Skip to main content

Quick Fire: UP survives ugly game and a late UST rally to sink the Drowning Tigers to 0-8

Image
By
(Photo Credit: Josh Albelda, ABS-CBN Sports)

UP Fighting Maroons def. UST Growling Tigers 71-69

Notable Players:

Janjan Jaboneta (14 quiet points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 assist)
The starter designed for defensive missions against the fleety UST wings came out big in the scoring column connecting all his attempts from the distance.  Most notably was his three triples in the 3rd frame that sustained UP's lead against the desperate Tigers.

Jun Manzo (11 points......... )
A doubtful starter with rumors swirling that the rookie from Cebu would require more games to recover from the freak injury.  What injury? Manzo ran rings around his defender and rolled out his new tear drop shot, one the face of  UST's Steve Akomo.

Paul Desiderio (10 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds)
With Desiderio's options fully covered by UST, he found other ways to be relevant by crashing the boards and setting up fellow Maroons.  But Desiderio has to go beyond his dribble-drive-step back-pull up moves to survive Season 80 with all 7 teams more than ready to shut him down.  UST did and Desiderio went dry in the final quarter.

 Ibrahim Quattara (9 points and 11 rebounds)
No galactic numbers and just almost a double-double but Quattara scored when it mattered most.  The Fighting Maroon import's putback provided some spread between UP and UST and followed this with another basket after getting his shot erased by Steve Akomo that stretched the UP lead to 70-64 with 1:16 remaining.

 Marvin Lee (17 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist)
Lee played his game and UST almost pulled of the improbable.  The former Baby Tamaraw showed his mad range sinking shots from all angles as well as providing leadership to a team that direly needs one.  Lee's triple trimmed the lead to only 1, 70-69, but was unable to drain the winning basket as time zeroed out.

Vaughn Soriano (14 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists)
Aside from the all-around game, Soriano also showed he can sell a foul and make a three-point bank shot at the top of the key look deliberate.  Soriano's numerous bicep box-outs inside the paint and chasing loose balls gave UST valuable second chances that engineered the last quarter rally.

Quick Analysis

-  An ugly game.  It is an ugly second half for those who want an up-tempo game with a lot of scoring.  UST went to the first 6 minutes and 17 seconds of the final quarter without a field goal and yet almost pulled off an upset.

- Desiderio needs help.  UP's coaching staff better start to draft a scheme of options for the UP scoring machine.  UST collapsed constantly on Desiderio that no amount of footwork can give him space to pull up for a swisher.  The single pick and getting the ball high prompting the dribble drive is no longer going to get it done.

- Note to Boy Sablan, for the Tigers' sake, USE AKOMO.   Akomo, the prized import thought out to be the Mbala kryptonite went through 27 minutes with 13 touches.  The offensive centerpiece got one touch every 2 playing minutes.  Instead, UST chose to fire from short range, drive dominant offense that when broken takes the low percentage 3s.  And while Mbala is an MVP candidate, the kryptonite wallowed with 7 points but with his usual monster rebound number of 20 boards.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Scouting the Opposition: Troy Mallillin, future King Archer?

By
(Photo Credit: SLAM Philippines) Basic Information Name: Troy Mallillin Age: 18 School/Team: LSGH Greenies Years of eligibility left: 0 (Graduating)  Committed to: None (Choosing between UST, NU, Ateneo) Height: 6'3" Position: Combo Forward Projected Position: Small Forward/Shooting Guard/Point Forward Quick Hits Strengths: - Strong, college-ready body - Athleticism is off the charts - Speed is already fit for his ideal position - Versatile thanks to blend of size, athleticism, and skill - Very high upside Weaknesses: - Relatively raw - Has to work on his jump shot - Handle needs improving but is workable - Effort on defense is inconsistent Troy is best known as the NCAA MVP, but receiving the title of MVP is a tricky thing. Just because you were the MVP in the High School division doesn't mean that you'll be able to replicate those feats on the collegiate level. Former NCAA Juniors MVP Prince Rivero is undersized compared to other college big
Post a Comment
Read more

The effects of Goldwin Monteverde's reported resignation from Adamson

By
On the afternoon of April 11, 2017, SPIN.ph reported that coach Goldwin Monteverde has resigned from his position as head coach of the Adamson Baby Falcons. Rumors of coach Goldwin's resignation has been going around High School basketball circles, so the news of the resignation didn't come as that much of a surprise for insiders. (Photo Credit: Hazel Siy) But for fans, the move came as quite the surprise. After all, the Baby Falcons were still projected to contend for a championship despite the controversial end that they had to their Season 79 campaign. They weren't losing that much key players to graduation, and the desire for redemption was the most important part in all of this. The fact of the matter is, Goldwin Monteverde could very well be going out of the Adamson basketball program. This move creates then a number of effects not just for the San Marcelino-based school, but also the rest of High School basketball.  1. The effect it has on the Adamson Ju
Post a Comment
Read more

Troy Mallillin is a Blue Eagle. Now what?

By
(Photo Credit: Janine Torre, The GUIDON) Against the JRU Heavy Bombers, Troy Mallillin finally made his much awaited debut as a Blue Eagle. Just seeing him in uniform was already enough for fans of the Blue Eagles to go wild. Seeing a NCAA Juniors MVP wear an Ateneo jersey feels weird, for any fan. Seeing a former La Salle Greenhills player wear the blue and white? It's like an Ateneo High School boy wearing a La Salle jersey. Oh.. wait... Obviously, any Atenean is brimming with excitement right now after managing to secure (or is it really secure?) the services of the former NCAA Juniors MVP. But what else are the other implications of Troy Mallillin taking his talents to Katipunan? Let's break it down: In the short term Right now, don't expect Troy to get a lot of minutes. As mentioned before , Ateneo is filled with a number of forwards in Mike Nieto, Vince Tolentino and Raffy Verano. Shaun Ildefonso is no longer in that fray of forwards after taking his talen
Post a Comment
Read more