Archive for August, 2009

Post Game Bullets: DLSU 55 ADU 61

By | August 13, 2009 | 4:57 pm |

  • The sluggish Archers fell to the Adamson Falcons, 55-61 in today’s first game. Not exactly the result our supporters expected after the team’s valiant and spirited effort against Ateneo last Sunday.
  • The Archers seemed a half step slower at times, and Adamson seemed to have prepared for the Archers’ traditional offensive sets, crowding the Archers in their favorite spots and contesting all shots, particularly those in the paint.
  • It was a puzzling game to many observers, perhaps because of the 1-6 record of Adamson at the end of the first round. It’s worthwhile remembering that Adamson lost several games by 3 points or less in the first round, including that 1point overtime loss to our team, and that they beat the Archers in a pre-season tournament. Adamson is better than their record suggests. Give credit to Adamson, they wanted it more and it showed as they were more active on the boards and in going after loose balls.
  • The Archers started off hot from the 3point area, hitting all 9 points in the first quarter from treys. After that initial streak, the Archers’ arrows started missing the mark. In the first half, the Archers made 5 out of their 9 3point attempts, while making only 3/23 on 2point attempts. Far out thought – maybe they should have fired away from the long court more instead of bringing the ball closer to the hoop? Nah, bad idea. They just have to believe that they can sink those shots.
  • Some previous faults of the first few games resurfaced – lazy passes that were picked off, playing great defense for at least 20 seconds, then allowing the opponents to score in the last couple of seconds, failing to box out on the rebounds, forcing contested shots, hesitating on open shots. Probably indications of a lack of concentration on the game. Maybe they were already thinking ahead to Sunday’s game.
  • It was the veterans who engineered the closing kick that brought the lead down to what it was at the end of the game. Bader hit a couple of fts, James scored on a drive, and Peejay hit a contested triple. Interestingly, Peejay seems to connect late in the games. Now, if only he can carry over that last second mindset earlier in the games.
  • With a 4-4 record, the Archers cannot afford to lose many more games. They have to win at least 4 out of the remaining 6 games to have a good shot at the final 4. This was a game the Archers were expected to win, so they’ll need to pick up at least 2 wins from the “stronger” teams like Ateneo, FEU, UE, and UST, while making sure that they successfully hurdle UP and NU. A 7-7 record is a risky proposition.
  • The team has two days to shed the negative feelings from the loss. Someone said that it seemed like they all got off the wrong side of the bed. Whatever, this game is a wakeup call, that the team can’t sleepwalk through any of the games. Hope this loss fires up the players. It’s a good thing that the score on Sunday’s game will be 0-0 during the opening tipoff.

Tags: Adamson Falcons, De La Salle Green Archers, UAAP Basketball, UAAP Season 72

Pre-game Predictions: La Salle vs. Adamson Round 2

By | August 13, 2009 | 12:01 am |

Round 1 saw the emergence of Lester Alvarez as Adamson’s premiere point guard. In round 1, it was really an Alvarez vs. La Salle encounter.

This will not be a close game and we might probably blow Adamson away this time. This statement does not come from arrogance after the Ateneo performance. Just a product of my analysis and observations of the previous Adamson game and the emergence of more of our players in the Ateneo game as well. I will substantiate:

Adamson

Lester Alvarez – If there is one defensive weakness we can see right now with the La Salle defensive game, it’s guarding the pass of a penetrating guard, (either a drop pass under the basket, or a kick out pass to the corners). Two crucial baskets of the previous game vs Ateneo did us in last Sunday. The corner three point shot of Salamat, and the baseline jumpshot (same side of the court) by Nonoy Baclao. When a Jai Reyes drives, the kick-out pass is usually to the opposite weakside corner jumper. A driving Salamat usually goes for a wrap around pass underneath the basket to a Baclao, a Buenafe or an Al Hussaini. If you remember our two blow-out losses with UE (it was Paul Lee penetrating and dishing off underneath the basket), and FEU (Barroca and Cawaling did the slashing, and Aldrech Ramos, my favorite player on that team, was a monster on defense).

A driving Lester Alvarez presents us with that same problem, but with a difference: Lester shoots more than he passes. Stop his drive, we stop Adamson. We have to stop his outside shot first though, because this gives him the space to drive, once he hits his outside shots. Lester favors his left side when driving, so the anticipation of closing the door should come from this side. The reason why I am more confident right now is Yutien’s floating defense underneath the basket. His performance vs. Ateneo where he blocked two pet post-up shots of Al Hussaini, and one driving lay-up of Salamat, will be the same formula in stopping Alvarez. The key is reducing Alavarez to challenged jumpshooter and playing the passing lanes the way JV Casio used to. Simon Atkins should be up for this job. As a final defensive strategy to Lester if he gets hot, Joshua Webb was and still is the correct choice to stop Alvarez on the drive. First order of the day though. Don’t let him touch the ball.

Jan Colina – Colina is the steadiest and most fundamentally sound of the Falcon players. He plays post up, fights for the rebounds, take the occassional short jumpshot, and anything scrappy expected of a big man. He pump fakes well, and is a good passer. He will not be a good defensive matchup for Yutien, but for Ferdinand, then Mendoza, and finally Arvie, in that order. The order is to save on the fouls of the more crucial big men. If Yutien is around when Jan is inside, he should stay as the float defense, not the main defender of Jan. He might get into foul trouble and we may need his shot blocking abilities on drives to the basket, especially if the game becomes close.

