Marata plays like Tito 'Ricric' as La Salle stuns Ateneo

Somewhere up in the sky, the late Ricric Marata must be proud of his nephew, La Salle's sophomore guard Sam Marata.

Marata made two big shots in the final minutes as the Green Archers came back from nine points down to score a come-from-behind 66-63 win over two-time defending champion Ateneo yesterday in the 73rd UAAP basketball tournament at the Araneta Coliseum.

The former 2007 Juniors Most Valuable Player for UP Integrated School completed La Salle's amazing rally in the last five minutes by hitting a booming triple off the fastbreak to cut the lead to one (63-62) then drained a top of the key jumper off a screen that put his team ahead, 64-63, with just 1:28 left to play.

The young La Salle cagers, a heavy underdog in this contest, came through with several defensive stops in the last few possessions to end their six-game losing skid against Ateneo dating back to the start of the 2008 season.

"Mukhang galing sa kanya yun. Siguro ginuide niya yung mga tira ko," said Marata, whose uncle, a legendary shooter in the PBA, passed away earlier this year at the age of 45.

Entering this game, the Green Archers also lost nine of the last 11 games against their bitter rivals but those two streaks came to a halt to the delight of half of the 16,566 fans that wore green shirts.

"I don't know what to say, I'm so happy. We were down nine points but the boys showed their heart. It's been two years already (since we last won)," said coach Dindo Pumaren.

Marata and Joshua Webb shared topscoring honors with 12 points each with the former converting all of his four shots from rainbow country. Lanky center Yutien Andrada had six points and seven rebounds while Joseph Tolentino had five points, four rebounds and five assists.

Rookie Jarelan Tampus, a recruit from Letran, was also responsible in the comeback, hitting two baskets off transition that cut down the deficit to 62-57 after falling behind 62-53 before Marata came through in the clutch.

"Sam (Marata) played well with those big shots," said Pumaren, who was a teammate of Marata with the RP team in 1987. "But of course, we owed that to Tampus. He made the difference."

It was a disappointing loss for Ateneo, which made its first eight shots in the fourth period behind Justin Chua but missed its final seven shots. At the same time, it also played paltry defense against what coach Norman Black described as a "scrappy La Salle team."

"We didn't finish strong," said Black. "And it didn't help that Kirk Long fouled out and Eman Monfort went down with cramps in the end."

"But it was the defense that let us down. Things such as not picking up their man on fastbreak, giving up three-point shots and not following around screens," he added.

La Salle won despite a low-scoring, sloppy game that saw each squad turning the ball over 18 times and combined for 45 fouls.

Chua, who delivered in their win against University of Santo Tomas last week, nearly turned into a hero again with 16 points. He had a chance to tie the game on the last possession but muffed a potential game-tying trey and a desperation triple after his miss that ended the game.

As usual, several prominent figures saw the action with business tycoon Manny V. Pangilinan, newly-appointed Philippine Sports Commission chairman Richie Garcia and his predecessor Harry Angping, Harbour Centre boss Mikee Romero and Smart Gilas members Rabeh Al-Hussaini, JV Casio and coach Rajko Toroman.

The scores:

Second Game

LA SALLE 66 - Webb 12, Marata 12, Atkins 9, Tampus 6, Andrada 6, dela Paz 5, Tolentino 5, Mendoza 5, Vosotros 3, Villanueva 2, Ferdinand 1, Paredes 0.

ATENEO 63 - Chua 16, Monfort 11, Long 9, Buenafe 7, Salamat 6, Salva 5, Golla 3, Escueta 2, dela Cruz 2, Austria 2, Tiongson 0, Gonzaga 0.

Quarters: 14-15; 26-30; 46-42; 66-63.

Note: This is a raw story that I submitted to the Manila Bulletin just a few minutes ago.

A streak ends in TOP and confusion in the UAAP

Yesterday was another one of those "lagare" days for this writer.

First order of business was to cover the Tournament of the Philippines seventh leg held at the Emilio Aguinaldo College gym where the M. Lhuillier Cebu Ninos took on the MP Gensan Warriors.

The Ninos enter the contest with a sense of invincibility with a remarkable 30-game winning streak that catapulted them to the Liga Pilipinas Conference III crown and two TOP leg crowns.

Most of the people who followed this joint tournament of the PBL and Liga expected Cebu to win again. However, the Warriors showed up and surprised everyone.

Center Christian Nicdao, known for his heydays with Far Eastern University in the UAAP in the late-90's and early-2000's, and ex-UE big man Angel Raymundo were able to contain the Cebu big men led by Marlon Basco, Ariel Mepana and Abby Santos, among others.

They led by 13 points on several occasions in the second quarter but as seen in numerous games, kung baga sisiw lang yan sa Ninos. That's because they're used to erasing big leads behind their pressure defense and eventually win those games by lopsided margins.

It looked as though Cebu was on the verge of doing such, erasing an 11-point halftime lead into around five to six points in the third period. But Gensan was just stubborn leaning on Nicdao, Raymundo and a lefty wingman in Jasper Callo and scoring guard John Gonzaga.

