By Jerome Lagunzad
Game Tomorrow
(Mall of Asia Arena)
4 p.m. – FEU vs Ateneo
(Final Four, do-or-die match)
Ateneo has lost its aura of invincibility at the most crucial stretch in the UAAP basketball tournament and Blue Eagles coach Tab Baldwin could not help but feel unease.
“I think there is something there. I think the team…I can feel it myself as a coach,” he said, visibly at a loss for words after top seed Ateneo fell prey to fourth-ranked host Far Eastern University, 82-75, last Sunday night at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
The stunning loss, which came on the heels of a 79-76 loss to defending champion and early finalist La Salle a week ago, neutralized the Blue Eagles’ twice-to-beat advantage and paved the way for a knockout duel with the Tamaraws tomorrow at the Mall of Asia Arena.
That’s enough for Baldwin to be wary since the Blue Eagles have struggled to flash the killer’s instinct seen from them by many in the elimination round where they even pounced on the Tamaraws’ inability to close out games.
But Ateneo apparently couldn’t get any headway after the turn when the veteran-laden FEU started to take control in the third canto then poured it all in a jarring finishing kick that stretched its lead to as high of 17 points.
“Out there, late in the second half when I knew we weren’t gonna come back and win that game, I was thinking to myself, ‘Gosh! I haven’t been in this mode of thinking in a long time.’ You know, over a year,” admitted Baldwin.
While they groped for form against the Tamaraws’ switching defense that forced them out of their comfort zones, the Blue Eagles apparently didn’t have that same hunger and intensity as they proved a step or two slower in terms of hustling for 50-50 balls in the second half.
In contrast, FEU mentor Olsen Racela sounded satisfied with how undersized big man Richard Escoto provided the energy in crashing the boards, hauling down five offensive rebounds, to complement the timely sniping of Ron Dennison and former Ateneo stalwart Hubert Cani.
“Today I thought we played like a young team,” said Baldwin. “And we shouldn’t (play that way). Yes, there’s youth there, but we’ve been together long enough and we shouldn’t play like a young team. We have to figure it out.”
“I think our offense got worse because we tried to force shots. We shot airballs tonight. Can’t really tell you why.
We just shot the ball badly. I thought we executed well in the first half, but the big issue was our defense.”
Even Blue Eagles ace wingman Thirdy Ravena, who had a team-high 17 points, admitted the obvious.
