Road to the UAAP Final

Eagles’ claws are for offense, defense

MANILA, Philippines - They say offense wins games but defense wins championships.

It should hold true for reigning UAAP champion Ateneo, which topped the double-round elims with a 13-1 (win-loss) record behind its no-nonsense defense.

Based on the Smart Bro-powered stats provided for by league statistician Imperium, the Eagles ranked way ahead of the pack in terms of defensive efficiency as they held their rivals to a league best 63.9 points a game.

Adamson and Far Eastern U were the only teams that came closest with norms of 67 and 67.4 points, respectively.

La Salle, last year’s losing finalist but was booted out of the Final Four for the first time in 14 years, came in at fourth with 68.6 points.

So formidable were the Eagles’ defensive fort that they often forced their opponents to take poor shot selections.

In fact, Ateneo held its foes to norms of 34.7 percent from the field or just 327 shots of the total 937. Three hundred fifty-two misses came from the two-point area with the rest coming from behind the arc.

The Eagles’ interior defense also proved intimidating, allowing just a league best 25.9 points, thanks mainly to the towering presence of last year’s MVP Rabeh Al-Hussaini and shot block artist Noy Baclao.

 “Basically, in my years here, our strength has always been our defense,” said Ateneo coach Norman Black.

Although the Eagles swept the Tigers in their two-game elimination round meetings this year, it was the España-based squad that gave the defending champions the biggest headache this season, next to University of the Philippines which inflicted the Eagles’ only setback in the elims. UST not only scored the most points against Ateneo (77), it also averaged the highest in terms of single game output (73.5).

But Ateneo found ways to outscore UST in both of their faceoffs though they’re only No. 4 in scoring with a norm of 74.4 points, four below its rival’s league best 78.8 average.

Despite its clear height and heft advantage, Ateneo has had mediocre numbers in rebounding and inside scoring.

The Eagles averaged a seventh best 42.37 boards, trailing the Tigers who norm a fourth best 45.04 rebounds and ahead only of the small National U side, which had 38.48.

Ateneo is also seventh in points in the paint with a 30.3-point norm, leading only arch rival La Salle with 27.7 points and trailing No. 2 UST (33.4), No. 5 NU (31.1) and No. 6 State U (30.7), all of which have smaller frontline compared to the defending champion.

The Eagles must also boost their bench scoring.

Ateneo is No. 4 in that department with an average of 27 points mainly because the starters usually get the job done.

Ateneo also leads the league in assists with 15.8, second in perimeter points with 28.2 and free throw percentage with 69.9 percent behind UST’s 28.7 points and 71.5 percent. The Eagles are also second in committing errors with only 16.9 next only to University of the East’s 16.6.

The Eagles are also impressive on number of block shots. They ended tied with the Adamson Falcons, the Warriors and the Bulldogs in that department with 4.6 blocks an outing.

Credit that to the defense-minded Baclao, last year’s Finals MVP who is No. 2 in shot blocks with an average of 2.5, just behind the high-leaping Elmer Espiritu of UE, who had 2.8.

Ateneo also has the league’s best individual wing defender in Eric Salamat, who is tied with UP’s Alvin Padilla in steals with 2.1 an outing even though Ateneo is only No. 7 in that department with a norm of 5.6.

The Eagles just couldn’t wait to reassert their mastery over the Tigers and defend their crown against the Tams or the Warriors.

New UE mentor starts from scratch

Coach Lawrence Chongson first act as coach of the University of the East was to overhaul the system implemented by the team’s previous mentors that proved effective but wasn’t enough to bring the Warriors out of a 24-year UAAP limbo.

Chongson turned the Warriors from a defense-oriented squad into a run-and-gun team with a free-flowing offense anchored on the talented Paul Lee.

The system of former UE coach Dindo Pumaren nearly got the job done as it led to six straight post-season appearances, including one highlighted by a historic 14-game elimination round sweep two years ago.

But the hope of a breakthrough turned into despair and heartbreak as the Warriors were swept by the La Salle Archers in the 2007 finals.