Leo Canuday – Leo Canuday is a great defensive guard with a nose for the ball. He is their ball stripper on the help defense, and is strong going to the basket. He is the equivalent of our Bader Malabes. On offense, however, he likes to make things much harder on himself, opting for the spectacular shots rather than the simple but effective ones. He likes to hang in the air, posterize himself, and is very athletic. Bader should do well defensively with him, but be careful as he does have a strong upper body and can outmuscle a smaller guard in the paint, if he sets his mind to playing post-up. To our advantage, however, he seldom does this.

Mike Galinato – Galinato is an offensive threat with a soft touch in and around the paint. He, however is a defensive liability as he is slow and a bit lazy on defense. Yutien’s help defense won’t be effective with Galinato, as he shoots a fade away. But he can cover Galinato one on one. We can exploit Galinato’s defensive deficiency with the up and under moves of Kish Co. If I am not mistaken, Kish did well vs. Adamson in the first game. This was partly the reason. Galinato is not a good defender.

Jeric Cañada – Unfortunately for this spitfirish guard, he lost his spot to Alvarez and his confidence is low this season. The reason why I am mentioning him is that we seem to be shallow on the point guard spot while Adamson has Alvarez, Cañada, and Canuday at point. He may spring a surprise on us. Hopefully not.

Santos and No. 10 – I apoligize not knowing the new players of Adamson, but these two players shoot without fear, but fortunately for La Salle, without rhyme or reason. They just suddenly gunsling themselves into a shooting frenzy, even from three point distance, and this has cost them a lot of their lost games.

What about La Salle?

You may wonder. “Hey wait a minute Mr. La Sallite? What are you doing describing the key players of the other team? What about our team huh?” Here is my answer. Our priority strategies and focus is and always be DEFENSIVE strategies. In order to defend, you have to know your enemy, correct? There you go. These are the people who gave us a double overtime game the last time. Except for my observation on our defensive weakness, our players more or less now know who will watch whose back on defense, and the type of defensive pressure to apply.

Offensively, I am now more confident. They are beginning to know who will shoot, where and when, and how. It’s just a matter of execution of our offensive patterns. Usually, you will know the offensive flow of the game on game time itself. This is the reason why I commented that we can blow Adamson out of the court this time. If our offensive patterns work, and our defensive assignments are followed to the letter, Adamson has a tendency of going one on one basketball when they panic. You want my views of some of our players in this second game? OK, I will oblige.

James Mangahas – He should do well this time against Adamson. Of all the players in La Salle, James is a match-up problem for them. He is quick enough to blow by his man and tall enough against the Adamson forwards and off guards to shoot over them. If I remember right, he did well against Adamson in the first game.

Joshua Webb – After the Ateneo game, what can you say huh? Spider has seen that he can dominate a game offensively. His problem is focus. He gets so emotionally charged up he sometimes does things that can be detrimental to La Salle (like a deliberate foul, trash talking, and forgetting to play defense). Remember the short jumpshot of Nico Salva in the paint in the Ateneo game? He was Joshua’s man. Even if he scored 26 points in that game, that was one of the crucial makes of Ateneo. Franz bawled him out after that play. However, Joshua’s emotional game is also his strength. He drives harder, jumps higher, and electrifies the La Salle crowd. So what do we do about him? Somebody should just push him away when he goes savage and out of control. Let him pump himself up. He is harder to stop that way. Mabe we should hire a team psychiatrist for him? Just kidding Spider.

Arvie Bringas – Here is our main man. He is one of the main reasons why I predicted that we will win big. He doesn’t panic. He has the right amount of Animo, but does not allow himself to get carried away. He has both offense and defense. He now believes in his shots. AND, he was not a factor in the first game. He will be now!!!

Yutien “Tayshawn Prince” Andrada – He is my favorite player at La Salle. You may notice that I favor the shot blocking defensive demons of the game (Baclao, Aldrech Ramos), and now THIS guy. He, together with Arvie Bringas (the Baste connection), is our offense-defense coin. Our yin-yang players. La Salle will always thrive with a defensive big man who blocks shots like a solar eclipse. Wait till he bulks up a little. A little Anlene in his diet ought to do it. Please don’t let him take Arthro though. He might start to run backwards (although that is not a bad idea when playing defense). :-D

Jovet Mendoza – He is turning out to be our utility player, in the mold of a Jerwin Gaco type. Defense, occasional offense, looseball recoveries, overall presence in the shaded lane, and above all, a fighting heart. If he brought his A game against the Eagles, a smaller bird like the Falcons will be of no problem to him now.

Sam Marata – This is my bold prediction for this game. He will step up big time in this game. If the offensive sets are run for him (the triple staggered screen), swoosh!!!!!

Don’t worry about the Bader and Peejay. One game or another, they will have their shooting moments. Simon will always be our stabilizer. Tolentino should take his lead as Simon’s back-up. Hyram Bagatsing is a better off guard than a point guard. We need Hyram’s shooting more that his ball distribution. Tolentino has to step up. As I said, we are shallow in the point guard position.

If we work as a team and the player’s execute their roles, a 5-2 record at least awaits us in the second round. Notice this La Sallites, I said AT LEAST. That loss against Ateneo wasn’t a loss my friends. We now have a deeper player rotation than what we had in the first Adamson game where we came from our first two devastating losses.

Now get ready for a devastating win!!!!

ANIMO!!!!!!!

