Ateneo-La Salle: Too big for the Philippines

Ateneo-La Salle: Too big for Philippines
THE GAME OF MY LIFE By Bill Velasco
Monday, October 1, 2007

On Sept. 23, the New York Times published an article on the rivalry between Ateneo de Manila and De La Salle, written by Fulbright scholar Raphael Bartholomew, a graduate of Northwestern who earned a grant to come to the Philippines in November 2005, to write a book about basketball. Almost before he was off the plane, he was bombarded about comments on the most compelling rivalry in Philippine sports.

"People said, 'You haven't seen anything untIl you've seen La Salle-Ateneo,'" explains the 6'4" Bartholomew, who played basketball for Northwestern. "They said that the games were so intense, and people from all levels of society were so loud, they were just losing it, and the stadium would be packed beyond belief."

According to Vic Sison of the Ateneo Sports Hall of Fame (ASHOF), the rivalry began even before the 1930's, when members of high society studied at what were considered the best schools in the country.

"You became a La Salle alumnus, and your children will go to school, and your grandchildren will follow," explained Sison, who himself is enshrined in the ASHOF as an outstanding football player. "The same with Ateneo."

The good-natured ribbing that followed defeat of one school at the hands of the other school pricked the pride of the members of the alta sociedad, and it became increasingly unacceptable to lose.

"The competition became very strong because these people were very close together," he adds. "They belonged to the same social strata. They mingled with one another in business and other affairs. And when it came to sports competition, it was the best against the best."

In the 1950's, things picked up a notch, as both schools used their intellect to craft cheers that played up their school's attributes, while subtlely (or often not so subtlely) degrading the other's.

"It was building competition, not only on the playing floor, on the playing field, but in the stands," Sison elaborates. "Every time Ateneo and La Salle would play each other – in whatever sport – where there was an audience represented by both schools, there would be that build-up of intense emotion."

Despite the absence of the rivalry for over a decade when Ateneo left the NCAA to join the UAAP, today's game has actually amplified the one-upmanship. Now, every Ateneo-La Salle game is on the evening news, in the morning papers, and bannering Internet headlines round the clock. After a year of waiting, Rafe Bartholomew finally got his first taste ot the blue-green war this July.

"Senators, foreign diplomats, Cabinet ministers, a smattering of Forbes's 40 richest Filipinos, movie stars and enough professional basketball players to play five-on-five. They are the elite of Philippine society, and they all gather at Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City to watch the men's basketball rivalry between the universities Ateneo de Manila and De La Salle," Bartholomew wrote in the New York Times. He also characterized the teams' contrasting images: the Green Archers with their shaved heads, tattoos and attitude, and the Blue Eagles with their clean-cut, good boy image, which also fueled the animosity between them.

"I think it has exceeded expectations," Bartholomew gushed. "The noise, the crowd, everybody moving together, and at the end of the games, pumping their fists and singing the school songs. Nothing could have prepared me for it. There's really no way to explain it without experiencing it. People are so passionate, they're screaming for every pass, every tip. Not just every score. They're celebrating possessions. It's something I've never seen before anywhere."

And with the first four games having been decided by a total of just seven points, the quality and unpredictability of the games has been heightened.

"The games have become more physical, faster and more technical," Sison says. "The players are bigger, and the quality has improved. And when the quality of the games improve, the passion in the rivalry improves with it."

"It doesn't matter if one team seems weak on paper," Bartholomew reflects. "Even if one team doesn't have its usual squad. You can throw all the records out the window. If it's a La Salle-Ateneo game, you don't know what's going to happen."

And according to Sison, it's a passion that will never die out.

"When you leave an Atenean and a La Sallite in a room together, one will always think that he is number one, and the other is number two. They simply refuse to lose to each other. It's as simple as that."

Truer words were never spoken.

Archers avenge 3 losses, eliminate Eagles!

Archers make Eagles extinct, reach final

In the end, no big shots came from Chris Tiu of Ateneo. Cholo Villanueva delivered them for La Salle with a Big D to boot.

