Starting rookie pointguard Henry Asilum proved to be a good move for Coach Dandan
UP MBT Game #4 - versus Ateneo (August 2, 2012 @ the Araneta Coliseum)
This was the message coach Ricky Dandan gave his boys before the start of the game against Ateneo and was echoed by UP courtside reporter Bea Fabregas in her pre-game report.
Two of UP's three losses would have actually gone the other way had they displayed the poise their coach was talking about. UP's most recent loss, a two-point heartbreaker against Adamson.
However, the Maroons were not able to deliver on this message as they surrendered a lead as big as 10 in the early stages of the third quarter and lost to the Eagles, 76-70
The game was delayed for about 30 minutes as the shot clock was having technical difficulties. The game just started after both Dandan and Norman Black gave their go-signal to continue with the game with a manual shot clock until a replacement was available in the seond half.
The first installment of the Battle of Katipunan looked different as it was UP displaying energy and hustle at the start of the game. The starting five of Henry Asilum, Alvin Padilla, Mark Lopez, Raul Soyud and Chris Ball worked well together and gave Ateneo a run for their money in the first quarter.
Starting pointguard Juami Tiongson was not available for the Eagles today as he was down with the flu. Transferee Nico Elorde took his place in the starting line-up with Nico Salva, Greg Slaughter, Kiefer Ravena and Tonino Gonzaga.
Ball (doing his best LaMarcus Aldridge impersonation) started the scoring for the Maroons with a long two and eventually top scored with six points (all on mid-range shots) at the end of the quarter, 19-17 for UP. Soyud chipped in four while Asilum had a triple to carry the scoring for the Maroons. Ateneo had five turnovers in this quarter compared to only one by UP.
The second quarter was as sloppy for the Eagles as the first. Unforced turnovers were evident as UP racked up fastbreak points with Jelo Montecastro and Mike Silungan converting one lay-up each.
The Maroons second quarter unit on the other hand which consisted of Silungan, Montecastro, Alinko Mbah, Paolo Romero and Padilla were not as effective offensively as the starting five. Ateneo was able to tie the score a number of times in the quarter but was still unable to take the lead.
Coach Dandan decided to bring back Asilum, Ball and Soyud to provide scoring. The trio of rookies quickly conjured a 7-0 run to put UP ahead 34-27. Ball started the run with a surprise three-pointer and then Soyud had a tip-in. Ball then blocked Slaughter's lay-up attempt that led to Asilum's booming transition three.
Ball capped his 11 first half points with an athletic follow-up of a Soyud miss, and UP took a 40-32 halftime lead. This is the first time this season that UP has led during the break. Ateneo was not able to score a three point basket in six attempts while UP was a sizzling hot three out of four in the first half.
The second half was a different story with Salva and Slaughter playing better
Padilla was able to score the first basket of the third quarter on an up-and-under against Slaughter, but that was just about it as the Eagles woke up from their first quarter slumber and played with more efficient offense and better defense along the way.
At the 7:52 mark of the third, the Eagles were just down by four points 43-39, after a Greg Slaughter and-one conversion. Not helping the Maroons cause was foul trouble, as their most efficient player Ball went out with three fouls with five and a half remaining.
Salva was able to tie the game at 47-all with a hook shot in the 5:06 mark. It was a wild sequence of lead changes and ties from there as Gamboa answers with a three, Salva ties with an and-one again, Romero hits a jumper and Slaughter making two freethrows for a 52-all deadlock.
Gamboa then drove at the basket for a 54-52 advantage then Oping Sumalinog uncorks an open three from the corner for Ateneo's first taste of the lead, 55-54. Gamboa answers again with another trey for a 57-55 cushion, the last lead UP will ever hold in this game. Slaughter ties it again at 57-all with a short stab.
Salva and Slaughter punched in two more points each for a 61-57 lead going into the fourth. Ateneo outscored UP, 29-17 in this quarter.
Ravena opens the fourth quarter hostilities with another and-one over the smaller Asilum, flexing his muscle literally after the conversion just like what Salva did in the third. Another and-one by Ryan Buenafe (no there was no muscle flex on his part fortunately) gave the Eagles a 67-58 advantage with 5:58 left, prompting coach Dandan to call a timeout.
Lopez's triple with 5:05 left broke the scoring drought for the Maroons after converting only on a freethrow early in the fourth quarter. Then Slaughter answers with a short stab for a 69-61 lead.
Padilla was able to trim the lead to five after another three-pointer with 3:40 remaining, 69-64. However, Sumalinog was able to seal the deal for the Eagles after another trey, a steal on Silungan and converting on two freethrows. Silungan played miserably the whole game, scored just two points and was subbed out by Asilum after his foul on Sumalinog and the score at 74-64.
Now a moral victory is not enough for the Maroons at this stage of the season as they are already down 0-4 in the standings. Whether it was the technical difficulty that could have proved fatal for Ateneo and advantageous for them or the countless three-point plays with ugly Ateneo flexes after that may have seem intimidating, this should have been a Maroons' first victory that should've shocked the UAAP world.
I guess coach Dandan should emphasize the endgame poise more as the Maroons this time started real strong but finished the game in mediocre fashion. Unlike their previous ones that had them coming back from big leads and eventually losing in the end.
The wins will come, I am convinced that this is not another 0-14 season for UP as these Maroons have shown a lot of promise in the games they played this season.
The only question is when.
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