Tags: Adamson Falcons, De La Salle Green Archers, UAAP Basketball, UAAP Season 72

Pregame Bullets: DLSU vs ADU 8/13

By | August 12, 2009 | 7:36 am |
  • Currently with a winning record of 4-3, the Green Archers will do some Bird Hunting over the next two playdates to start the second round. First up are the Adamson Soaring Falcons this Thursday.
  • Soaring is kind of misleading if you describe the kind of season Adamson is having now. They ought to be called the Sorry Falcons or Low-flying Falcons with all their hapless setbacks as of late. Their loss against UE a couple of weeks back was indeed a killer blow to their confidence. But of course there is still one whole round for them to recover.
  • In their previous match-up in the first round, the Archers escaped by the skin of their teeth in overtime. Thanks to an unnecessary foul committed by Adamson’s Camson with only a few seconds left, Maui Villanueva was able to break the tie via the free throw stripe. The Archers won 64-63.
  • Some call it an ugly win due to the team’s horrendous shooting. Though the Archers’ offensive output is improving significantly as of late, the key to win this game still has to be on defense.
  • The team may have lost against Ateneo to close the first round but I believe this does not in any way dampen their spirit. Confidence-wise the Archers are on a roll and we hope they continue to improve as we head to the homestretch of this season.
  • Let’s hope that the injury and health-related problems of the Archers are now behind them, so they can give it 100%. This is the homestretch, and how they perform will determine how they will figure in the playoffs.
  • At present, there is a 5-way battle for the playoffs. FEU and Ateneo are two games ahead of La Salle, UE, and FEU, but that 2-game advantage can easily disappear. So starting now, every game will count towards the placings. 4 wins should be enough to get the team to the  final 4, but of course it’s best not to take any team for granted.
Tags: Adamson Falcons, De La Salle Green Archers, UAAP Basketball, UAAP Season 72

The View From the Armchair: Game 7 vs Ateneo

By | August 10, 2009 | 4:28 pm |

What could you say about yesterday’s cliffhanger of a game with Ateneo, where we lost by 4 points in overtime? I read that “Ateneo won, but we didn’t lose”, and “we gave it away”. Some of our supporters have described it as was a “feel good” loss. Feel good loss? How can you feel good about a loss? Isn’t that a paradox?

But if you think about it, yeah, many of us didn’t feel bad even though our Archers lost yesterday to our arch-rival. Our young team unexpectedly held the much more experienced Blue Eagles to a standoff after 40 minutes of regulation play, after dominating the middle quarters. As in close games, a missed ft or fg, if converted, could have made all the difference, but that’s water under the bridge.

What the team did right

The Green Archers shocked the complacent Blue Eagles with the high octane offense and defense. They repeatedly attacked the much vaunted Ateneo interior defense, led by Joshua’s daredevil drives. After Al-Husseini erupted for 10 points in the first quarter, they stymied him by double teaming just before he could execute his turnaround moves, and assigned Yutien to cover him whenever he took off for a jumper. Yutien took away the game of last year’s MVP with 2 clear blocks and stole the ball from him twice. So frustrated was Al-Husseini that he committed an unsportsmanlike foul on Yutien.

The Archers battled the Blue Eagles to a draw on the rebounding front with both teams collaring 42 rebounds, and had a slight edge on steals, 6-5. Surprisingly, we had more blocks, 5-4, and Yutien showed why he was selected by the coaches despite his slight physique. Jovet strung together 6 consecutive points in the first half, displayed some good moves including a mid-range jumper, and showed why he was a prized recruit last year.

3 out of the first 7 games of the Archers were overtime games, of which they won 2. That’s the most of any team in this year’s tournament. That experience will help them in future games.

Team rebounding continued to do well. Veterans James and Bader may not have scored well, but they helped defensively and helped out on the board work with 9 rebounds between them. Bader succeeded in picking the pocket of the Blue Eagles twice aside from ably defending the Ateneo guards.

What wasn’t quite right

The momentary lapses of concentration recurred, and these were punished by the alert Blue Eagles. Twice Reyes used the slightest hesitation from our defenders on the pick-and-roll to sink 3pointers that allowed Ateneo to cut the deficit to a single basket. The pressure defense almost always forced the Blue Eagles to almost use up their shot clock, but still allowed Ateneo to score. Our boxing out wasn’t so effective, allowing 14 offensive boards by the opponents which were converted into 8 second chance points. There is still some more work needed on defense, particularly on those high pick-and-rolls to prevent the shooter from getting enough shooting space. The standard Ateneo sets against the zone defense were effective in the final plays as well, allowing short jumpers and follow up rebounds.

There was still some hesitation on the part of our players on offense, except Joshua who repeatedly penetrated the stunned Ateneo defense. James passed up on open shots he would normally make and elected to take more difficult shots. After hitting those treys against UST, Peejay fired mostly blanks yesterday. Kish continued his heady play but committed a couple of lapses on offense. There were also a couple of lazy passes that were snared or tipped by the Ateneo defenders. Hyram forgot the quick hands of Salamat and had his pocket picked, but made up for it with that buzzer beater to force the overtime. And the team played not to lose after building that 10point lead, stopped playing aggressively, and permitted Ateneo to get back in the game.

The rookie watch

Arvie followed up his great performance against UST with another double-digit scoring game, hit a couple of treys, and topped our rebounding list with 6. Sam played sparingly, but hit a triple in the first quarter. Joel played only 2 minutes but connected on his only fg attempt. Yutien was the revelation yesterday, holding his own against the vaunted frontline of Ateneo, blocking 3 shots, and even scoring on a nifty finger roll. Gab and Jed did not play yesterday.

