Ateneo’s Game 1 victory over UST

ANY concerns of court rust were quickly dispelled by not only Ateneo’s blistering start and second wind in a 91-77 win over University of Santo Tomas (UST) in Game One of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 82 Finals.

That leaves the Blue Eagles with one more win to snatch the trophy and complete its quest for a three-peat. The Blue Eagles presented another near masterpiece on their hardcourt canvass with their teamwork, defense, and countering what UST gave them.

To wit, Renzo Subido ended the first period with a long bomb. It would be the only thing of significance he would contribute all game long.

At the 7:15 mark of the second period, the score was 38-22, Ateneo. UST answered with a 14-0 run behind two triples by Mark Nonoy. The lead was cut to five, 38-33, at the 4:54. It took UST four minutes to make a game of it, while Ateneo misfired on six attempts to go with one turnover.

Thirdy Ravena scored on an and-one to give Ateneo a breather, 41-33, but Nonoy canceled it out with a triple, 41-38.

Sophomore Blue Eagle SJ Belangel answered with three triples; the last one a turnaround shot coming from about 25-feet out to beat the buzzer, 54-39. Run answered. Subido’s dramatics canceled out.

Come the third period, Ateneo saw its biggest lead of the game at 23 points, 66-43, after a Ravena drive. UST would whittle it down but it hardly mattered as following a Matt Nieto lay-up at the 2:45 mark of the final

period, 88-69. All that had to be settled was the final score.

And for the third straight finals, Ravena has elevated the level of his game. He is simply amazing.

Take a look at how Ateneo defense (switching, their defense on and off the screens, not giving much daylight to UST’s shooters) worked on the Growling Tigers.

Ateneo raised the level of its game. From the time they played UST in the D-League where the lost, 112-98, Ateneo has marked them as a dangerous opponent. The Blue Eagles piped them, 71-70, in the first round of Season 82, then blitzed them 66-52 in the second round. Have they gotten UST’s full measure? So far, yes. But they do need to close it out.

Everyone thinks that UST jacks up a lot of triples (and they really have in the last two years). But since Tab Baldwin took over four years ago, it is Ateneo that has really gone to that long range bomb

In UST’s last four matches, this is how they how shot from three-point range:

14-45 against Far Eastern University (FEU)

11-36 in Game One versus University of the Philippines

7-39 in Game Two versus UP

14-41 in Game One versus Ateneo

Speaking of shooting, Ateneo shot 52 percent in Game One. Their season high is 53 percent that they garnered in their second round, 86-64 win over UP.

The season high in terms of accuracy rate belongs to FEU in their 81-60 win over De La Salle University where they knocked down 54 percent of their attempts.

We’ve always asked the Blue Eagles to pound the ball inside and they did so versus the Growling Tigers with a 58-29 advantage; double UST’s output. All UST really had going for themselves are their three-point shots where they dropped 14 of 41. Ateneo was 9-26 from downtown so they somewhat blunted UST’s shots.

Now they will attempt to close it out in Game Two.

Should Ateneo rest on its laurels?

Not at all.

How crucial was Game One?

Since the UAAP went into a Final Four format in 1994, the team that has won the first match of the series went on to win it 19 out of 25 times.

In the Final Four era, UST has risen from the grave (after losing game one of the finals to win) three times. They accomplished that in 1994 and 1995 against La Salle, and in 2006 against Ateneo. Conversely, they were also on the losing end after taking game one but falling in the next two matches against La Salle in 1999 and 2013, while National University also turned the trick in 2014 versus FEU.

Then again, the league has never seen anything like Tab Baldwin’s Blue Eagles.