I was not disappointed after yesterdays loss to Adamson. I sort of expected it. They have a better, bigger and more experienced team than we have and it only seemed natural that the better team won. However there were glaring instances that disappointed me about the way La Salle played. Though we have overachieved by reaching the Final Four, I believe a few adjustments can bring this team to higher lengths. I remember last year when at this time of the tournament we Lasallians were already thinking of what other things to do since we were not in the Final Four, a situation we were not used to.
Simon Atkins had an off day and that is understandable for any player, but still one could still see that he was hustling and willing the team to victory. Maui Villanueva also had a sub par game but that is fine. Better now than in the Final Four. On the bright side, I am now officially a Jovet Mendoza fan. I love his intensity and his hustle. In addition, compared to others on the team, he is a good foul shooter and this is something big men need to be since they usually get fouled fighting for that rebound.
What was a great sight to behold was the return of the Marata we have gotten to know. He will definitely get better going into the Final Four. However, Marata should stay our of the corners because the out of bounds lines are like a defensive tool that limits your mobility. He is better off in the open court and moving without the ball. Yet I still believe he is a star in the making. I see a JV Casio of the future. His composure is likewise admirable. Like most true shooters, a missed shot will not make him stop taking more shots.
Coach Dindo’s decision to start Vosotros instead of Joel Tolentino was a very good move. Vosotros is more of a play maker and looks for the shot only as a last alternative. Yesterday he shot very well and he shot the ball when he needed to rather than force it. It was also good seeing Nico Elorde play because he seems to still lack the confidence needed to make a difference.
Yesterday was a game that was played so much like our loss to UE. We were very lax in the first 3 quarters and then we had to play catch-up in the 4th. Our defense was not the defense that La Salle is known for . I do not understand why no one was guarding Cañada in the same way Tampus stuck to RR Garcia like Mighty Bond. We have the defensive players that can guard opponents one on one as proven by our win over FEU.
It also surprises me why our team seems to run like headless chickens whenever we get an interception. It happened quite a number of times wherein we steal the ball and end up giving it back because the first tendency is to run even if we are outnumbered by the opponent on the offensive end. Being a very good defensive team, we should take better care of the ball when we get an interception because that gives us more chances to score.
I really like the way Luigi de la Paz plays. He has a high basketball IQ and it should rub in to the other rookies. Tampus is another rookie that will develop into an effective weapon. What a difference a year will make for these two players.
As I have said time and again, our big men really need a good big man coach. Teams are getting bigger and as I understand, we have good big men coming in next season. Papot Paredes is a stone in the rough that will develop and be a monster in the middle. He should be able to learn to shoot those short jumpers and learn how to work with guards to get open inside and receive quick passes. His defense is extremely good. He blocks shots but when he does it normally ends up with his teammates. He has a low turnover rate and that is good for any big man. Andrada is developing well and by next year, he will be a force to reckon with. The one thing that he should develop is what Rico Maeirhofer had and that was the mid range jump shot.
As for Ferdinand, I would just let him finish the season. He cannot hold on to the ball when he rebounds. His defense is leaves much to be desired, as proven by that inbound play where Adamson passed the ball to the player under the goal who Ferdianand was guarding and got an uncontested shot. Offensively, when he is on the floor it is 4 against 5 situation because the opposing team will be happy for him to get the ball. He can hardly even makes shots under the goal. He is playing at his maximum capacity and we should not expect more. I think Coach Dindo kept him in too long yesterday.
Joshua Webb probably played his worst game of the season. The good thing about Webb is that he is his biggest critic. He really takes bad plays to heart and he is more angry at himself than anyone else. He missed 2 open fastbreaks and you could see the anger in his face. Not even the 3 pointer he made removed that anger. Webb is a terrific player. What he needs to do is look at his game against FEU and see how effective he was moving without the ball and spacing himself under the basket. He should also control his emotions on the court. There are time that he is so “gigil” on the court and that affects his game. He is a player with the talent, the tools and the basketball savvy. All he has to do now is put it all together.
Finally, will we ever improve our foul shooting? It has been La Salle’s Waterloo as far back as I can remember. Foul shooting wins or loses games. I was closely watching the way the players shoot their foul shots and the fundamentals were not there. Larry Bird once said that foul shooting is an act of repetition. There are 3 things that make one a good foul shooter. These are balance, taking your time and doing the what is effective the same way every time. Calvin Murphy. who had one of the highest foul shooting percentages in NBA mentions that effective foul shooting has 3 components. First your feet have to be parallel to each other. Second you get your strength from bending your knees and third you get your direction from your arm. He adds that there should be a full extension of the arm after the ball is released. Murphy’s system is effective especially during endgame situations because the power from the knees does not diminish due to exhaustion.
On the bright side, we have had a tremendous season. We have rookies who surprised us with maturity and who will only get better. We are back in the Final Four, even (or especially) if nobody expected us to be there. We have a chance to even make it to the finals. I hope FEU takes the no. 1 spot because we match up with them better. We beat them once and lost a double overtime game. The regular season is over for La Salle. Let the Final Four begin!