The outlook for the second round

The Archers continued to improve on a game-to-game basis. After outlasting UST in double overtime, the Archers were dragged into another overtime. These two games show that the Archers can put together explosive sequences of plays to take the lead as well as play catch up. They now also have to be ready whenever the opponents make their own runs, by avoiding “playing not to lose” and continuing what they were doing well. Teamwork on offense and defense still needs a bit of fine tuning – we only had 13 assists out of 26 fgs, and there were some moments of hesitation on defense which Ateneo was able to capitalize on.

Some will contend that Ateneo played below 80% yet beat the Archers, who played at 110%. Probably kinda accurate, at least regarding the 80%. But if you think about it, some of the difficulty the Blue Eagles encountered was due to the efforts of the Archers. Without that pressure, Ateneo would probably have played their A-game from the opening tip. So the defense has continued to improve.

Perceptions will vary, depending on which school you side with. Many green supporters are convinced that the green-and-white team played beyond themselves yesterday. I think not. Some of our players didn’t contribute much yesterday, but others stepped up to keep the game close and competitive. I feel that the Archers aren’t at their peak yet, so we might have seen something like 75-80% of their true potential. The team has not yet had a game where they were firing on all cylinders. Their game is still growing, still evolving, but they are starting to master their roles. It may still take a couple of games more before they start hitting their stride. And some players still have to find their rhythm on a consistent basis. So if you look at it, there’s still a lot of upside to this team.

The thing is, I suspect that there is a possibility that our team could still be pulling its punches. Getting to the final 4 is the first objective, and all that’s needed is to compile enough wins to get there. It’s not necessary to win every game at this point. So there’s still time and a few games to learn, fine tune, and tweak. In contrast, we’ve probably already seen the best of the other teams, and their performance will probably plateau out from here on.

We’re at 4-3 to start the 2nd round, 2 games behind FEU and Ateneo, with UE and UST crowding us. If we merely duplicate our win-loss performance, we’ll end up with an 8-6 record tally, enough to get us to the final 4 or at least gain a playoff for that berth. If we go 5-2 which is possible if they continue their improvement, we finish at 9-5 and have a shot at the twice-to-beat advantage. Because of all this uncertainty, the 2nd round will be interesting, exciting, and nerve wracking. So come and watch the games live, don’t blink because you might just miss something that the team has been keeping under wraps until now.

KEEP THE FAITH!

Tags: Ateneo Blue Eagles, De La Salle Green Archers, UAAP Basketball, UAAP Season 72

Win streak ends at four

By | August 9, 2009 | 8:39 pm |

The De La Salle Green Archers went toe to toe for 40 minutes against the defending champions until fatigue set in overtime as Ateneo de Manila won, 76-72, on August 9 to end the first round of UAAP men’s basketball eliminations at the Araneta Coliseum.

After Arvie Bringas and Hyram Bagatsing scored consecutive three-pointers in the final 20 seconds of regulation to send the game into extra time, the Archers tried to salvage the game in which they led by as many as ten early in the third period. Alas, their attempts from beyond the arc went wild and wooly as Nico Salva sealed the outcome with a bucket, :14.7 to go, for the final tally.

Nevertheless, the saving grace of this game is that the rookie laden squad held their ground against the more mature Blue Eagles.

Joshua Webb went crazy to end up with 17 points in the first half, finishing with 26. This is the highest output of any Archer so far this season.

Bringas also had ten.

Rabeh Al-Hussaini limped out with 13 points with Eric Salamat producing the same along with five assists and three steals.

Jovet Mendoza made himself known, scoring six straight points to end the first quarter. In the second, it was the heady plays of Yutien Andrada at the defensive end that went noticed, blocking Al-Hussaini twice and Salamat once.

But all that time, it was Webb who was carrying the scoring load for the green and white, relentlessly attacking the Ateneo interior defense, scoring nine of the 14 Archer points in the second canto.

Bringas started the second half with a turn around basket for the game’s first double figure lead, 42-32. The last time it reached ten was from two Webb charities, 46-36, 7:02 remaining.

As the green and white went ‘three-ger’ happy, the Blue Eagles gradually crept themselves back into the game, capped by a Ryan Buenafe buzzer beater to end the third, with the Archers cautiously ahead, 50-46.

A 14-3 run by ADMU shifted the momentum to the blue side as it tasted the lead for the first time since the first quarter, 60-57, courtesy of a two-man play between Salva and Salamat leading to a Salamat trey, 3:36 in the clock.

A Salva followup and a Salamat split from the freethrow line for a four-point Ateneo lead, 65-61, with :23.5 to go set the tone for the comeback. Coming from a timeout, Bringas hoisted a cold-hearted three from Bagatsing’s inbounds pass from a straddle, exactly three ticks elapsing.

After Buenafe made his freebies from a Mendoza duty foul, Bagatsing faked Austria off his socks for a leaning three-pointer from near the top of the key, :0.8. Bringas almost won it but his attempt hit rim and bounced out as time expired.

The second round begins on Thursday for the Archers as they battle Adamson University at 2pm. As a sidenote, the whole team had yellow shoe laces to pay tribute to the late President Corazon Aquino.

