MANILA, Philippines — Usually, a varsity team learns a lot during the preseason, is put to test in the first round because the matches do count in the big tournament, and the adjustments are made in the second round.
The Ateneo Blue Eagles defeated the National University Bulldogs, 69-65, to move up to fifth place in the standings with a 5-4 record. They have won two consecutive matches after a three-game slide.
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The game against La Salle this Saturday has huge implications as the Blue Eagles are tied with DLSU with the same win-loss slate.
Before we go into that, it is worth noting that every time Ateneo has led in the first half, they went on to win the game.
56-39 against UE
45-46 against UP
35-27 against Adamson
45-40 against NU
43-45 against La Salle
39-46 against FEU
32-34 against UST
46-30 against FEU
42-41 against NU
Of course, no game is won after the first 20 minutes. If you root for Ateneo, you have to be concerned after the fourth quarter finishing kick.
The fourth quarter finishing kick:
16-19 against UE
20-28 against UP
19-24 against Adamson
20-13 against NU
14-20 against La Salle
16-22 against FEU
26-17 against UST
17-22 against FEU
16-10 against NU
One culprit is the turnovers in the last two minutes of the final frame of non-blowout wins or losses:
73-68 versus Adamson
six points, one missed FG, two turnovers
87-76 against La Salle
Ateneo 3-point lead going into the final two minutes
10 points and no turnovers
75-72 against FEU
five points, three turnovers
Against NU in the second round:
10 points, two turnovers
3-8 against UE
5-8 UP
3-1 against Adamson
4-4 against NU
4-5 against La Salle
There is a nasty habit of giving foes a chance to come back and win the game
(Adamson in the first round, FEU and NU in the second round) in the final period. Thus far, Louie Alas has fielded five different starting fives in nine matches. However, I believe it is a match-up thing. Nothing wrong with that.
First round
Starters against UE, NU, La Salle, FEU
Bahay, Alas, Bongo, Kapihe, Roberts
Against UP and Adamson
Alas, Baruwa, Bahay, Roberts, Kapihe
Against UST
Bongo, Alas, Tuano, Roberts, Baruwa
Second Round
FEU
Bahay, Alas, Baruwa, Roberts, Tuano,
NU
Bahay, Alas, Tuano, Baruwa, Bongo
The point I am making is the team is still learning to play together as well as to win.
Unlike others that had plenty of time to work on their game, Ateneo has to learn on the job with games on the line.
Nine players have played in all nine matches and have logged more than 10 minutes of playing time: Kieffer Alas, Jared Bahay, Travis Roberts, Shawn Tuano, Ian Espinosa, Andrew Bongo, EJ Kapihe, Grayson Rogers and Sultan Baruwa.
Two others have eight minutes of playing time in JM Leal and Alden Cainglet.
First round – players used per game
15 against UE
13 against UP
11 against Adamson
11 against NU
12 against La Salle
12 against FEU
12 against UST
Second round – players used per game
10 against FEU
12 against NU
Louie Alas uses an average of 12 players per match. Prior to the start of the UAAP season, he did go on the record to say he would play around 12-13 per match. But it also depends.
The Blue Eagles are far from a finished product. But there are positive things.
On a per-match basis, Ateneo is tops in steals with 10.3 points, fast-break points with 14.1, and turnover points with 19.1.
They have improved their free throws.
And given everything that has happened, they have done better than expected and are 5-4 with five more games to play.