Bruce Dacia, who many could recall playing for the San Juan Knights in the defunct Metropolitan Basketball Association, eventually pulled the Ninos to 70-68 with five minutes left to play but a comeback was never to be.

Guard Jonathan Parreno also entered the fray knocked two crucial triples that put the Warriors away and score a knockout victory over the Cebuano cagers.

Gensan won, 77-72, and Cebu's streak came to an end. From the far end, Ninos assistant Willie Generalao gestured this writer like he was saying, "ganun talaga e." On the nearest end are the Warriors jumping for joy after hacking out a breakthrough win.

The Warriors aren't a great team on paper, lots of unknown names who reside from the Gensan-Sarangani area with some living in Davao, but they play tough every game, giving opponents such as Cebu and PBL teams Cobra, Ani-FCA and Ascof Lagundi a hard time.

Then it was off to the Big Dome.

After seeing the end of a remarkable end in the TOP, it was confusion in the UAAP, particularly the UP Fighting Maroons.

Reports say that Aboy Castro is no longer the coach and that ex-Sta Lucia Realty coach Boyet Fernandez, who was hired as consultant over the weekend, was appointed as his successor.

UP lost 87-81 to University of Santo Tomas in overtime no thanks to a late foul by Mike Silungan with three seconds left that enabled Jeric Teng to hit one freethrow that tied the game at 69-all and UP College of Human Kinetics dean Leilani Gonzalo clarified that....

"Coach Aboy Castro informed us two days ago (Wednesday) that he will go on indefinite leave and assistant coach Potit de Vera will be interim coach," said Gonzalo.

Yes, de Vera, according to tweet and fellow sportswriters coached most of the first half but upon arrival, the former FEU-FERN Baby Tams mentor was standing but near the rear end of the Maroons bench.

And near the scorer's table is Fernandez calling most of the plays like he was steering the Realtors to the 2008 PBA Philippine Cup crown with Kelly Williams, Marlou Aquino and Dennis Espino around.

"No comment," Gonzalo said followed by a laugh when asked if Fernandez is part in the selection with regards to appointment of coaches.

If UP officials claim that Fernandez is still the consultant, then it's quite odd to see a consultant acting like he was the coach.

During one timeout, it was visibly seen on television screens that Fernandez mapped out the plays and even called the shots in inserting players like Silungan, Magi Sison (who played well for the Maroons) and Martin Reyes.

And when the horn sounded, Fernandez consoled a dejected Reyes and gave a few words of encouragement and then during the singing of the UST alma matter song, called a team huddle perhaps saying a few good things to say from this loss.

Those events can say that the former PBA guard, who had stints with Sta Lucia, Pop Cola and Purefoods, is truly the lead man for State U.

Assistant coach Jerry Codinera, who spoke to the media (Fernandez refused to comment) and claimed that for now it will be them (the assistant coaches) and Fernandez (consultant) who will handle the team.

"It's us and coach Boyet who will handle the team for now," said Codinera. "Kami naman, we'll just pitch in and give some inputs and since consultant si coach Boyet, he can also say his thoughts."

It's a PR dilemma for the Maroons at this point. More confusion means more speculation, no thanks to conflicting statements and a dubious decision to make at this early part of the UAAP season.

Abangan na lang kung anu susunod na kabanata.

UAAP Game Notes: July 22, 2010

Some interesting trivia from the UAAP games held earlier. Thanks to Imperium Technology's Pong Ducanes for some of the interesting facts posted here.

UST def. UP, 87-81 (OT)

- The Growling Tigers registered their seventh straight win over the Fighting Maroons since the first round of the 2007 season.

- The last time UP won was a 70-67 win on August 31, 2006 in what would coach Joe Lipa's second to last victory in his second tour of duty with the Diliman-based squad. UST would eventually won the championship that season.

- Jeric Fortuna's eight three-pointers was the most since UAAP statistics were computerized in 2003.

- Apparently, it was the most since National University's Jeff Napa uncorked 10 against La Salle in 2001. Napa, who also had a stint as the school's television courtside reporter a year after, is now the team's assistant coach and mentor of the NU Bullpups in the juniors division.

- Fortuna became the first guard to score 29 points since La Salle's JV Casio, now a member of the Smart Gilas-RP team, did it against UST on August 28, 2008. Fortuna was then a rookie for the Tigers.

- It is also by far the highest single-game scoring output by any player this season.

- UST converted 16 threes, tying Adamson for most triples made since the league began to computerize statistics in 2003. The Falcons did that against NU on September 7, 2006.

FEU def. UE, 91-81

- The Tamaraws beat the Red Warriors for just the third time in the last 11 outings or since the first round of the 2006 season.

- The Tamaraws go 3-0 for the first time since winning the championship in 2005. That team was led by current San Miguel Beermen Arwind Santos, that season's eventual Most Valuable Player.