Tags: Ateneo Blue Eagles, De La Salle Green Archers, UAAP Basketball, UAAP Season 72

Postgame Bullets: DLSU 72 ADMU 76

By | August 9, 2009 | 8:30 pm |

  • It was a game that slipped away. The Green Archers were in control for the most part of the ballgame. But a series of miscues down the stretch enabled the Blue Eagles to crawl back. In the end, it was Ateneo’s end-game composure that sealed the win for them.
  • The young guys carried the cudgels today. Sadly, the veterans especially those who performed well last week against UST failed to show up.
  • Kudos to the Amazing Spider Webb for his superb performance in today’s game. He was simply a workhorse on both ends of the court and he simply weaved his way against the phalanx of defenders. A gallant stand indeed for this sophomore.
  • It was also a great game for Jovet Mendoza, Arvie Bringas and of course, “Tayshaun Prince” Andrada who had two block shots against the reigning MVP. If he can do this already at his present physique, what more once he bulks up?
  • Unlike last year, the Archers now have the quality big men to challenge those from Ateneo. We almost had it really but the bad breaks just did us in today.
  • Nevertheless, the Green Archers proved that they can hang tough against the defending champions. Judging from La Salle’s first two games, everyone thought that this game would be a blowout in Ateneo’s favor. This game was certainly a classic regardless who won.
  • I believe the team is still peaking. They will only get better in the second round.
Tags: Ateneo Blue Eagles, De La Salle Green Archers, UAAP Basketball, UAAP Season 72

Pregame Bullets: DLSU vs ADMU

By | August 6, 2009 | 12:15 pm |

First, here are some additional notes from last Sunday’s game from our very own Andrew Tan

  • During the postgame interview last Sunday, coach Franz said his boys were motivated from an earlier statement made by UST coach Pido Jarencio that weak teams like UP, NU and La Salle can beat the stronger ones. “At least we were able to prove that a weak team like us can indeed beat a strong team.” he said as a jibe.
  • Coach Franz also praised the team for their gallant effort especially Peejay Barua for his clutch baskets in overtime. “The guys didn’t quit. Even when UST made that run, we still stuck to the game plan and luckily we still managed to win.”
  • He also acknowledged the La Salle faithful who cheered relentlessly even when the team was down by a huge deficit. “Guys, I love what I saw kanina, everybody, you were trying to urge the crowd to cheer. I love that! That’s what we need; we need a little fighting spirit within ourselves, a little morale boosting.” he said to his players at the dugout. “Yung mga wishful thinking na we will not be successful will backfire on them, what is important like what I have been telling you is that I trust you and I believe in each and everyone of you that is why you are wearing that uniform.” he further said.
  • To close his pep talk, he said these inspiring words “I don’t care what they say. As long as we play together, as long as we play this hard each game, as long as we compete, we will make everyone happy and we will be successful.”

And now on to the much-awaited showdown against Ateneo

  • A lot of die-hards feel that the Archers will have difficulties winning in a high-scoring match. The team is known for its hard-nosed full court press but in last Sunday’s game against UST, they allowed the Tigers to score a bunch of points. True, the Archers won, but it was a shootout, and that’s not the way the Archers will win. The Blue Eagles had enough firepower and a good enough defense to win against the teams they’ve played so far.
  • Let’s take a look at their record against final 4 contenders FEU, UE, and UST. Against FEU (first game), they won in a low scoring game, 63-59. When they played UE, they put more points on the board and held UE to just 57. UST managed to get to 77 with their high octane defense, but allowed Ateneo to score 92. Against these 3 teams, the Blue Eagles averaged 76 points and allowed the opponents to score only 64. Tthey’re obviously paying attention to their defense.
  • Our offense has been inconsistent. In our first 4 games (UE, FEU, UP, ADU), we averaged only 58.5 points, with a high of 73 against UP. Clearly the 101 points we scored against UST is par for the course against the Tigers, because the porous defense of UST has given up more points (89.2) than they score (88.2).
  • Our average score for the full 40 minutes of a regulation game (counting our score at the end of regulation against UST-82) is 63.2. This is close to what Ateneo allows their opponents to score. Our outside shooting has been on-and-off. If we can’t connect from the long court, Ateneo will simply pack the paint and dare us to hit it from outside. Any lane incursions will be met by lots of flapping wings (attempted shot blocks) of the elongated frontline. Our guard corps (Simon, Hyram, Bader) does have a bit of a height advantage over the opposing pgs, so it remains to be seen if they will be allowed some isolation sets on offense inside the paint.
  • The Blue Eagles are the defending champs, and boast of a solid lineup they carried over from last year. They’re strong in all areas: inside game, outside shooting, penetration. They guard the paint jealously, pride themselves on their shotblocking ability, and rely on Al Husseini, Salva and Baclao to score inisde. Any careless ball handling or passing is likely to be punished by Salamat and his group of thieving guards. Our perimeter defense will likewise be tested by slashers Buenafe, Salamat, and their “points guards” who like to shoot from outside.
  • So, if our offense continues to be inconsistent (worst case scenario), we won’t win UNLESS we put a lid on the Ateneo goal through honest, tough, unrelenting, 40-minute defense. Our coaches have proven that they’re good strategists, so expect them to plan for the worst case scenario as Plan A. That’s defense. Plan B? Sure to be defense also. and Plan C? Again based on defense. Expect the Archers to have different defensive looks during the game, which they will vary often. This changeup will try to prevent the Blue Eagles from settling into a rhythm, try to keep them under pressure and off balance throughout the game. A low scoring game is in our favor; the high flying Eagles are not used to being forced to fly close to the ground where they are vulnerable to the arrows of the Green Archers. Heck, at low altitude, a slingshot (or even a made free throw or two???) could bring them down.
  • Lastly, Ateneo will try to get into the heads of the players. The key is to maintain the concentration, stay with the plan, and avoid being distracted by the antics and faces (sorry, couldn’t help that) of the opponents.
  • We’re definitely the underdogs in this game. But we have a chance. Focus. Concentration. Intensity. Composure. Heart. Above all, defense.

