Finally a win, 73-63! Against a UP team that proved to be an even match during the pre-season.
UP took the early lead on hot shooting from UP, particularly Martin Reyes. However, after his initial outburst, he was shackled by the defense.
For the first time, La Salle led at halftime.
Franz went to the veterans for most of the game, and they delivered. James was the first Archer to break the double digit scoring barrier, followed by Joshua, who did it on pure hustle and energy. Hyram was effective, but his playing time was limited by his fouls, as was Simon’s.
Maui showed aggressiveness in going for his shot early in the game with some success, scoring on a mid-range jumper and in the paint, but was content to help set up the plays for the rest of the game.
Bader showed why he is held in high regard by the coaches, working tirelessly on defense and finally finding his shot. He scored on back-to-back triples that created separation from the ever-dangerous Maroons, as well as on a couple of drives.
Ferdinand continued his steady play in the slot, banging bodies with and making life difficult for the UP front line. The interior defense of the Archers clogged the lane, effectively neutralizing Woody Co and Magi Sison. Kish Co, Arvie Bringas, and James alternated in manning the paint and making it difficult for UP to penetrate
After not making any blocks in the first 2 games, the Archer defense blocked 3-4 UP shots, one by Simon on his former teammate Martin Reyes.
The pressure defense forced UP into 32 errors for the game. Perimeter defense was also better, and UP was forced into a few shot clock violations because they could not get clear of their defenders.
There are sill some rough spots, notably passing errors. And there is still some uncertainty on the offense. These will be minimized gradually as the season moves on.
UP applied their own version of the press which allowed the Maroons to claw their way back from a double digit lead to trail by 3, but successive baskets by the Archers brought the lead back to a manageable level.
The Archer press break will need some fine tuning. Franz played a 2 point guard configuration in the 4th quarter to counteract the UP press. Joel Tolentino continued to impress, and played very effectively with Simon.
Jed Manguera made his first appearance in the tournament, late in the first half. Gab Banal and Yutien Andrada did not play.
In the pre-season, UP was able to compete on even terms with the Archers, splitting their games in tournament play – winning once by a point, losing by the same margin, and finally battling to a draw in the last tuneup game
During the pre-season games, the Maroons fielded Mike Silungan, a tall deadshot who plays the wings, but were without Martin Reyes in the tuneup game. Silungan is still establishing his residency. It will be interesting to see whether they can still compete on the same terms without him.
The Archers are still trying to establish some consistency in offense. Team play, a trademark of Archer basketball, must make its appearance. In the first 2 games, the Archers had just 16 assists in total. They must also cut down on their turnovers if they hope to pull off their first win – they turned the ball over 39 times in the first two games.
3-point shooting will have to improve for the Archers hope to notch their first win. The team took 21 attempts in each of the first 2 games, making only 3 in game 1 and 4 against FEU. James is the most accurate long distance shooter with 2/5, followed by Sam Marata who is 3/9. Bader and Simon are the only other players to connect on 3pointers.
DNPs so far: Manguera-2 games, Mendoza-1 game, Andrada-1 game.
Interesting stat: the Archers have not yet blocked any shots after 2 games, yet the defense has held both UE and FEU, very strong teams with a lot of firepower, to 65 points.
The Archer defense can make the difference between the breakthrough win and the cellar. In the first 2 games, UP proved to be a turnover-prone team, with 37 against NU and 21 versus Adamson. In particular, their guards have a tendency to cough up the ball, with their usual ballhandlers (guards and forwards) committing at least a dozen turnovers per game. Against Adamson, Braganza committed a crucial error in the last few seconds that resulted in a basket by the Falcons. Padilla achieved a dubious distinction by logging 10 errors in the first game.
A 0-2 start to the season is unusual, but this is not your typical year. A second straight double-digit loss. Uncharted territory for a team mentored by Franz Pumaren.
The bad news
Another game where the Archers shot horribly. Threw the ball away several times due to errors or miscues. Passed up open outside shots, only to travel after the ball fake. Had 6 shots blocked, but was unable to block any FEU shots in return. Uncharacteristically made 18 turnovers to only 13 for the opponent.
Sure there were lapses. The Archer defense would make it difficult for FEU to get close to the basket, only to allow FEU to penetrate and score in the last couple of seconds of their shot clock. A botched defensive rotation allowed FEU to score on a Barroca triple off a baseline throw in with only 4 seconds left on the shot clock. The FEU guards also copied the UE tactic of taking their men on the dribble to penetrate the lane and either take it to the hoop or dish off to a waiting teammate under the basket.
