tiu, Jai Reyes and Eric Salamat conspired for one big play after another to turn a close encounter into a full-blown rout.
Tiu completed a three-point play, Reyes knocked in a triple and Salamat scored a breakaway bucket at the halftime buzzer as Ateneo posted a 49-37 lead after the first 20 minutes of action.
Ateneo continued its solid showing for the rest of the second half. A Salamat basket put the Blue and White up by 15, 65-50 with 8:14 in the fourth period. Norman Black’s wards even extended the advantage to 21 points on six straight points by Rabeh Al-Hussaini, the last of which came in the 5:14 mark of the final quarter.
The Katipunan outfit managed to keep its cool for the duration of the game as well. In the early part of the first quarter, NU center Raymond Aguilar was meted an unsportsmanlike foul after elbowing Ryan Buenafe in a loose-ball situation. Edwin Asoro was then assessed with the same foul in a play with Ateneo forward Nonoy Baclao, who was then warned by the officials for “trash-talking.�
Although the showdown against De La Salle will not be a no-bearing game for his squad, Black said he will use this game as a fitting way to prepare for the tougher battles in the Final Four.
“People will come there to watch and see how Ateneo and La Salle will fight it out,� said Black. “Every Ateneo-La Salle game is like a championship bout, so expect everything in that game.�
It will be an important game for La Salle as it is in the hunt for the last of the two twice-to-beat advantages in the semifinals.
“They’re going all out in our next game. But we need these kinds of games to sharpen us for the semifinals,â€? Black said.
Al-Hussaini paced the Blue Eagles with 20 points and six boards, while Tiu, Salamat and Reyes all scored in double-digits.
NU, meanwhile, which fell to 2-11, was bannered by Asoro’s 19 points.
The scores:
Ateneo 83 – Al-Hussaini 20, Tiu 16, Salamat 12, Reyes 11, Buenafe 9, Baclao 4, Nkemakolam 4, Long 3, Burke 2, Salva 2, Baldos 0, Chua 0, Escueta 0, Gonzaga 0.
NU 58 – Asoro 19, Galapon 7, Luy 7, Jahnke 6, Aguilar 4, Tungcul 4, Berry 3, Batac 2, Catamora 2, Garcia 2, Magat 2, dela Cruz 0, Ponferrada 0.
Quarter scores: 26-16; 49-37; 61-48; 83-58
(2 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5)
Loading ...
Grab the RSS
WordPress
Not this time NU!. =)
Not this time NU!. =)
parang sakitan ang laro ng bigmen ng NU..sinisindak siguro ung kabila..pero umuulan ng siko dito..
nauuna kasi masyado gulang e,,Beau Belga kung nag NU ka tyak gamit ka mas magaling maniko e
yup, masyadong physical ang laro ng bigmen, talagang gustong manakit, nakahiga na nga si ryan, siniko pa sa mukha, tapos si asoro, pasuntok parati yung blocks nya at nung bumagsak si jobe, pinakita sa replay na siniko kasi ni asoro. kaya rin siguro napikon na si baclao at nagtrashtalk na lang kay asoro. sayang, we used to like nu, but what they showed yesterday is realy beyond explanation. Is the backing of sm getting into their heads? hope not, because it would take years before their basketball system could be completely overhauled.
ang kukulit kasi ng iba… sinabi nang Ateneo na to. i highly expect them to blow out la salle next week.
DLSU will beat ADMU in the finals for sure!… like wat dlsu did to UE last season
at Pen, yeah i hope you’re right. haha, all the ateneans think they’ve won na for sure… They even have life sized replicas of the players on the walls in Ateneo yata. Ahh, just like when the Lakers (who had chamberlain, west, goodrich) were were favored to beat Russell’s celtics in the late 60′s. The celebration was planned, until, the celtics came away with the victory. DLSU could do the same thing. you’ll never knw really.
nothing is for sure.
DLSU sus baka FEU pa maka silat nyan eh…
yuh bcoz if ur going to notice, dLSu always won its crucial games… like wat hppnd last season, admu won 3 games against dlsu while dlsu won only 2 games against admu but those 2 games won by dlsu are the important ones… dlsu’s first win is to secured the 2nd spot… while the other one is to eliminate admu in the final 4… these are the two crucial gmes won by dlsu against admu dat is why we have an equation stating that 2>3 haha
@black007
yah sure! beat Up and NU first with a large margin… ppsok nga s final 4 ang feu kso hirap na hirap nmn against Up and NU haha asa feu
naghahanda si Asoro para mag 99-hit combo kay Baclao
@pen
yah sure!beat feu (fairly) first..harhar
@p “p” is for pikon. Outside comments are welcome. The NCAA is an excellent league. It is especially tight and exciting this season.