Villanueva came through with clutch baskets in the fourth quarter and shackled Tiu all game as the Archers finally put away the Eagles, 65-60, yesterday in their sudden death for the second final berth in the UAAP men's basketball tournament at the packed Araneta Coliseum.

Playing his last season as an Archer, Villanueva pumped in nine of his 13 points in the final period while neutralizing Tiu in the other end as the Taft-based squad took a step closer to making a successful return from a one-year suspension.

"It's nice to be back in the finals," said La Salle coach Franz Pumaren moments after steering the Archers to the final for the first time since losing the crown to the Far Eastern U Tams three seasons ago.

The Archers face a well-rested University of the East side on Thursday at the start of the best-of-three showdown for this year's crown.

The Dindo Pumaren-mentored Warriors swept the two-round elims to clinch the first championship berth.

The final will also mark the first time that the Pumarens will clash in a championship game.

"It has been long overdue, we're finally facing each other in the finals," said Franz, who will be appearing in the finals for the eighth time since taking over the coaching reins from Jong Uichico a decade ago.

Rico Maeirhofer sealed the emotional win with a foul shot that sent half of over 23,000 fans into frenzied celebration and the other half into tears.

Tiu, who scored a couple of crucial shots in a 76-75 Ateneo squeaker Thursday to force the rubber match for the No. 2 spot, failed to come up with even one this time as he was held to just two points in the last quarter.

Credit that to La Salle's no-nonsense defense.

The Archers, in fact, held the Eagles to just two field goals in the final period and a season-low total output.

"This is the only game in the season that we responded to the challenge by playing good defense," said Pumaren.

Their failure to control the defensive board, particularly in the closing minute, proved costly for the Eagles, last year's losing finalist to the UST Tigers but out of this year's championship despite beating the Archers thrice in a record-tying five games this year.

Ateneo swept elimination round meetings, an 80-77 win in overtime in the first round an 89-87 triumph in the second, lost to La Salle, 70-69, in a playoff for the twice-to-beat advantage before forcing a fifth and final duel with a 76-75 triumph on Tiu's endgame brilliance.

It turned out to be the last.

"I told Cholo and even TY (Tang) before the game that this will be their last game against Ateneo because they'll be graduating, and they rose to the challenge," said Pumaren.

The Archers dictated the pace early under deafening roars from both sides as they led by as many as nine points in the first quarter, 15-6.

A 14-1 blast bridging the first and second quarters turned things around for the Eagles, who wrested the lead at 20-16 as Eric Salamat took over.

Simon Atkins, a rookie out of reigning UAAP high school champion La Salle-Zobel, fired a jumper and a triple to spark a closing run that gave the Taft-based school a 29-26 upper hand at the break.

Maeirhofer, the MVP in both the Nike and Fil-Oil tournaments last summer, led the Archers' attack early with seven first half points while Tang, who turned 23 Thursday, fired six points.

The scores:

La Salle 65 – Villanueva 13, Tang 12, Maeirhofer 12, Casio 10, Malabes 5, Atkins 5, Walsham 4, Ferdinand 2, Cua 2, Mangahas 0, Co 0, Barua 0.

Ateneo 60 – Arao 14, Tiu 10, Salamat 10, Baclao 7, Al-Hussaini 6, Reyes 5, Long 4, Baldos 2, Escueta 2, Monfort 0, Laterre 0.

Quarterscores: 16-14; 29-26; 48-43; 65-60

Only in the UAAP: 2 > 3!!!

La Salle wins 65-60!!!!

De La Salle proved mathematicians everywhere wrong, when they won only their 2nd out of the 5 meetings with Ateneo this season.

These 2 wins are the most crucial; the first win gaining them a twice to beat advantage, while the 2nd propelled them to the Finals.

Ateneo can keep their elimination round wins and only 1 of 2 sorely-needed triumphs.

De La Salle had the chance to go the Finals last Thursday, since they only needed to win once in the stepladder format to advance. Sadly, Ateneo pulled the rug from under them, squeaking by with a 65-64 decision.

The game today avenges that loss. The prize: a chance to win the Finals, an opportunity to win the championship after a year-long Sabbatical.