“In 24 years, we probably used every style in the book,” said Chongson, who had coaching stints in the defunct Metropolitan Basketball Association and in the Philippine Basketball League before calling the shots at the Recto-based school.

“So when I took over, I set them out to see the world, brought them to Disneyland in the United States to have fun and see magic and maybe learn about it and use it to win a championship in the UAAP,” he said.

The new-look Warriors made an impressive run and finished third overall after the elimination round with a 10-4 mark they capped with an amazing six-game streak.

It included an emphatic rout of the Tamaraws in the second round last Aug. 23 when Pari Llagas, Elmer Espiritu and Lee poured in 24, 20 and 18 points, respectively, to help beat FEU, their Final Four foes.

UE would need the same efforts or maybe double it for it to pull the rug from under FEU, which it needs to beat twice to advance to the best-of-three championship.

The Warriors have one of the league’s most explosive offensive games built around Lee, Espiritu, Llagas and Val Acuna as they averaged a third best 74.5 points an outing next only to the Tigers 78.8 and the Tams’ 74.5.

Lee, who is being strongly considered by Smart Gilas Pilipinas for inclusion to its developmental team, led the squad in scoring (14.6 points), paced the league in assists (4.9) and third in the team in rebounds (5.8 boards).

Llagas, for his part, is UE’s third leading scorer (13.4) and leading rebounder and second overall in the league (8.9) while Espiritu is its second best scorer (13.6), third best rebounder (8.1) and the league’s No. 1 shot-blocker (2.8).

Acuna, who was UE’s best performer when it participated in a tough tournament in Las Vegas early in the year, averaged 10.4 points and is the Warriors’ leading three-point shooter by making 26 conversions.

And true to his unique coaching style, Chongson brought the Warriors down south in Mandaue City for team bonding and exhibition games during the weeklong break, away from the pressures, distractions and excitement of a league in the grip of Final Four.

Tamaraws’ triumvirate, backup crew up to the task

Far Eastern University’s title bid would hinge mainly on how its defense would hold and how its top players – Aldrech Ramos and JR Cawaling – and the rest of the squad would respond in the absence of Mark Barroca.

The Tams’ top playmaker has reportedly decided to leave the team in the most crucial stretch of its campaign following speculations that he allegedly held back his game towards the end of the elims.

FEU finished second to Ateneo after the elimination round with an 11-3 card on the strength of their fancied troika’s (Barroca, Ramos and Cawaling) tenacity and a defense that could rival that of Ateneo’s, the league’s best defensive team.

The only problem FEU could face in the Final Four and in the finals, if it goes on to beat UE, is where to go to at crunch time especially with Barroca out of the team.

Take for instance FEU’s final elims match with Ateneo.

In that game, billed as a preview of this year’s finale, the Tams built leads of as many as 17 points in the third quarter only to blow it after self-destructing in the last period for a heartbreaking 73-74 defeat.

The setback also blew FEU’s bid to snatch the top seeding in the post season although it enjoy a twice-to-beat advantage against UE in the Final Four.

The reliable Barroca and the prolific Cawaling failed to dish out their usual best in that crucial encounter with only the vastly improved Ramos showing up and coming through with a double-double effort of 16 points and 16 rebounds.

Sources even said those solid numbers by Ramos were enough to net him the MVP trophy had the Tams took that one.

Despite that loss, FEU coach Glenn Capacio remains confident that his veterans will step up as they go up against the Warriors today.

“What can I say, they’re my veterans and I will always have a faith in them,” said Capacio, looking for his third Final Four appearance in as many seasons as coach, referring to Ramos, Barroca and Cawaling.

Overall, the Tams remained formidable.

FEU’s offense is one of the finest in the league with a norm of 74.9 points, second to UST’s 78.8.

It complemented the Tams’ pressure defense, which is third best in the league when they held down their foes to just 67.4 points a game, next to Ateneo’s 63.9 and Adamson’s 67.

The Tams are at their best when they defend the wing, allowing only a second best 25.5 percent of their opponents’ shots from the rainbow area, next to the Eagles (24.6 percent). The Morayta-based squad was also tops in limiting perimeter points with only 21.7 points.