There are still some deficiencies on defense, and miscues on offense. These showed the uncertainty and lack of familiarity of the players with each other, reflecting Franz’s statement that the team has not been able to practice as a complete unit due to illness and injury. The offense continued to be out of whack, with a very low shooting percentage from the field. FEU is a more mature team, and their players are probably more talented individually. They have 3 national team players and one national youth standout. They excel in one-on-one plays usually off the dribble. They have good outside shooters. And their inside game is better. The result was not unexpected.
That’s the bad news.
Is there any good news?
The good news? The Archers played better than they did in game 1. The defense showed up for long stretches, though it still wasn’t 40 minutes of the press from hell. The press netted some turnovers. The intensity picked up. Definitely an improvement over the first game.
One positive – defense. They held a strong FEU team to 65 points, the second straight opponent to score these few points. Unfortunately, our offense was misfiring for the second consecutive game, but with more practice time together, that will be quickly addressed. Another positive – the increased intensity of the team, as shown by some players like Ferdinand, Bringas, Marata, Tolentino, Atkins. Six steals, 3 by Ferdinand, showed that the hustle is still there. Foul shooting also improved, and this will have a major impact later on in the season during close games. And finally, the team is starting to show some teamwork.
What could be improved?
Much of the team’s inability to play the usual Archer game is due to their lack of confidence. It shows in the uncertainty on offense. Consistency. Familiarity with each other. Maintaining their focus and concentration throughout the game. Trust in each other. Learning how to play with each other.
It’s a crisis of confidence; the team doesn’t know yet how good they are together. As a result, they play more as individuals rather than as teammates who intuitively know what each will do on the court. Once they gain their confidence, it will be similar to turning on a switch, and the team will begin to play the way we know they can.
One area which will have a dramatic impact is for the team to have more confidence in their shots. We all saw how effective the long shots were during the pre-season, but so far they haven’t been shooting well. They’re missing shots they routinely used to make. Once they regain their confidence, the shots will start falling consistently, and their team’s play will radically improve. And the opponents’ defenses will suddenly look vulnerable.
These aren’t technical but soft skills. They already have the basketball skills, and the job of Franz and his staff is to harmonize these talents to extract the maximum from this young team. Build up their self confidence. Instruct them to ignore the so-called constructive criticism coming from the ranks of the supporters. Remind them of the reason that they’re on this Green Archer team. Get them believing that they will win games and fulfill the potential the coaches saw in the players. And make sure that belief is translated into reality following the plan.
Moving forward, we can probably expect the team to win more games than they lose. But this team is still a work-in-progress, so expect more tinkering by the coaches to fine tune the Archer game. It won’t be pretty, but the team will get the job done. The results will be apparent in the second round. Just in time to get the team into the final 4.
De La Salle got routed once again, getting victimized by Far Eastern University, 51-65, on July 18 in UAAP men’s basketball at the Araneta Coliseum.
The Green Archers had spurts of brilliance but they were mere trickles as they encountered major scoring droughts throughout the match. This also marks the worst start of the team in the Franz Pumaren era.
For the second straight game, the Archers only made a quarter of their shots, making 23% from the field. This became more imminent when they found it hard to make short range attempts, botching several fastbreak tries for only three transition points.
On the upside, the De La Salle crew fought in the rebound department, grabbing 42 rebounds, winning in the offensive glass, 15 to FEU’s 13. They were also better from the stripe, going 19/25. Another consolation is that the Archers played with more desire and hustle especially in the first half.
James Mangahas led the pack with eight points, shooting 3/9 at the field, while hauling six rebounds. Another significant contributor was Bader Malabes with seven and seven.
The two spent the most time on the court, logging in 25 and 24 minutes respectively. The only other Archer who played more than 20 minutes is Hyram Bagatsing.
Although there were dry spells in the first half, the green and white squad went colder than Antarctica in the second, as they converted only five field goals in the last 17 minutes of the match.
The last two baskets in the third quarter were more than four minutes apart and there was a time when they went blank for more than three minutes as the Tamaraws went on an 8-0 rampage for a 17-point bubble, 47-30. This later bubbled to 20, 61-41, from two Ryan Roose Garcia freethrows, 3:26 in the fourth.
The common theme observed by the winning coaches on the Archers is that the team is still trying to learn the system and no one should count them out. There is no where else to go but up as they face winless University of the Philippines on July 23 at the PhilSports Arena.