Props go to Cholo Villanueva, who with his cool head, was able to douse cold water on Ateneo's hot streaks. Rico Maierhoffer also hustled his heart out at the opposite ends of the court. Jvee Casio also nonchalantly sank both freethrows at the dying seconds of the ballgame, to make it 64-60. Nonoy Baclao cut the lead to two in the previous play, hitting a very surprising three-pointer to make it 62-60.

More on this tomorrow!
Coincidentally, my above equation is true in another aspect: La Salle, as the No.2 seed, edges out Ateneo, the #3.

I gotta sleep!

Ateneo Still Survives (for Sep 28)

Ateneo Lives Another Day

“One big fight” turned out to be one more game. Chris Tiu came alive in the second half then pumped in the killer shots in the homestretch as Ateneo stunned archrival La Salle, 64-65, to live one more day in the 70th UAAP stepladder semifinals at the packed and rocking Araneta Coliseum.

Tiu fired bricks in the first 20 minutes of play, but buried a long triple in the last two minutes before driving inside for the go-ahead layup with 7.3 seconds left. The second-seeded Green Archers, who came into the game carrying a twice-to-beat advantage, missed out on the last play with Bader Malabes misfiring on a three-point attempt as time expired.

Ateneo’s scrambling win thus forged a winner-take-all match on Sunday at 3 pm. The winner will face University of the East, who took outright the first finals slot after sweeping the elimination round.

The Blue Eagles were given up for dead, trailing by five to start the fourth period and were almost done in with two minutes remaining. JV Casio’s split freethrow made it 64-58 but Ateneo erased the deficit on a 7-0 run, on Tiu’s exploits and on a layup by Ford Arao with 51 seconds to play.

Tiu’s triple closed the Eagles to within 64-61, 1:54 remaining. Casio’s three-point try rimmed out in the next play before PJ Walsham bungled another attempt from beyond the arc. Kirk Long rebounded Tiu’s missed triple and fed Ford Arao for an easy layup to beat the shotclock, 64-63.

Malabes then muffed an off-balanced layup to set up Tiu’s winning play in the final 7.3 seconds. La Salle inbounded to Casio from the top of the key before finding a wide-open Malabes from the left side.

The loss was a nail-biter for the Archers, who led most of the way and took control early on. They gained headway after the half, thanks to a seven-point third-quarter output from Ty Tang, who topscored with 20 points. Casio added 11 but struggled with only two treys in the game and scored only one point in the fourth quarter.

“We’re happy we won the game,” said Coach Norman Black. “We couldn’t do anything on offense. Luckily, our defense held up.”

“Tiu struggled the entire game, but he came up with the big shots when the game’s on the line,” Black said of Tiu, who’s apparently taken La Salle’s number with three game-winning shots against the Archers this season.

Tiu, who finished with 14 markers, erupted with seven points in the final period after being held to only one point in the first half. Arao led the Eagles with 19, including 10 in the first quarter. Noy Baclao and Eric Salamat each had eight.

The win was the Eagles’ third in four meetings against the Archers, whose only victory earned them the no. 2 slot in the stepladder semifinals. Sunday’s meeting assured the two teams’ a fifth encounter, with the winner advancing in the best-of-three championship series against the Red Warriors next week.

La Salle led at the end of every quarter, and was poised to put the game under wraps after entering the fourth period at 52-47. The Archers took a six-point lead twice, the first one at 54-48 on Rico Maierhoffer’s foiled three-point-play attempt.

Baclao’s back-to-back tip-in shots tied the game for the last time at 54-all. But Cholo Villanueva made a fastbreak layup and Tan hit four straight points to put the Archers again on top, 63-58, time down to 2:20.