I think DLSU is better poised to beat ADMU on sept 9. It’s a non-bearing game for ADMU except for pride. They might be better off keeping their cards close to their chest, avoid injuries and let the 2nd 3rd stringers have more playing time so they can be relied upon come final 4. DLSU needs to win badly. They are more hungry. Losing will have dire consequences since a twice to beat advantage is at stake against FEU. But then again DLSU will have a hard time matching up against ADMU’s big men since it’s only maierhofer that’s consistently crashing the boards.
It would be more beneficial for ADMU if:
1) FEU wins against UE and ADMU loses against DLSU or 2)FEU loses against UE and ADMU wins against DLSU. Both DLSU and FEU will have tied records which means a playoff spot for number 2. This effectively transforms it into a best of three series.
I think FEU has the edge against DLSU in the final 4. FEU seems to be peaking at the right time despite that ugly win against UP. They have their talismanic leader back and barroca has been a revelation. DLSU’s system works like a well-oiled machine even in the absence of franz. But the form of it’s players seem to be wavering except for casio. Although i would relish another ADMU-DLSU classic encounter, i think FEU has the edge in their match up. In any case, i think it would be a great series nonetheless between the two and who ever emerges as victor definitely deserves to be a championship contender.
i have always thought admu could go all the way this season but not with the way the’re doing it. i expected them to lose a few games with then considered strong teams like us or ue. the loses will make them like steel-empered team, getting tougher as they slice their way through the FF and the finals. but they way they are steam-rolling over the opposition, they’re like the ue team o last year. one defeat can make them unravel. the team’s that tempered steel tough because of the losses suffered is dlsu as they. i now see tham as having a better chance to repeat now than they did at the start of the season. but it’s still a toss up among admu, dlsu, and feu.
Its been an unpredictable season this year.Ateneo beat La SAlle, La Salle beat Feu, Feu beat Ateneo during the first round.The second round is even a wonder, Ateneo beat Feu, Feu beat La Salle. What else could we ask for?
As for the championship,if Ateneo faces La Salle, I am not really confident to say that Ateneo will beat them. It would still depend on how well they would execute their defensive stop against La Salle. If its Ateneo-Feu, more to say, Ateneo will have the advantage since they have a better big men than Feu and both have good shooters.If its going to be FEU-La SALLE, well I have to say, La Salle will win. La Salle has a better defense than FEU but if JV would take the PG position, La Salle would not be able to maximize its offensive options. Feu however could beat La Salle if they could dictate the run of the game.
For UST and UE, its a very unexpected turnout for this season.
hahaha la salle will only make it to the finals if the refs help them (as usual). feu is going to give them a run for their money so u shouldnt be looking ahead to the finals. as for ue ateneo, ue is also very scary as well and its only the fans who keep on looking ahead to the finals. there is no guarantee the team will be there and the players are focused on defeating ue first because ue is very very good. and they havent beaten ateneo in 3 straight games… which is bound to end right?
@Shaun wow you’re example shows the generation gap between us. I cannot relate.
nakakatakot na ang finals >_<
bet ko parin ADMU!
pero strong contenders tlga ang mga nkapasok sa final 4.
go ateneo!
@Helene
the final piece… DLSU beats ADMU! hahaha just following your logic! peace!
Grr,
I agree with you.
Teams like DLSU, FEU, and UE need to lose 3 to 4 more games to make them tougher. The team that follows that advice should become unstoppable afterwards.
[...] article here. Tags: Apparel Ateneo, apparelateneo.com, Ateneo, Ateneo shirts, blue eagles, Bulldogsl, NU, UAAP, [...]
[...] article here. Tags: apparel ateneo, apparelateneo.com, Ateneo, Ateneo Shirts, blue eagles, bulldogs, NU, UAAP, [...]
I saw Manny Dandan in Guilly’s last saturday? what the hell is he doing there? i should have asked..
Anyway! It would be a blowout win for ateneo on the 6th…ONE BIG FIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!
kumakain siguro
Ateneo detroyed every team. not just NU
@ Adam’s Son
I agree!!! i totally agree!
d bumabawi ang mga players ng Ateneo sa physical but they hit them back with points and tambak pa!
remember that game against UST kung saan sinapa ni Canlas si Tiu? pagkatapos noon, 10 straight points ginanti ni Tiu sa kanila…
Well, at least ang Ateneo plays tough and well…they don’t need to resort to tricks and bullying para lng manalo…