A sign that it would be a long day for the Lasallian faithful was when the N. Reyes-based squad scored ten straight to start the contest with a 10-2 tally. The Archers quickly recovered to momentarily take the lead via a Sam Marata three-pointer, 16-14, 9:33 of the second.
Credit goes to their stinging pressure defense as the Far Eastern backcourt reserves got rattled from the fullcourt press.
FEU then went into a 22-8 rampage highlighted by a 12-0 run and a 10-0 rally as it enjoyed its highest lead in the first 20 minutes, 36-22.
Mark Barroca topscored with 15 points despite playing only 19 minutes due to foul trouble. Garcia had 12 markers and five boards.
Reil Cervantes came up with a double-double with 11 and 13 rebounds as JR Cawaling finished with ten points.
The Tamaraws swatted away six DLSU shots with Aldrech Ramos accounting for three. They also only had 13 turnovers, while scoring 12 fastbreak points.
There were lapses in concentration, and the inexperience showed as well. FEU was clearly the more mature team, with an edge in big game exposure and individual one-on-one talents. There were some defensive lapses and turnovers, and the Tams capitalized on these miscues to pull away.
Despite the second blowout loss, there are positives that we can take from this game. The effort, the intensity was apparent for long stretches. Marata and Bringas proved that their selection to the team was justified. Our veterans had their moments. Ferdinand showed his toughness and held his ground in the paint. I’m fairly certain that we’ll start seeing significant improvements in the way the team plays in the next few games.
Funny, there are so many negative comments after we lost to UE. You’d think that the loss in our first game already defined our season. We’ve only had 1 out 13 games in the pressure cooker that is the UAAP. The team is still adjusting to playing with each other, and they’re not yet in peak form. Injuries and illnesses have contributed to their being not yet at 100%.
The only way to do this is one game at a time. The team will have learned from their loss, and their game will evolve. The next game is tomorrow, and I’m sure the team has been focusing on how to play FEU during this week. The players are good, our coaching team is arguably the best in the league, so we can expect them to start playing better.
FEU is definitely a tough team which as been analyzed accurately at the beginning of this thread. The Archers will be there fighting tomorrow. They may or may not win, but let’s support them in all the games.
The De la Salle University (DLSU) Lady Archers survived a slow start to score a come-from-behind 66-51 win against the National University (NU) Lady Bulldogs on Wednesday’s 72nd University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Women’s Basketball at the FEU Gym.
The Lady Bulldogs opened its Season 72 campaign with an aggressive stance by taking a 13-9 first quarter lead.NU seemed headed to an opening day victory until its star center Carmina Laguindanum was sidelined with an injury midway through the third period.
Laguindanum, who took down 18 rebounds, watched her teammates fall prey to the resurgent Lady Archers in the final quarter.
The Lady Archers capitalized on Laguindanum’s absence and forced the Lady Bulldogs to commit a mind-boggling 37 turnovers. DLSU has converted these errors 24 points.
Lady Bulldogs head coach Benjie Navarro rued Laguindanum’s loss.
“It was difficult for the girls to adjust when Carmina (Laguindanum) was out of the game,” Navarro said.
Last July 10, DLSU athletes and students gathered for the annual Animo Pep Rally. Here are the video highlights of the event. Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHL85tLwd4I
The reality of Game 1
The Archers were overwhelmed in their first game by the UE Red Warriors, in a game which saw the Archers post their lowest score (46 points) in a long time. The result surprised many supporters who expected the veterans and promising rookies to combine seamlessly to give the green-and-white a flying start in Season 72.
Not much of the usual Archer ball was apparent in yesterday’s performance: the defense was inconsistent on the perimeter as well as inside (UE was 43.8% on 2point shots) , outside shooting was practically non-existent (3/21 or 14% on 3pointers), and errors / turnovers were plentiful (22). Foul throw shooting woes continued from last year (9/18), but rebounding was a bright spot (50 total, 21 offensive) led by Maui and Ferdinand who combined for 16. Their inability to sink baskets early told on the team’s confidence, and they struggled with their shots all game long, averaging only slightly more than 11 points a quarter.