NOTES: The game started 20 minutes later than the scheduled time, at 3:20, amid a heavy downpour outside the Big Dome…Ateneo tweaked its starting lineup for the game, putting in Raymond Austria and Zion Laterre in the starting five. The Eagles had Tiu and Escueta at the point and Arao at center. The Archers opened with Tang, Casio, Malabes, O.J Cua and Ferdinand, the same five who started in La Salle’s 70-69 win in the knockout match…La Salle had seven fastbreak points while Ateneo only had 2. The Eagles, however, scored 11-2 in second chance points…Ateneo’s bench outscored La Salle’s, 32-19…Last night’s 65-64 decision marked the fourth straight time that the Ateneo-La Salle match was decided by three points or less. Ateneo swept the elimination round meetings, 80-77 and 89-87, while La Salle took the playoff match for the no. 2 seed, 70-69…Tiu exchanged pleasantries with Tang at the 15-foot line when the latter was preparing to take freethrows with 3:39 to play in the fourth quarter. The two were former teammates at Xavier School. Tang made both charities to put the Archers ahead by five points…The Ateneo-La Salle Part V on Sunday assured the most number of meetings between the archrivals since 2002. The two also played five times in that year, although three of the five games were in the championship series.

September 23, 2007

A Nation's Passion Lives in a Rivalry of Green vs. Blue

By RAPHAEL BARTHOLOMEW

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/23/sports/23rivalry.html?_r=1&ref=sports&oref=slogin

QUEZON CITY, the Philippines, Sept. 21 — Senators, foreign diplomats, cabinet ministers, a smattering of Forbes's 40 richest Filipinos, movie stars and enough professional basketball players to play five-on-five. They are the elite of Philippine society, and they all gather at Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City to watch the men's basketball rivalry between the universities Ateneo de Manila and De La Salle.

La Salle Coach Franz Pumaren said, "The janitors in Araneta always say, 'If there's an Ateneo-La Salle game, once everybody's out of the coliseum, it still smells good because of the all the socialites watching.' "

In the basketball-crazed Philippines, where former players have become senators and nearly every public square has its own court, it is hard to imagine a crowd like this assembling for any other event. Kristie A. Kenney, the United States ambassador, attended the season's first meeting between Ateneo and La Salle in late July.

Ateneo and La Salle are the most prestigious private universities in the country. The question of which institution provides a superior education is a toss-up; the tie breakers take place on the basketball court.

Although Ateneo and La Salle have similar upper-class student bodies, their respective basketball teams are very different.

The Ateneo players have a squeaky-clean image. The team's prize freshman, Kirk Long, came from Faith Academy, a high school in suburban Manila for the children of foreign missionaries. Guard Eric Salamat's surname means thank you in Tagalog.

La Salle's players have a menacing swagger, with tattoos, headbands, shaved heads and chin-strap beards. In 2005, La Salle revealed that two of its players had used phony high school equivalency results in their applications, and the team was suspended for the 2006 season.

The teams also play different styles, with somewhat different results. The De La Salle Green Archers won four straight national championships from 1998 to 2001 thanks to its vaunted trapping defense.

"The dreaded press; you know your guards will turn over the ball against it," said Joel Banal, who coached Ateneo in 2002 and 2003. "I used to have nightmares about it."

Ateneo plays textbook basketball, with man-to-man defense and an inside-out offense that relies on post-up moves and perimeter shooting. The Blue Eagles won the 2002 championship, their only title in the last 17 years.

If Ateneo wins Sunday's game against the University of St. Thomas, it will face La Salle for the fourth time this season, in the national semifinals. Ateneo has won two of their three meetings this season, games decided by a total of 6 points.

In each of these nail-biters, the 15,000-seat arena was sold out, with supporters standing in aisles and stairwells. Almost everyone on La Salle's side of the coliseum wore green. On the other side, Ateneo's fans wore blue. Marching bands blared fight songs as spectators on both sides chanted.

The frenzied crowds are often led by some of the most prominent alumni. Senator Richard Gordon, a former Ateneo cheerleader, is renowned for sideline antics like jumping on the scorer's table to rile up the crowd. La Salle counts the former finance secretary José Pardo and the shipping mogul Enrique Razon Jr. among its supporters.

The rivalry allows Manila's elites to relive their carefree college days, said Ricky Palou, Ateneo's athletic director. "It's the passion they have for their alma mater," he said. "They become immature. They act like kids."

