Quick Fire: Ateneo Blue Eagles flip the switch late to beat the UST Growling Tigers

(Photo Credit: Christopher Cancio, The GUIDON)

Ateneo Blue Eagles def. UST Growling Tigers 102-83

Notable Players

Thirdy Ravena, Ateneo (20 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, ONE MONSTER DUNK): I can't wait for the day Thirdy develops a jump shot. I'm running for dear life once he develops a jump shot. Or maybe he just dunks from the three-point line and it counts as three points.

Matt Nieto, Ateneo (19 points, 5/7 3FG, 3 assists): Matt was noted for taking seven of his eight shots from rainbow country, but it was a result of the offense rather than him forcing it. Great decision making and steady play from Matt overall.

Chibueze Ikeh, Ateneo (5 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists): We can still joke about Ikeh all we want, but we should take him seriously as well. He's been so handy for Coach Tab. More than his size, his sheer composure and ability to pass has been huge for Ateneo.

Oliver De Guzman, UST (19 points, 5 rebounds): De Guzman continues to fulfill his billing as one pesky player, as he gave the Blue Eagle guards all they could handle on both ends of the floor.

Quick Analysis

- Many noted that Ateneo has had a hard time with UST this season, and there is a reason for that. UST loves to push the ball and capitalize on mistakes of their opponents, and they did just that versus Ateneo off every rebound and turnover. Ateneo just isn't the type to blow teams out by 40 in an instant. They'll surgically beat you, and they did just that versus UST.

- Once again, that rotation by Boy Sablan is such a headache to watch. One game Marvin Lee plays a ton, then another he's only there for 13 minutes. Absolutely no flow and consistency with the Growling Tigers.

- As UST made their run, you'd think Ateneo would have been panicking. Instead, what you saw was a team (coaching staff included) that was calm and going through the motions. Speaks a lot of the maturity and composure of the Blue Eagles.

- UST did a poor job of defending Ateneo's hand-off action from the top, and it led to A LOT (27 in total) of threes for Ateneo. This would have been a 30 point blowout if only Ateneo managed to make more of their shots.

Comments

The effects of Goldwin Monteverde's reported resignation from Adamson

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...

Troy Mallillin is a Blue Eagle. Now what?

(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...

Adrian Wong and his road back home

Making it to the big leagues, appearing on National Television and playing for a nationally acclaimed team is a dream for any basketball player here in the Philippines. Ask any kid in the street playing on any kind of court what they dream about when it comes to basketball, chances are they’ll answer you, “ Gusto ko po maglaro sa PBA.” The sad reality is that, not everyone is given the opportunity to be able to play in these leagues. Some kids can try, but chances are they won’t make it. The ones who are given attention are either Fil-Foreigners who performed admirably in the respective schools that they played for, players who have shown their wares in the local leagues in the country or players who stand at 6’5” and above and are immediately given the “This kid should play for Batang Gilas” tag much like other fancied vertically blessed Pinoys. Adrian Wong doesn’t fit in any of those categories. He played in the States, but he wasn’t highly sought after. He didn’t pl...

Search This Blog