Rookie Watch: Arvin ‘The A-Train’ Tolentino

Before we look at what the Ateneo Blue Eagle rookie Arvin “The A-Train” Tolentino, there are two moments that will define the Ateneo-UP match from last Wednesday.

There was 5’9” Nico Elorde blocking 6’5” Gelo Vito and a play or two later, Kiefer Ravena hitting a huge triple that hit the bottom of the net.

Even if Ateneo looked lethargic (I won’t give UP too much credit for defense here) because they surrendered 86 points, those two moments emphatically said that the Fighting Maroons weren’t going to upset them on that day.

While it’s still early in the Season as they are still groping for competition form, it should be noted that Ateneo is in the middle of most defensive categories. Even after three games played, they still lag behind UST and UE. They’ll be facing from here on teams that are in the upper half of the standings.

However, when it was winning time, the Blue Eagles played better defense. When UP cut the lead down to two, Ateneo went on a spurt offensively then choked the Maroons on the defensive end.

Notable stat line:

Ateneo scored 23, 23, 20, and 20 points per quarter.

UP scored 21, 17, 16, and 21

Chris Newsome: 18 points, 12 rebounds (4 offensive), 2 assists, 1 steal, and 1 turnover.

Now let’s look at the A-Train’s numbers:

Vs. UP

25 minutes = 20 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 turnover.

Vs. La Salle

27 minutes = 14 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 turnover, and 2 blocks

Vs. Adamson

18 minutes = 12 points and 2 turnovers

In three matches, he has averaged:

15.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.6 blocks, and 1.3 turnovers per game.

Breaking down his scoring further, here’s what’s he’s done:

6/15 from 3pt range = 40%

10/17 from 2pt range = 58.8%

8/12 from the FT line = 66.7%.

Solid numbers and he can only get better. Huge pick up for Ateneo.