The fans' excessive behavior is matched by the largesse that the alumni lavish on their teams. A group from Ateneo installed the hardwood floor used for the 2000 N.B.A. All-Star Game at the university gym. Not to be outdone, Razon donated about $1 million, which went toward refurbishing La Salle's sports center and financing athletic scholarships.

The heightened atmosphere of the rivalry puts coaches and players under enormous pressure. When Joe Lipa coached Ateneo in the late 1990s, the former president Corazon Aquino, whose daughter Kris is a 1992 graduate, would call Lipa to check on the team's progress, said Ricky Dandan, Lipa's former assistant.

"You can lose to all the other teams, but not to La Salle," Banal said.

When his team defeated La Salle for the championship in 2002, it was "my most fulfilling accomplishment," Banal said, adding: "After that championship it's like the whole Filipino nation knew me. Like if you go to a restaurant, you eat, you're paying your bill, somebody from Ateneo got it already."

But the shame of losing also haunts players and coaches. In the final game of the 2002 national championship series, the La Salle star Mike Cortez missed 11 of 13 shots. Afterward, La Salle students and alumni accused Cortez of throwing the game. Although Cortez is now an all-star guard in the Philippine professional league, many fans still regard him as a game fixer.

The rivalry has loosened the bond of friendship between the teams' coaches. Ateneo Coach Norman Black and Pumaren won several professional titles together in the late 1980s with the San Miguel Beermen.

"If you're part of the rivalry, you just don't like each other," Black said. "Franz played for me and he was my assistant coach, but that has little bearing on what's happening right now. He's the coach of La Salle; I'm the coach of Ateneo. Let the chips fall where they may."

Raphael Bartholomew, who did research at Ateneo de Manila University and was an adjunct lecturer there, is writing a book about Philippine basketball.

La Salle Clinches Twice To Beat Advantage! (for Sep 18)

Sweet revenge. The De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Archers will definitely have a series of good night sleeps after shutting down their arch-nemesis Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) Blue Eagles with a sweet 70-69 victory on September 18 at the Big Dome giving the former a twice-to-beat advantage and forcing the latter to a must-win battle with last season’s champions, University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers.

Joseph Evans “JV” Casio spurred the run of the Archers as he was hot inside and out connecting 3/7 or 42.9% from beyond the arc, a decent 5/11 or 45.5% field goals and a perfect 2/2 free throws.

Rico Maierhofer on the other hand posted a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds despite hitting his knee-ankle area after driving into the rim 2:52 minutes left in the first quarter.

Ateneo was rather more aggressive in the first half with Kirk Long giving the Archers headaches with his hoop drives.

The Blue Eagles limited the Archers’ scoring in the second quarter to 16 as compared to their 19 points production. Zion Lattere gave the Blue and White squad its biggest lead 32-24 by driving inside the lane and converting a bucket less than 3 minutes left in the first half.

A 4-0 rally was hoisted by Casio and Barua to inch closer to Ateneo and avoided a possible double digit bubble at the end of the half 32-28.

Severino Baclao was haunted with early fouls that limited his game and affected the execution plays of the Katipunan-based squad giving the Taft-based squad more opportunities to penetrate inside.

La Salle regained its composure in the third with Casio and Maierhofer continuously converting points for the rather dominant green crowd.

PJ Barua sparked the La Sallian crowd with his 3-point conversion giving La Salle a 35-34 lead early in the third. Rabbah Al- Hussaini answered with a field goal, thus giving back the lead to Ateneo.

Maierhofer converted two charities after Al-Hussaini’s foul that gave La Salle a four point advantage 40-36 with 5 minutes left in the third.

Chris Tiu uplifted the Blue Eagles crowd by converting a triple 3:50 minutes left. Eric Salamat further increased the lead of the Eagles to 5 with 42-47 less than 3 minutes left.

La Salle bounced back as Cholo Villanueva converted with a lay-up to cut the lead of the Eagles to three.

Casio broke the deadlock at 47-all with a fancy 3-pointer that gave La Salle the upper hand at the end of the third at 50-47.

After fishing a foul from Zion Laterre, Casio secured a 4-point lead for the Green and White squad in last two minutes of the regulation.

