The View From the Armchair – Game 13 vs UE

September 5, 2010 | 9:25 am | By |

Memo to Green Archers: don’t take any team for granted, particularly one playing to salvage some pride out of a lost season. And if you’re superstitious, exercise extra caution on the 13th game.

Playing with barely a day’s rest in between games, the Green Archers came out looking to win a shootout with UE, and fell, 74-80 in their penultimate game in the eliminations. The 5th loss dented the Archers’ chances of figuring in a race for a twice-to-beat advantage in the playoffs; however with Adamson’s loss to NU, the final placing will be determined in our game with the Falcons on Thursday.

The Archers got another quick start, allowed UE to grab the lead, 8-11, then poured it on to take a 10-point lead at 22-12 behind a hot start by Papot (8 points) and Spider (6 points) before settling into a 25-20 advantage at the end of the first quarter. The 25 points we scored was enabled by our accurate shooting from the 2point area, where we made 12 out of 19, but unfortunately we missed all our 5 3point attempts in the period. The relatively high score was an ominous sign of how the game would be played.

Our shooting dipped in the second quarter, where we made only 5 out of our 16 attempts. UE’s energy level, on the other hand, seemed to exceed ours as they matched us in rebounding for the quarter with 14 boards, and their tenacious defending forced us into 7 turnovers which they translated into 5 points in contrast to UE’s 4 turnovers. UE again pounced on our sluggish defense to score 20 points in the quarter, capitalizing on our foul trouble to sink 13 out of 15 ft attempts in the half. Fouls limited the playing time of Simon, and this possibly was a factor in his sub-par performance in the game.

Taking a cue from UST, UE also pounced on our occasional inattention after we score to go for a quick break in the 2nd half, succeeding in getting 10 easy fastbreak points in the last 20 minutes. The 3rd quarter saw us commit 6 more turnovers, while we were limited to only 7 attempts from the 2point area, making 3 fgs while making only 1 out of our 5 3point tries. We did capitalize on UE’s foul trouble to make 7/9 fts in the 3rd. However, we just matched UE’s output of 16 to end the quarter still tied at 56.

The defense unraveled in the 4th and UE managed to sink 7 out of their 8 2point attempts and 1/3 3pointers for a high 73% from the field on top of 7/8 fts. UE also had 3 steals as they seemed to be fresher at the end. Our free throw shooting went south in the last 10 minutes, where we made only 1 out of 7 tries. Our 5 turnovers in the last 5 minutes derailed attempts to come back after UE took a 64-71 lead with 2:45 left in the game. Sam hit his only trey out of 6 attempts to cut the lead to 3 at 74-77, but we failed to score while UE sank 3 fts on our desperation fouls to close out scoring.

What went wrong

The defense took a day off, perhaps after the Archers’ grueling game against UST two days ago coupled with the need to crack the books for the final exams. It’s very uncharacteristic for the Archers to allow an opponent to score more than 20 points in more than 2 quarters in a game, and to yield 80 points in regulation. As I mentioned in the Game 11 Armchair article, it is risky for the Archers to allow the opponents to run up the score, because our offense is inconsistent at present. Again, the team was caught napping after we scored, with UE inbounding the ball quickly to a streaking guard for an easy layup. Hey, that’s what we like to do to the opponents, but this time, the tables were turned. They also had a “nakaw” play off an inbound under their goal.

Turnovers cost us dearly. We had more (19) than UE (14), which gave UE 18 points. And the Warriors were more successful thieves, taking the ball away 6 times against our 2. UE also adjusted better to the referees’ calls, employing a physical game which tested the limits of the officials’ discretion. The bumping and pushing unsettled our players enough to create some uncertainty in the offense. Our players will need to understand how the referees will call a game, and change the way they play accordingly.

Foul shots. Again. Seems like Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde, but it was Mr. Hyde who took the free throws against UE. We had almost as many foul throws as UE, 23 to 26, but while they made 23/26 (89%!!!), we flunked the exams in this area. Only 11 out of 23 for 48%. How may points was our deficit at the end? Six? Oh, and we missed 12 foul shots. Unacceptable, if we are to get deep into the playoffs. Our opponents will most likely have the hack-an-Archer as one of their game plans when they play us.