KEEP THE FAITH!

Tags: Ateneo Blue Eagles, De La Salle Green Archers, UAAP Basketball, UAAP Season 72

GreenArchers.ph TV: Postgame Presscon 8/2

By | August 5, 2009 | 9:50 am |

Presscon: Coach Franz and Arvie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMNhV5bOBM0

Game Highlights
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uF-Fo3_qek

Tags: Arvie Bringas, Franz Pumaren

The View From the Armchair: Game 6 vs UST

By | August 3, 2009 | 7:19 pm |


Just how do you describe the game vs the Tigers?

Trailing for most of the game, the Archers gutted out a [choose one or more from the adjectives below] 101-92 double overtime victory over the fighting UST Tigers.   (Choices: Amazing. Pulse pounding. Heart stopping. Exciting. Exhausting. Frustrating. Exhilarating. Encouraging).

The Archers started off strong, kept pace with the Tigers for a the first 19 minutes, endured a Tiger points explosion in the 3rd, to trail by 12 entering the 4th, but finished strong to come within 3 seconds of victory in regulation time. They endured a seesaw first overtime, leading then trailing with about 30 seconds to go before that season-defining Peejay Barua triple to extend the game further. In the second overtime, the Tigers were decisively tamed, their roar turning into a meek meow with only 2 points to show while the Archers connected for 9.

This was a day for the books. Probably the first time ever that the two scheduled games were decided in double overtime.

The Archer defense under attack

The UST Tigers came armed with a specific plan to attack the Archer pressure defense head-on. They played fast, loose, and risky, relying on one-on-one individual plays and long speculative throw-ins to try to score before the Archer defense could set up. UST tried to make it a game of sprints, using quick passes to get the ball upcourt for a secondary break. They also went at the Archer defenders from the perimeter, dribbling aggressively to get into the paint. And they weren’t shy about taking potshots from long range. The Tigers achieved some separation towards the end of the first half, when a momentary lapse of concentration allowed UST to enter halftime with an 8point advantage. They quickly stretched this to 17 by aggressively attacking the press as well as some timely sniping from the long court. The barrage lasted for 3 quarters, and with 10 minutes to go, the Archers looked like they were headed for another double digit loss.

Only a last gasp Arvie triple from the corner prevented a larger deficit at the end of the third. This was the highest point total allowed by the Archers this season, with still one quarter to go. And UST seemed to have found the solution to the heretofore stingy Archer defense.

But the Archers had other ideas. Arvie strung together 10 points spanning the 3rd and 4th quarters, and collaborated with Kish, Hyram, Bader, and Joshua in clamping down on the Tigers, limiting their high octane offense to 10 points while putting up 22 points. They also successfully held the high scoring Tiger duo of Ababou and Mirza after these two had carried the scoring load in the first half. However, the focus on the two allowed Camus, Teng, and Malixi to showcase their shooting ability, and the 3 new Tigers poured in 39 points to power UST in the 2nd half.

The press was particularly effective in forcing the Tigers to use up their shot clock just to bring the ball up into the front court. The trap did not yield that many turnovers, but because it ate up the 24 second clock, UST had to take some hurried attempts. The press also forced a few 5 second inbound violations from the Tigers.

The unrelenting green-and-white defense took its toll on the Tigers in the extension periods, limiting the Tigers to a solitary basket in the first minute of the 2nd extension, and blanking the tired Tigers the rest of the way.

The much-maligned veterans carry the team

This was a game where the La Salle veterans carried the torch for the green-and-white, ably assisted by prized rookie Arvie Bringas.

The veterans repaid the trust that the coaches had in them by playing their roles to the hilt. James, Bader, Peejay, Kish, and Simon played consistenly well throughout the game, steadying the team even in the face of that will-sapping 17-point lead erected by the Tigers who seemed like they could pick apart the Archer defense at will. The veterans showed the young ‘uns that playing within the system works, as they refused to be demoralized or discouraged and systematically worked their way back into the game.

The veterans demonstrated the effectiveness of the two-way game that the coaches require from the Archers. Bader (10 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, no errors) harassed the Tiger guards on defense, and repeatedly penetrated the UST defense to fish for fouls or dish out assists. James (18 points, 62.5% fg accuracy, 9 rebounds) continued his sterling play against UST. Peejay (only 6 points, but his timing in finding his touch was impeccable) fired those consecutive treys that tied the score at the end of the first extension and opened scoring in the second. Kish (13 points, 7 rebounds, 1 block) again played the yeoman’s role as he knotted the score to force overtime, and repeatedly scored inside on heady plays.

Team captain Hyram, together with fellow sophomores Maui, Joshua and Jovet provided quality minutes and did their share on defense. Joshua had a perfect shooting game as he tallied 10 points on 4/4 fg shooting and 2/2 ft shooting, aside from giving his guards fits as he blew past them on his daredevil drives. Maui and Jovet helped clog the lanes to stem the attempts of the UST forwards to penetrate on their drives. Hyram played his role as captain to the hilt, passing out 7 assists and connecting from the field late in the ball game.

What they did right

Never gave up. For a while, it looked like a repeat of the first 2 games against UE and FEU, with UST threatening to blow the game wide open in the 3rd quarter. In fact, the team turned on the pressure up some more when they fell behind and persevered, even when UST managed to trade baskets to keep the lead in double digits late in the 3rd.