A useless foul was committed by Villanueva against Tiu that was converted by the latter into 2 easy charities cutting the lead of the Archers to two 69-67 less than two minutes left in the game.

Long fouled Villanueva in the dying seconds of the game wherein the latter split his charities thus gave the Archers a breathing space, 70-67.

Ateneo made a last huddle by converting a two-pointer .01 of a second left. The Archers jubilantly ended its two-game skid against the Eagles and clinched the twice-to-beat advantage.

La Salle will have to wait for the winner of the UST and ADMU match on Sunday, September 23, at the Araneta Coliseum.

Coach Franz Pumaren was rather satisfied with his team. “Last two games we lost but we showed a little bit of character, we got the number two spot. Right now I’m just happy on how we performed. It was a massive test on our part.”

He did not make a clear comment when asked who would win between Ateneo and UST. “We don’t choose whoever we play we just have to be prepared and ready to play.”

NU Muddles Things Up, sets up Ateneo-LaSalle part 3!

National University’s 96-88 overtime win on September 15 at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium might not have changed its fortune, but the outcome was significant to Ateneo de Manila University.

Jonathan Jahnke was the hero of the day for the Bulldogs, scoring the first nine NU points in OT, finding daylight from the outstretched arms of Noynoy Baclao for a twister, 80-73, 3:19. Two consecutive Jonathan Fernandez threes later, it was already an 88-76 tally in favour of National.

“Kami naman we just wanted to get beck at Ateneo,” said NU coach Manny Dandan, not minding of what the repercussions were. “We just want to win para closing out the season maganda.”

Fernandez chiseled 24 points, shooting 6/11 from outside and 4/4 from the line, and five rebounds. Edwin Asoro had 16 markers and 12 boards, eight coming from the offensive glass.

Jahnke loaded with 15 points, five caroms, three assists, four steals, and four turnovers. Shooting guards Michael Salvado and Cyrus Malagueño totaled 22, 15 points coming from three-point territory, five rebbies, and seven assists with the former swiping five possessions and swatting three shots from Ateneo.

“Maganda lang dinipensa namin,” Dandan surmised.

The hustle points proved that point with the Dogs making 13 fastbreak points, 23 second chance points, and 31 turnover points. They also had 14 steals, forcing ADMU to 29 turnovers, while they limited themselves to just 14 miscues. Other than that, the blue and gold’s outside shooting was on target, making 13 from the three-point territory.

On the other hand, the Blue Eagles shot better overall with a 42% clip, had more rebounds with 60, while producing 20 assists and nine blocks.

“We took that risk to put all forwards kanina,” mentioned Dandan to counter ADMU mentor Norman Black’s ploy of fielding in tall but quick players.

This marked as the final games of Fernandez, Malagueño, Salvado, and Joseph Lingao-Lingao.

Ford Arao lorded with 22 points, half of it coming in the first quarter, ten rebounds, and four errors. Jai Reyes exploded with 16, five boards, seven assists, and two steals.

Eric Salamat and Eman Monfort had an equal share of 14 markers each.

With this, the Eagles are forced to battle De La Salle University on September 20 at 3pm at the Cuneta Astrodome. The winner gets the twice-to-beat benefit with the defeated facing the victor of the University of Santo Tomas versus Far Eastern University knockout match. The Growling Tigers and the Tamaraws would trench the Araneta Coliseum on September 17.

Ateneo de Manila was thinking of wrapping things up early, Salamat driving in for a lay in, 17-7, 1:28 of the first quarter. This was duplicated by Yuri Escueta late in the second with a quick basket, 30-20, less than a minute to go.

Things then turned sour for the Katipunan-based squad as Fernandez hoisted a three from the side for the first ever lead change of the tussle, 34-31, 6:39 of the third period. This was increased to nine via a Salvado triple, 54-45, 9:08 remaining in regulation.

Egged on by the blue and white gallery, ADMU released a 7-0 run to take the lead for a while with Tiu stealing one then passing off to Reyes to complete the fastbreak, 61-59, 4:27. With both sides exchanging digits, Salamat found space despite being covered by Asoro to formulate a shaky three-point margin, 71-68, more than a minute left.