“Of course, our defense is still our source of strength,” said Capacio, who has steered FEU to a couple of pre-season titles but never on a stage as big as the UAAP.

However, the Tams would need to match or better these figures against the Warriors, whom the former beat, 76-72, in their first round showdown last Aug. 9. But the Recto-based team evened things up with an 87-72 rout in the second round last Aug. 23.

In that humiliating second round setback, FEU had no answer to the high-scoring trio of Pari Llagas, Elmer Espiritu and Paul Lee, who erupted for 24, 20 and 18 points, respectively.

But the Tams are expected to clamp down on UE’s top gunners, clinch the win and avoid going into a sudden death affair.

“We have to stop them, they’re the ones who took charge when we lost to them,” said Capacio referring to Llagas, Espiritu and Lee.

But if only Cawaling and Ramos could dish off the games expected of them and the rest could step up at crunchtime, FEU will be hard to beat.

Tigers underdogs but can be ruthless

The Ateneo-UST Final Four match -up will be a clash of teams with contrasting styles with the Eagles tipped to use their dreaded defense against the Tigers’ vaunted offense.

While Ateneo baffles its opponents with its league-best defense, UST pounds its rivals with its free-wheeling offense that is the best in this season.

In the Smart Bro-backed stats, the Tigers were clearly ahead in points scored for by averaging 78.8 points, nearly full five points ahead of the second running FEU Tams with 74.9 points.

Dylan Ababou, this year’s MVP, proved to be the Tigers’ chief gunner.

A mainstay of Smart Gilas Pilipinas, Ababou piled up stellar scoring norms of 18.9 points, way ahead of last year’s MVP Rabeh Al-Hussaini, who had 16.5.

The 6-4 Ababou is also the only player who churned out double-digit outputs in all 14 elimination round games.

His highest production was a 30-point explosion in a104-89 rout of National U in the first round last July 16 while his lowest was a 10-point effort against FEU, 63-90, also in the first round last Aug. 6.

Ababou also blossomed into all-around player, finishing joint eighth in rebounds with Al-Hussaini with averages of 7.1 and has a 2.5-assist norm.

Khasim Mirza, who like Ababou is also playing his last season as a Tiger, is the other reason UST’s offense remains as fluid as ever with the 6-6 guard finishing sixth in the league in scoring with an average of 13.5 points.

UST is also a force to reckon with in three-point shooting, draining the most triples by any team this year with 102 conversions. Only Ateneo has a better percentage from long range territory as it made 87 of 273 shots for 31.9 percent compared to UST’s 102-of-344 clip for 29.7 percent.

The bulk of those triples came from UST’s diminutive but sweet-shooting pair of Clark Bautista and Jeric Fortuna, who buried 26 and 21, respectively.

Ababou, Mirza and rookie sensation Jeric Teng each hit 14 treys while injured Allein Maliksi accounted for 10 triples.

But while UST frolics in offense, the same could not be said of its defense.

The Tigers allowed their rivals to score a season high 82.1 points a game and were even beaten by weaker teams like the NU Bulldogs (75.3) and the UP Maroons (79.1).

While deadly from behind the arc, UST had a hard time neutralizing the opposing teams’ shooters, who had feasted on the team’s defense with 108 triples and 31.6 perimeter points.

The Tigers also miserably failed in defending the lane, allowing an average of 33.3 points in a tie with the Warriors at No. 5.

But UST coach Pido Jarencio remains hopeful of the Tigers’ chances against the Eagles, citing their unforgettable title run in 2006 when they bucked overwhelming odds to snatch the championship.

“We remained confident of our chances,” said Jarencio, whose team was swept by Ateneo this year, 93-77 and 80-70.

“Remember 2006. We started with a 2-5 (win-loss) record but made it to the Final Four. Needing two wins to advance to the Finals, we beat UE twice then we came back from a Game One loss in the finals by winning Game Two and then Game Three in overtime.

“Now we’re the No. 4 seed in the Final Four and back as underdogs. We’re excited of our chances again,” Jarencio said.

So are the Eagles.