Kept their faith in themselves and each other. Peejay shot his way out of the slump with 2 triples – one to tie the game at the end of the first overtime, and another to open the second overtime. Franz, who never showed signs of panic or frustration even when the deficit ballooned, gave his vote of confidence to his players, and they validated that faith by delivering the results when it mattered.

The team’s energy was maintained at a very level throughout the game. The Archers’ conditioning paid off, and at the end of the game, they looked like they could still go another quarter. In contrast, the Tigers looked tired and sapped of energy, their shots were off line or short and they no longer had any spring in their legs.

What wasn’t quite right?

The defense.

First, a word on offense. The Archer offense has always been there, but in the first few games, they were still adjusting to the competition and to each other. That’s not an excuse, it’s a fact. Shooting accuracy doesn’t improve magically over a few games if the skills weren’t there in the first place. Our lineup is studded with players who can regularly sink the long trey, from our point guards, SG’s, forwards, and even Arvie. Probably only Ferdinand, Maui, Kish, Yutien, and Jovet would not willingly take a 3 point attempt if absolutely free. The rest, all of 11 players, down to the rookies, are reasonably good bets to sink the shots. It’s just a matter of being comfortable with the shot, and being confident enough to take it without hesitation.

Back to defense. The Archers allowed UST to score 92 points. Granted that there were two overtime periods and that UST is the league’s highest scoring team so far. But the Archers game is built on the defense keeping the opponents’ point output down rather than overwhelming them with points. UST came prepared with a press break that was successfully implemented, netting them several fastbreaks once the UST dribbler got past his man. At first, the Archers found it hard to control the freewheeling Tiger offense, which would attack the Archer perimeter through dribble drives. Ababou and Mirza repeatedly drove into the lane from the 3point area.

The middle quarters saw UST score 28 and 27 points, and this was just around 6 points below the points average of the Archers’s opponents in the previous games. Opponents will get hot, will have runs, and the Archers have to learn to weather these and bounce back. They had good practice yesterday, but prevention is always the best cure, so preventing those runs should be the primary objective. Then they wouldn’t have to do damage control or play catch up.

Trust our coaches to spot the problems and work out countermeasures. For example, Mirza’s moves were analyzed during halftime, in particular his penchant to drive to his left then stop and spin right to take his shot, and in the second half he was limited to just 2 points. Ababou was also well marked, and he was unable to continue his production when the Archer defense bore down on him.

Some might ask – why gripe about the defense, we won, didn’t we? The Archers will not be successful if they try to win via shootout. An offense-oriented team risks having off days, but a defensive team can always rely on building a winning margin if they can keep the opponents’ score below theirs. And defense has always been a trademark of Archer ball.

On to everyone’s pet peeve – foul throws. We missed 20 (25/45) while UST missed 14 (20/34). In a close game like yesterday’s we would have lost if we had missed one more free throw in regulation. Or in the first overtime.

And lastly, the concentration. There were occasional lapses, particularly when they had succeeded in stalling the Tiger offense for over 20 seconds. Yet the UST players managed to score in the last couple of seconds of the shot clock a few times. This was also the case in the previous games. The Archers must remember that the stop isn’t complete until they get the ball back without the opponents scoring, so they should continue to apply the pressure for the full 24 seconds.

The rookie watch

Arvie Bringas finally showed why he was so highly regarded by the coaching staff. Topscored, dominated on offense and defense, played for almost 3 full quarters at 29 minutes, the most of any Archer rookie this year. Battled the athletic Tigers on the boards, dove for the ball, took a couple of shots, and ended the game with a lump under his eye. He’s gained his confidence, learned not to rush, and the results show. He may not do as well in future games, but he will now be able to contribute more and ease the load on his teammates.

Yutien played only 5 minutes, had a rebound and nice putback. He made things difficult for the Tigers in the paint while he was on the floor. Sam likewise played 5 minutes, and although he was scoreless, hauled down 3 rebounds, two of them on the offensive glass. Joel played only 4 minutes because Franz rotated Simon, Bader, and Hyram at the point. Gab and Jed did not see any action.

The outlook

The Archers will finish the first round with a winning record, at worst they end at 4-3 and at best 5-2. They cannot afford the same lapses against the well trained Blue Eagles, who will pounce on any weaknesses that become apparent. The Ateneo game is solid – good inside operators in Al-Husseini, Baclao, and Salva, good long shooters in Monfort and Reyes, and penetrators in Buenafe and Salamat. They can form 2 starting fives with their lineup.

Expect Black to try to maximize his advantage inside by setting up Al-Husseini at the block, and if double teamed, kick it out to the perimeter to find an open shooter on the weak side. Or pass it to a weak side cutter. They have lots of weapons. And it’s a fair bet that they’ve prepared for the Archer press, so there won’t be too many easy points off turnovers.

On defense, they’ll probably clog the interior, use the zone extensively, and dare the Archers to hit the long one. Any Archer who enters the lane with the ball will be funneled to the bigs led by shot blocker Baclao.

The green-and-white are definitely the underdogs in Sunday’s game. What are the plans to counter the Ateneo advantage? We’ve already seen some of them in the game against UST. There will probably be some surprises. What are they? Now that would be telling.

Notes:

The UST Yellow Jackets and the DLSU Pep Squad exchanged drumbeats in a friendly exchange at the start of the game and at the end.