We also have problems when our 3point shooting is off and the opponents clog the paint. Today, UE allowed us to take 17 shots from the 3point area, but we only hit on 3. Our misses allowed us to grab 21 offensive boards, but we gave away many of these chances because of our turnovers.

Off days by Joel and Almond kept them on the bench for the majority of the game, forcing Coach Dindo to play rookies Luigi and Nico at pg together with Simon.

What went right

Spider Webb had another good game, scoring 14 points for the second consecutive game, behind a highly efficient 7/9 shooting from the field. Luigi also contributed 13 using his underrated slashing ability. Papot scored 8 in the early going to power our first half offense. We put up 74 points, which ordinarily is enough to win a game. Except that UE scored more.

Our defense also put pressure on the UE shot clock, usually a positive factor, but their individual efforts allowed them to get away to score, exemplified by Paul Lee’s 19 points. Our players just have to keep up the pressure, because it is unlikely that opponents will be as consistently good as Ateneo and UE were against us in the second round. The defense works, and the Archers just have to have the faith that it is their main weapon.

Rebounding again was good, 52-35 and we did pull down 21 offensive rebounds, but turnovers and missed shots negated this advantage off the boards. Our bigs Papot (7), Yutien (7), Maui (7), and Jovet did the heavy work on the boards, assisted by Spider (5). We did have 17 assists on our 30 field goals, and this is a good indicator of the developing teamwork of our young Archers.

The rookie watch

Luigi played the most at 25 minutes and had a good all-around game with 13 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block. With his steady play, he is one of the key Archers in Coach Dindo’s rotation, and should be considered as a leading candidate for Rookie of the Year honors. Papot had an excellent start, scoring 10 points on top of 7 rebounds and 3 blocks, but faded in the second half. Nico put in 9 minutes at pg, hit a 3 to give us our last lead of the game, but showed his inexperience in that last botched pass to Sam in the last minute. Almond’s slump continued, and he was able to notch 2 assists in his 11 minutes on the floor. Oda tallied 4 points but showed that he still has yet to make a successful adjustment to the college game and turned over the ball twice. There was a Martin Reyes sighting, and he contributed 2 rebounds.

The sophomores

Sam continued to struggle from the rainbow territory, making only 1 out of 6 tries for his only points. Yutien had a quiet game, 7 points and an equal number of rebounds to go with 1 block. Joel was limited to 8 minutes, all in the first half; he was probably benched after Paul Lee stole the ball from him as he was setting our final play to tie the game at the end of the first half.

DNPs

Gab and Aiki

Looking forward

Simon and Maui seem to act as thermometers of the team – if they have quiet games or are ineffective, our game suffers. Both failed to make an impact on the scores, Simon had only 6 points and Maui had 5. They will have to be more active offensively and be more of a threat to open up the lanes for penetration.

Adamson remains as the only team we have not yet beaten so far. We should win this game to avoid having a 2-game losing streak going into the final 4. With this young team, confidence is all important, and a win on Thursday will help them get that mental edge in the playoffs.

KEEP THE FAITH!

Tags: De La Salle Green Archers, UAAP Season 73, UE Red Warriors


Get updates from this blog straight to your inbox. Enter your email address below

Delivered by FeedBurner

  • Proud Archer

    Like I commented on the prvious article, it’s defense that will be the barometer of whether we will go all the way to win a championship this season, or whether we will be contented with our final four comeback and nothing more. The reason why we are so successful this season is that we have a stiffling defnesive rotation on the guard line, and Paopot and Yutien have suddenly become our effective last line of defense. That’s it.

    Never mind the firepower. Guys, we HAVE that with this team. We didn’t have it last year. But if you are going to point out that we lost the game becasue our shooting went south, I strongly disagree. We lost the game because we allowed their guard foursome Paul Lee, Reyes, James Martinez, and David Zamar to score heavily. Even the seldom used and seldom offensive minded Lucas Tagarda had his moments.