Salvado split his trip at the freethrow line from a Zion Laterre foul at the one-minute mark. The Eagles was called for a 24-second violation after Tiu’s attempt to beat the buzzer hit board.

Asoro recovered a Jahnke hoist that was deflected by Baclao for a one-hander in the paint, :21.1, tying the count. Salamat and Tiu had a two-man play set up as Salamat drove then kicked off to a wide open Tiu for the game-winner, but his three-pointer hitting metal instead as the regulation buzzer sounded.

Ateneo Sweeps La Salle In Elims (for Sep 9)

It took a difference of a millisecond between losing and, probably, winning as Rico Maierhofer held the ball a little longer than necessary at the buzzer as Ateneo de Manila University escaped De La Salle University, 89-87.

Yuri Escueta drove and attracted the defense then kicked the ball out to a waiting Chris Tiu at right quarter court :17.8 to go for the marginal basket. With ample time for one more play, Casio missed a fadeaway jump shot from 15 feet with Maierhofer attempting to send the game into overtime but in vain.

“The guys showed a lot of grit and guts tonight,” said ADMU coach Norman Black. “(Escueta) is our main man.”

Tiu was 4/5 from the three-point country for 19 points, seven rebounds, and two assists. Ford Arao had 18 markers on 8/10 freethrow marksmanship, grabbed eight boards, and dished two feeds.

Escueta had 16 points on a perfect 5/5 shooting and four assists in a career defining game. Eric Salamat had 15 and five assists, and Jobe Nkemakolam had an output of ten on 6/6 shooting at the line, and six caroms.

The Blue Eagles made 10/17 from outside on 50% overall field goal shooting, while making 81% of their freebies. They also had 19 assists and five blocks.

Maierhofer had a career best of 24 points and nine rebounds. Cholo Villanueva netted 18 markers. TY Tang had an all-around night with 15, eight boards, and five assists, while Bader Malabes scored 11.

The Archers made hay on the hustle department with 16 transition points and 16 turnover points.

Interestingly, Casio’s five points in the game were the last points of De La Salle in the match.

“It looks that way. We will be going to play this team again,” Black commented on Ateneo’s nemesis, who is on a tug-of-war battle for a twice-to-beat advantage. With this conquest, the blue and white is now tied with the vanquished at 9-4.

“Focus is now on NU. This victory would not mean anything if we lose against NU,” Black rued. “We only beat them by one point the first time around. All we have to do is beat NU and we are number two.”

Appropriately, that Ateneo versus National University tussle would close out the eliminations on September 15. The green and white faces the challenge of foiling University of the East’s sweep on September 13 at the Araneta Coliseum.

“I am expecting anything at this point,” and this is including a probable protest when asked by a reporter to Black in the postgame interview. “I have come to expect a last second play.”

ADMU stormed off a 13-3 start with Jai Reyes passing off to Noynoy Baclao from a pressbreak play, 7:01 in the first quarter. Not to be outdone, the Taft-based squad replied with a 14-0 kick to bridge the two periods with Villanueva hitting a three-point play off Ken Barracoso, 21-15, 9:47.

Arao tied the count with two freethrows off a Brian Ilad foul, 3:50 in the second, 30-all. Maierhofer responded with five straight to give the Green Archers headaway going into the locker, 40-33, 1:19.

A 7-0 start at the third gave DLSU its highest lead, 51-38, 8:23. Nevertheless, the Katipunan-based crew had an 8-2 finish concluded by a threes from Tiu and Eric Salamat, and a twisting layup from Nkemakolam to go within by one, 64-65.

Two straight Villanueva baskets forced Black to call an early timeout with Maierhofer’s split at the line providing a seven-point cushion, 73-66, 7:05. The leather was swung around by Tiu and Escueta to Salamat at the side for a trey and a tie, 75-all, with Escueta’s quick undergoal gave the Eagles the upperhand momentarily, less than four minutes remaining.

Tang’s three from near the top of the key evened things up once more, 79-all, as both sides pushed and pulled for the lead until Tiu’s game-winning three.