The tally board shows that there is a unique opportunity to have 4 teams tie for first place at the end of the first round following this scenario:
Aug 6: UE (now 3-2) wins over UP (Thu Aug 6) to go 4-2
UST (now 3-2) wins over FEU (now 4-1), both have a 4-2 record
Aug 8: UST (4-2) beats UP to end at 5-2
Aug 9: The winner of the UE-FEU match ends at 5-2; the loser drops to 4-3
We beat Ateneo, we both end at 5-2

Good luck on getting tickets for Sunday, and KEEP THE FAITH!

Tags: Arvie Bringas, De La Salle Green Archers, Peejay Barua, UAAP Basketball, UAAP Season 72, UST Tigers

Archers claw UST in double OT, win fourth straight

By | August 3, 2009 | 2:40 am |

From boys to men.

The De La Salle Green Archers grew right in front of our eyes, scratching out a double overtime victory against University of Santo Tomas, 101-92, on August 2 at the Araneta Coliseum for their fourth consecutive victory in UAAP men’s basketball.

Peejay Barua scored his only points in the two overtime periods, his first three sending the game into another extension and his other three starting it. However, rookie Arvie Bringas showed the stuff he was made of, scoring 13 of his game-high 21 points from the fourth quarter and beyond.

”They forgot a player named Peejay Barua,” Archers head coach Franz Pumaren said. “This is the breakout game of Arvie Bringas.”

Bringas shot 7/10 from the field including a three-pointer to end the third period along with eight rebounds. James Mangahas missed a double-double with 18 points and nine boards.

Other double digit scorers include Kish Co with 13 points and seven caroms, Joshua Webb with ten on 4/4 two-point field goal shooting, and Bader Malabes with ten, five rebounds and seven assists.

Also registering seven feeds is Hyram Bagatsing while inputting nine points, three rebounds, and two steals.

“There was no need to panic. We were able to hang tough,” Pumaren said on the Archers’ surge after a slow start in the season. “We did not run away from what we were doing.”

The 0-2 start seems to be a distant memory with the way the Taft-based squad is racking up wins the past two weeks, now at solo third behind league leaders Ateneo de Manila University and Far Eastern University.

Dylan Ababou led six other Tigers in double figures with 19 points and 11 rebounds.

UST dropped to 3-2 along with University of the East in fourth.

“Before the game, we were talking with Br. Bernie Oca that we are going to dedicate this game (to former President Corazon Aquino),” Pumaren stated. “She has a very special place in our hearts.”

Playing in front of a sizeable crowd gave it a playoff-like flavour as the two sides went tit-for-tat until a 14-6 first half finish gave the Tigers an eight-point lead, 45-37.

One thing noticeable that Santo Tomas employed to counter the Archers’ press defense were outlet passes that most of the time were foiled and interecepted. The counterpoints was that the green and white crew were badly outrebounded in the first 20 minutes of play, 11-23.

“We were down because of our own wrongdoings,” Pumaren told his players during the halftime break. “They shot well because we allowed them.”

The España-based team found a way to beat the press and at the same time found its guns blazing as Jeric Fortuna’s triple to beat the shot clock buzzer 6:48 in the third quarter provided his squad a 16-point gap, 56-40. The highest it got was 17 from two Allein Maliksi freethrows off a Maui Villanueva personal foul, 60-43, 5:45 to go.

Maliksi’s midrange fadeaway pull up with 3:49 left assured that this is the highest output so far by any opponent this season with the score pegged at 66-50.

After Bringas ended the quarter with a rare three-pointer, he followed this up by scoring the first seven points of the Archers in the fourth to jumpstart the comeback. Bagatsing followed suit orchestrating his own 7-0 run to tie the count at 74-all, 5:52 in the clock.

With USTe holding a four-point margin going into the final minute and a half, Bringas converted a reverse layup, 1:05 to go. Co then scored on a putback off a Mangahas miss to tie the game, 82-all, :27.7 remaining.

With Ababou’s attempt falling short and Santo Tomas getting called for a 24-second shot clock violation, the Archers had exactly three seconds to devise a win in regulation but Mangahas’ jumper from the top of the key hit the front end of the rim.

De La Salle could have had more breathing space in the first extra time if not for clunked freebies. Leading by three, going into the two-minute warning, the Tigers breezed with a 6-0 run to go ahead, 90-87, :26.1, capped by Fortuna’s freethrows.

With still a chance to tie the game, Barua was sent in with a purpose. Bagatsing found him at the other end of the wing, lobbed a crosscourt pass, and the veteran sank a three-point bucket with :05.5 remaining. Barua then had another booming three off an inbounds play, nine seconds elapsed in the final extension.

UST started shooting blanks, scoring only a field goal in the last five minutes as Simon Atkins closed the door with two charities off Teng’s fifth foul, 99-92, 2:37 to go.

DLSU shot 47% from the field but was horrendous at the stripe, 25/45. Hustle board stats include 22 assists, 15 second chance points, and 26 turnover points, all in favour of De La Salle.

Boxscores

De La Salle 101 – Bringas 21, Mangahas 18, Co 13, Webb 10, Malabes 10, Villanueva 9, Bagatsing 9, Barua 6, Atkins 2, Andrada 2, Mendoza 1, Tolentino 0, Marata 0, Ferdinand 0.

Santo Tomas 92 – Ababou 19, Teng 18, Mirza 12, Camus 11, Maliksi 10, Fortuna 10, Bautista 6, Afuang 6, Mariano 0, Green 0, Aytona 0.

Quarters: 19-17, 37-45, 60-72, 82-82, 90-90, 101-92.

Tags: De La Salle Green Archers, UAAP Basketball, UAAP Season 72, UST Tigers
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