Many critics seem to forget that UE is a strong team, with an intact core even without James Martinez. Remember that they were trained and mentored by Dindo Pumaren for 4 years, these are mostly his handpicked players, and much of his work is now becoming apparent. In the last two seasons, UE has had an even win-loss record against the Archers, and in the eliminations, the Warriors have a 3-1 advantage during this period. They usually enter the season already in peak form, typically using the pre-season tournaments to hone their game. Individually, their talents are at least a match for our players, and Paul Lee is one of the best young players in the league so far. Their front line is strong, athletic, and versatile. It’s no surprise that they dominated yesterday’s game.
Early Brickbats
As is usual after a bad Green Archer loss, a lot of basketball experts have sprouted overnight, all with their own ready made analysis of what went wrong and what the coaches and players need to do. Some even questioned the judgment of the coaches in their player selection and game tactics yesterday. None of the players who saw action yesterday were spared from criticism, and the veterans in particular came under fire for their performance.
Most critics bemoaned the loss of JV and Rico, and the “what if” argument was most frequently used as the imaginary cure-all, as in “if JV and Rico were around, that would never have happened”. Next on tap was the general yearning for a “King Archer”, a savior of the team a la Renren, Macmac, and Joseph. The veterans’ collective lack of leadership came under close scrutiny as well.
Conventional wisdom and the team’s leadership situation
A common complaint of the critics was the lack of leadership on the team. Most observed that there is no “take charge” guy, and nobody was willing to step up and rally the team to victory. So let’s take a look at leadership on this team, and popular beliefs that have prevailed over the years.
Someone has to step up – focuses on the individual rather than the team. Basketball is a team sport. The entire team should step up and take accountability and responsibility for the team’s performance, not just any single player. Veterans as the leaders – assumes that experience = leadership. Not true. For all we know, the team’s leader could emerge from the rookies or sophomores. Age has never been a determinant of leadership, either. Yesterday, UE watched James and Peejay very closely whenever they were on the floor. They are criticized for lack of leadership, but people forget that they are the marked players on our team, and the opponents usually have a hand in preventing them from playing well. The leader as a doer – assumes that individual ability=leadership. Not true, and in fact leadership necessarily focuses on the attainment of the team’s desired results rather than on individual performance. There is a very real danger that a player will decide to carry the team on his back and try to do it all by himself. In past years, the LA Lakers were known as Kobe plus 4 other players. This year, he achieved his fourth championship by allowing his teammates to take accountability and take the shots that mattered. The true leader is able to assign responsibility to others depending on the situation at hand. The Archer system is premised on all players fulfilling their roles competently. The leader does not need the ball in his hands to lead the team. Leaders should lead by example, by following the game plan and their own individual roles on the team to the hilt. We need a King Archer – not true. What we need are King Archers, not just one, to share the load and the burden of being on a championship caliber team. All the players must have the ability and confidence to become the King Archer on occasion, and the willingness to accept responsibility and accountability, to do what has to be done, whenever the situation calls for it. Last year, JV and Rico struggled because all teams focused their defensive schemes on containing both players who people insisted on designating as “King Archers”. They managed to get the team to the finals, but could not ensure a repeat championship by themselves because two players vs five just isn’t enough. They needed other players to do their share. On this team, every player needs to do his share, because there is no King Archer to do it for him. And they need all their teammates to do their part at the same time as well.
The Archers are historically slow starters
The Archers, on the other hand, are usually not yet in optimum shape when the UAAP starts in July. They usually get by on sheer talent and their unforgiving defense in the first round, but there are usually lots of loose ends. The second round is where they start showing their real game, but by that time there are usually no more surprises and the other teams have learned what the team is all about. At this point, it tends to boil down to execution, and that’s where the Archers have proven to be a notch above their competitors. They will typically get into the final 4, sometimes even just barely scraping into the playoffs.
Tempered expectations
Our friend swingman has stated that he has tempered his expectations this year. The Season 72 Green Archer edition is younger than in previous years, and no one has yet stepped up to fill the void left by JV and Rico. The newbies are still feeling their way in the team, and yesterday’s game proved to be a rude awakening for those who saw action. Many of our players like Simon and Arvie are still recovering from illness and injuries, and are not yet in tiptop physical condition.
Tony Atayde predicts that the team will make it into the playoffs on the strength of a 7-7 record. That’s a very realistic assessment. Against the top 3 contenders (Ateneo, FEU, UE), the Archers will probably go 2-4. Against the rest (Adamson, UP, NU, UST), they will probably fare a little better, 5-3.
For now, reaching the final 4 should be the target of this young team. If they play well enough, we might even dream of reaching the finals. But in the meantime, reality beckons, and after game 1, it says that let’s not get our hopes up.