“I thought we won the first game,” Black stated. “A lot of people were questioning that with the protest.”

As for the referees, Black had this to say, “I was a little bit upset at times. But that is part of the passion of the game.”

Ateneo hands LaSalle its 2nd Straight Loss!

The game that all the green gangs and the blue battalions have circled on their calendars had finally commenced and ended in a sweet fashion. The most storied rivalry of the UAAP had another classic match-up to put up in its archives; as the Blue Eagles needed an extra five minutes to outlast the Green Archers in heavily fought match in the Big Dome on Thursday night. The players reached deep beneath their gut to pull out the extra effort needed to take home pride and honor for the school; and it was the Blue Eagles who had prevailed for this round, 80-77.
The game was a see-saw battle all the way to the end of the first half, as the Archers only narrowly led through most of the first two quarters with their biggest lead being 5; only to watch the Blue Eagles tie the ballgame at 30-all as the first half ended with Chris Tiu hitting a 3-pointer from the corner to tie the game. The 3rd quarter was a different story however, as the Ateneo Blue Eagles started to pull away while the Archers were still pondering how to stop the Blue Eagle rally. The Eagles entered the 4th quarter with a 5-point lead, and looked like they were going to blow the game wide open as they took a 9-point lead, before the Archers decided to finally pull things together and rallied right back into the game. The Archers were able to cut the lead to 2 or 3 points on numerous occasions, but committed unnecessary fouls each time which spelled free throws for the Blue Eagles; in turn, the baskets made by the Archers were offset and the gap in the score remained. In the final 2 minutes however, JV Casio had enough and took the game into his own hands. He scored on a coast-to-coast lay-up in transition to pull the score closer; on the ensuing possession, he hit a step-back 3-pointer; and in his final basket of regulation, he curled through a pick to find himself open for the game-tying jump shot, 65-65. Cholo Villanueva scored on a fast-break to give the Archers their first lead since early in the 3rd quarter with 13.8 seconds left, but Ford Arao overpowered PJ Walsham on the other end for an easy deuce to tie the game, 67-67. The Archers had the final shot of the game, but JV Casio hampered by the stifling perimeter defense of the Blue Ealges and was not able to attempt a shot as time expired.
In overtime, it was mostly Ateneo-dominated basketball. Ford Arao continued to dominate the post as the Archers still refused to double-team him and allowed PJ Walsham to defend Arao 1-on-1. Jai Reyes then found an open Chris Tiu for the biggest shot of the game; The Blue Eagles were up by only 1, as Chris Tiu found the ball in his hands and the path to the basket crystal clear. He shot and made the 3-pointer to give the Eagles a 4-point lead with 38 seconds left to play in the game. With 2.2 seconds left in the game, and the Eagles still up by 4-points, Rico Maierhofer found himself on the charity stripe to try and pull the Archers closer. He made the first free throw to cut the lead to 3, and intentionally missed the second one; the ball was tapped all the way to beyond the arc where Rico Maierhofer launched a prayer to tie the game, a prayer which was unfortunately left unanswered.
The Blue Eagles were led by Jai Reyes with 18 points and 6 assists, followed by Chris Tiu with 15 points and 6 rebounds. The triple towers of Ateneo combined for 29 points and 24 rebounds, with Ford Arao owning the 14 points and 5 rebounds.
The Green Archers were led by JV Casio with 21 points. Rico Maierhofer posted a double-double for the Green Archers with 19 points and 10 rebounds. TY Tang shot 2-9 FGs and turned the ball over 6 times as he fouled out of the game in 29 minutes of play. The Archers were out-assisted, 17-8.
The Green Archers will try to avoid their third straight loss of the season as they go up against the defending champions, the streaking UST Growling Tigers, on Sunday. It will also be a day of redemption as the Archers test the Growling Tigers’ credibility as champions; and the Growling Tigers will try to prove that whether the Archers were present or not, they would still be champions.
Arrows will fly and tigers will roar. Will the hunter become the hunted, or will the predator become the prey? Watch for it this Sunday.
Animo La Salle! Beat UST!