    Arguably, nobody can really stop Paul Lee. But we can put the clamps on EVERYBODY ELSE. We shouldn’t be victimized by any guard penetration dish off plays to any shooters or cutters. We have the guard line to stiffle that.

    I thought things would turn around when Nico Elorde was assigned to Reyes, effectively clamping down on him. That was why Vosotros sat the rest of the way and was used sparingly. But Nico was switched to James Martinez, and Spider took on Reyes. But Reyes was more shifty than James. I felt that this was one of the more crucial coaching miscues in that game. Reyes is a playmaker with very shifty moves. James Martinez is a shooter with limited moves but a quick release. Therefore, Spider should have taken him on.

    But I’m not going to break down the game like an article. The above article covers it. If you summarize everything, our weapon of choice should ALWAYS BE DEFENSE DEFENSE DEFENSE.

    ANIMO!!!!!!!!

  • Nick Diggler

    …i saw the game live and i’ve noticed how our guards defended the players of UE… many times they have given up on their man for an easy lay up…. a good stance is always front your man and never go sideways… if a player like Paul Lee goes Kobe by driving hard while leaning, the defender must move in a backward direction… when a player leans, most likely he’ll go hard to the basket… the moment he leans, take two quick steps backward giving your man some space… you give him the impression that he can go STRAIGHT to the basket… once you give space, then you can quickly plant your two feet on the floor…. then you can easily set up any Kobe-wannabe to hit you hard with two feet on the floor… you don’t even need to FLOP… he hits you hard and it’s an easy call for the referees…. just watch the games of JOE DUMARS and DENNIS RODMAN… it worked for me many, many times…. it’s not always about sticking CLOSE to your man because he can easily dribble and make the first step… when he can’t dribble, then hound him all you want… always FRONT and GO BACKWARDS… and that my friends, is how you play defense… let Papot Paredes worry about blocking the ball… ANIMO

  • Nel

    @grace,

    Thanks for pointing it out. Yes, that’s the common usage. However, my use of ‘thermometer’ was intentional. A thermometer tells us the temperature – hot or cold. If Simon and Maui are hot, the team wins, and if they’re cold, the team’s performance is also cold. But you’re right. The words ‘barometer’ or ‘indicator’ could have been used just as well.

  • dlsudiehard

    with all due respect to the author of this article, i beg to disagree when you implied in your first line that the archers took UE for granted. i don’t think our team did because they know that the warriors beat adamson and ateneo(hehe). so even if UE was out of the running prior to yesterday’s game, our team knew what kind of team UE is. It is a final four caliber team that simply did not play well in the first round. next is that our team knew the importance of this game ergo they did not take the game lightly. Our team was simply beaten by a team that is just as good. And of course, our players have to deal with their exams.

    To our team, congratulations, you have achieved what you set out to do and that is get back into the final four. let’s take it one game at a time

    @nick Diggler – i totally agree with you. the best way to play defense is use your feet and by staying in front of your man and going backwards, you stay between your man and the ring. that was also how i played defense during my playing years in La Salle Greenhills

  • Greendot

    I admire the comments given by fellow lasallians. I hope the coaching staff also read this comments so as to give additional input to the team.

  • Nick Diggler

    @dlsudiehard: glad to know someone who knows the art of defense…

    just to add another defensive technique… when you get the man to commit to drive strong to the basket, you create the right space then do quick stutter steps going backwards before planting both feet on the floor… although always be ready to take the HIT …. once he hits you, BAM!!! it’s a matter of setting it up and creating the ‘charging’ situation… much better than FLOPPING…. i just hope JACK SANTIAGO and TONICHI YTURRI take note of this… the team can just watch the tapes and review how many points they gave up because of poor defensive styles…

  • Army Green

    Coaching Tip for Dindo: When a player gets hot, do not take him out immediately!

  • Kalabao

    by the way when we were down by just 3 after Sam’s trey, a foul was called on the back court with about 30 seconds to go. there was no need to foul. tough D and shoot the three. much better percentage.