- UE assistant coaches Elmer Espiritu, Val Acuna and Rudy Lingganay arrived late after the trio played for Cobra Energy Drink against Ani-FCA in a Tournament of the Philippines seventh leg game at the Emilio Aguinaldo College gym in Manila. The Ironmen won, 82-80, on a game-winning basket by ex-UE teammate Pari Llagas.

- UE's Lawrence Chongson has lost five of his last six games as coach dating back to Game 1 of last year's finals series with Ateneo.

One cardiac game to remember

It's only fitting that a cardiac finish would cap off a very tight quarterfinals series between Alaska and Barangay Ginebra.

And the Aces, who won a 93-91 thriller in Game 5, should be thankful for Joe Devance and import Diamon Simpson, who both conspired on a big basket amidst a broken play, the distraction of a huge Ginebra crowd, and the shot clock winding down.

That play, where Devance passed the ball against two defenders from the three-point area into an open Simpson inside with five seconds left, coupled with Cyrus Baguio's strip on Eric Menk on the next play concluded perhaps one of the memorable series in league history.

"You know, it's almost sad to me that someone had to lose this basketball game," said Alaska coach Tim Cone. "Obviously, I'm glad it wasn't us but still someone had to lose the series."

"But I don't think you couldn't have a more even series, I don't think I ever seen this tight of a series where every game is decided in the last 30 seconds of the basketball game so you know tough one to lose my heart goes out to them," he added.

Many thought the Aces had the game wrapped up in the palm of their hands when LA Tenorio banged home a three-pointer with 2:15 remaining.

At that point, Tenorio made his 25th point of the game while Simpson, who eventually finished with 24 points, 22 rebounds and five blocks, wrecked the Ginebra frontline inside the shaded lane and Cyrus Baguio, eager to beat his former club after he was dealt for Willie Miller during the conference, buried 5-of-7 threes for 22 points.

But the lead was later cut the four then Simpson nearly turned from hero to goat on two plays. One, he accidentally tipped home a missed shot by Jayjay Helterbrand with 31 seconds left.

Then, he threw an errant baseball pass straight into Helterbrand, who confidently drained a booming triple from the right side of the arc that rocked the 21,062 strong fans on hand to see the game. By then, it was 91-90 with 28.5 ticks left.

If anything Cone had to be glad on the succeeding play was the composure his players showed.

First, Baguio nearly lost the ball then passed it to Tenorio, who nearly lost the ball on a double team. He returned the ball to Baguio. But when the Ginebra defense pressured him, he dished it to Devance, who was quickly approached by two defenders from the right elbow and with the shot clock nearly expiring.

But Devance perhaps thought to hit a quick shot but in a split second dropped the ball to an open Simpson, who made up for his two mistakes earlier by quickly sinking the layup with 5.0 seconds remaining that put Alaska back in the lead - for good.

"Well, it wasn't that great (of a play)," Cone said. "But you know it was a tough play and a tough position, the crowd going wild, I'm trying to call a timeout and they can't see me but you what I like was the composure we showed in the last play."

"I thought that Joe showed great composure catching that ball. He could have fired up a quick shot but still made the extra pass to Diamon for the layup with just seconds to go in the shot clock. He has really just grown in front of our eyes in these last few weeks."

The Kings tried for a last second victory but Baguio came away with a huge steal off Menk and was fouled with 0.1 seconds left. He later split his charities and then reportedly taunted his former team with a few gestures. On the other end there was Helterbrand, on the floor with teammates consoling him and perhaps battling tears after Ginebra was denied of a chance to create another one of its customary comebacks.

"It's a little bittersweet because these kinds of series are the ones you learn to appreciate," said Cone. "I mean these (games) will be the ones you'll remember 10 years from now when you're in a rocking chair talking to your kids. Even though it was only a quarterfinal series, it felt like a championship series."

How memorable this series would be? Four games were close and Games 2 and 4 likewise were close in the last two minutes even though the Aces went up 2-0 before the Kings fired back by winning the next two and had a chance to repeat the same comeback it did in the previous Philippine Cup quarters.

Now that this series is over, Alaska can now look forward to an intriguing best-of-five semis clash with Talk N' Text which starts on Wednesday.

The Aces are banged up and the Tropang Texters, who earned an outright semis seat thanks to a 15-3 record highlighted by a 13-game winning streak, is well rested but Cone hopes to come away with some surprises.

"We are coming off a tough series and we are a little banged up and we had some guys that are just coming back from injuries so they have the huge advantage in the first game or two," Cone said.

"But we just have to battle with them and stick it out and go deeper to our bench and see if we can get some guys who can surprise them but you know Talk N' Text is formidable but we are not afraid of them."

Author Notes: Perhaps this writer should learn from Yogi Berra's famous quote saying, "It's ain't over till the fat lady sings." Well, this writer decided to go back to the media room with 2:15 left thinking that Alaska had it in the game and apparently had to witness all that magic unfolded through the television screen. This was a fitting end to a three-playdate PBA coverage of this writer. This will come out on Tempo tomorrow. Konting edit lang dito especially the sequence of the Simpson basket dahil ang bilis ng pangyayari (had to rely on that YouTube clip that was posted early this afternoon by someone to review the play again).