  • bill

    @Proud Archer, dude I agree that defense is our main weapon, but I noticed that during the last few minutes of the 4th quarter, UE gave us about 3 chances (maybe more) when they turn the ball over and took a bad shot. However during this time it seems like we cannot score. My point is, yes defense will be the primary concern as it is the team’s ultimate weapon, but can we score when we really really need to?I mean after every defensive stop (by our team)/bad shot combined with turn-overs by UE during last 3-4 mins, those were our chance, we cannot say that UE did not gave us any chance. So yes, we have some fire power and we can probably stop any team if we want to but can we score whenever we want to?Do we have that kind of fire power?

    By the way, I was hoping that the last few games (as important as it is) would be used on tweaking our game plan/plays/defensive sets for the final 4.

  • http://www.punsoy.com aldric dalumpines

    from now on, let your gameplan be simple: win the second half!

  • Fritz webb

    I’m quite sad about the loss that the boys absorbed yesterday however at this point, it really doesn’t matter anymore because what has past is past hence we look to what possibilities we have in the near future.

    Some might find it blasphemous for me to say this but I’ll say it anyway, our next game is not as important as the two games after that. The boys should try their darnest best to beat either ateneo or feu twice in a row then they will find themselves in a position no one has ever predicted them to be in. The season UAAP season 73 finals! Now that would be really swell!

    Moving on to something less appetizing and somewhat personal, A poster named spectator who claims to be a UP basketball whiz whose brother he claims is my son’s teamate, has posted several disturbing and inaccurate information about my son and my family. Normally I would have just let such comments pass, but in the end I decided write a letter to clarify some points to prevent any kind of confusion.

    In the end Spectator has apologized for his posts. To Mr. Spectator, I humbly accept your apology and hope that if you are a true archer fan that we can put an end to divisive posts and concentrate instead on finding ways to help our team do better through encouragement and constructive criticism. After all, in the end, we all want to win. If however we don’t find ourselves so lucky then let us us try our best at the least.

  • pipit

    i guess we got so excited that there was a chance for the 2nd spot. We need to take one game at a time.

    Good luck Archers!!! ANIMO LA SALLE!!!

  • greenie

    Let’s put the team’s current standing in perspective. This time last year, we were a woeful 1 – 5 in the second round. This time, we’re 4 – 2 and IN the Final Four! As disappointing as the loss was to UE, we’re still much, much better off than what was expected from this team coming into this season. For a team composed mostly of rookies and sophomores, I would have to say that we’ve achieved much more than what the so-called basketball analysts had predicted. But let’s not stop here and go all the way to the finals and win the championship! We beat FEU resoundingly after a terrible loss to the blue eagles. I hope we can bounce back to beat AdU on Thu. We need the victory to boost our confidence going into the Final Four. ANIMO LA SALLE

  • tecapten

    I think we should not just stop at improving our primary weapon.. i agree that we have a very good defensive team and we clean the boards well… for me, it’s a process.. we don’t just stop at step 1… next thing we do is focus on offense since we have already clamped down on defensive end.. we have the following going forward…

    1. a go to guy
    2. if the go to guy is “cold” as indicated by the thermometer, we should have an offensive system capable of scoring.

    Good luck to the archers!

  • Fred Cebu

    I did not understand the game plan last game. The boys had barely 48 hours of rest from their game with UST and yet we played a full court press for 40 minutes agains UE! What was wrong with the effective 2-3 zone defense in the previous games? I was also very surprised at the rotation strategy of the coach. He was pulling out players who were busy with a rally? If the UE game was an experiment then I would understand the strategy. Let’s work on our foul-shooting guys, going into the final four matches. The awful FT conversion rate last game did us in.

  • Greendot

    I agree with Mr. Webb. I could not remember where I read that post about Joshua Webb and you have cleared some details with Mr. Spectator. I am glad he apologized already. I admire the passion and hard work of Joshua inside the court and with a little guidance from the coaching staff, he can be one of the heroes for Lasalle.

    I hope that this game against the Falcons, they will show their consistency in the free throw area. I have this feeling that DLSU Green Archers will be the champion this year.

  • bill

    Yeah I agree with Fred and to all who previously posted about improving the free throws and minimizing turn-overs. Let me add one more, I hope the team improves the desire to score after a steal/making the opposing take a bad/hurried shot. Making a defensive stop and stealing the ball whether in video games or on the hard court is hard and those are opportunities the team created for itself.

    Again this is what I hope the team tweaks before the final four:
    1. Free throw conversion
    2. Better handling on the ball
    3. Desire to capitalize on defensive stops

    Let’s support the DLSU Teams of all sports!

    (any updates on our volleyball teams?)

  • PM

    I from Iloilo and a true green archer fan

    One thing I’m proud of the team right now, is the way they play their heart’s out in every game, since their first game up until now? win or lose?…one things for sure they’ve let their critics check their eyes and eyeglasses now

    A couple suggestion though, for the coaching staff:

    Offense works if you have players that’s not battered by defense
    (I know press was always been the key for the archers to win games, but you need also guys that will run the scoring that is not puffing and gasping for air)

    Don’t let the offense be predictable
    (after Marata hit the 3, on the next ball position, midway halfcourt UE already knew where would the play or ball be….still Marata and sad is same area on the floor….result? predicted drive and predicted pass courtesy by Elorde)

  • Fred_Cebu

    Our last game is on Thursday against Adamson. It all looks like we are playing FEU in the final four regardless of the outcome. Coach D might want to experiment with some defensive systems, other than the full court press. He might also want to test some second stringers who have not had enough playing time. I feel that we have a very deep bench man for man. If we play our cards well we can beat FEU. It appears that we are their nemesis! Just look at how they fared against us in the first two games.

  • Green Tribe

    Next Game is Adamson, Adamson might give the game to us because Ateneo had beaten them twice, FEU and Ateneo wants to go with Adamson, so if We win we’ll battle with FEU.
    Again Defense will be our key to win. I hope coach Dindo read my comment on the article Warriors humble Archers

  • pipit

    be ready with the Adamson. They will use zone defense against us. we should also return them the zone defense as they have quality guards that can break our press.

  • Proud Archer

    @bill. Thanks for agreeing with me that defense is our key. This team has the ability to hit the big shots. Remember the first Ateneo game? We were down an out, but guess what? We hit the big shots to win it.

    Yes UE did give us some chances also. My point is that if we scored 76, that should have been more than enough points to win a UAAP game. Going away at that. So we did have the firepower after all in that game. BUT the other team should score LESS.

    We cannot engage any of the other three final four teams in a shootout. We will lose for sure. Look at Adamson, even in their losses, their games are almost always close. They keep the score low specially in the 4th quarter when they play zone to clog up the lane. They ALWAYS have a chance to win this way. They know also that they cannot outscore either FEU or Ateneo so they keep their offensive juggernauts out of the game.

    I know your frustrations dude, but such is basketball. Coaches know that offense sometimes takes a vacation. But they always put premium on defense because that can be consistently executed. Defense does not have an off night.

    Thanks for the good words and support bill.

    Re: Joshua, I think he is now starting to identify a role he can consistently perform. That of a finisher. He has been maligned mainly because of his turnovers (most of them trying to create off the dribble, and passing like a point guard from up top). That is not his game.

    He is most effective moving without the ball, going to the open spaces, and finishing. He is one of the best finishers I have ever seen. What I would like him to develop is his REBOUNDING and boxing out. The kid can JUMP. He has the body to box out effectively. He can help Maui, Jovet, Yutien and Papot man the boards. Even in an off shooting night, he can still be effective and very useful.

    He loses his cool sometimes when he doesn’t score well. He also loses it when someone like a Salamat or Buenafe play mind games on him. But as a leaper, he is one of the highest leapers I’ve seen for his size. Therefore, rebounding is the area which he should concentrate on.

    I never malign ANY player (even lat year’s team), simply because different players come up in different games for different reasons. Against UST for instance, our guards are very effective because all they have to do is watch for the three point shot. Against Adamson, it’s Simon and Marata (our off guards) who are key because of the Zone defense.

    AND guys, we NEED ALL our players to perform well to succeed, not just some. So let’s support our team as a whole, and the boys as individuals. They represent our school proudly, and we support them proudly also.

    ANIMO.