Scrappy "Zags" plays key role in Ateneo's dominance of La Salle

It was another one-sided affair in the latest episode of the Ateneo-La Salle rivalry.

The Blue Eagles forced the Green Archers in a maze of errors in the second half to secure a 79-62 rout in front of just 14,229 fans at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum. The win earned the Loyola-based squad a perfect 11-0 slate and a twice-to-beat advantage in the Final Four.

Kiefer Ravena had another solid game, so did Eman Monfort. Greg Slaughter was in foul trouble but eventually got himself involved in the fourth quarter and Nico Salva scored the chunk of Ateneo's points in the second half to beat their archrivals for the 11th time in the last 14 games.

But it was reserve Tonito Gonzaga who stood out in this match. The lefty who at times make Manu Ginobili-like layups had a career-high 12 points and also did his usual dirty work on both ends, particularly in the third period when the Eagles forced the Archers into several turnovers that easily led to transition baskets.

For his scrappy job, Gonzaga also had four rebounds, three assists and two steals in just 21 minutes, earning him a huge ovation from the Ateneo crowd and probably a thumbs up sign from owners playing that UAAP Fantasy Basketball on PBFantasy.com.

Gonzaga, who is sometimes confused to the famed actress, has made strides since his rookie year in 2008. Most of his appearances that year came during garbage time, displaying glimpses of promise.

He slowly rose up in the Eagles rotation, even as veteran wingmen began to depart. Last season, Gonzaga, fondly called as "Zags", had a minor role in the team's hard-fought three-peat and this year, his minutes somehow grew thanks to his hardworking effort.

He's a "coaches player", some sportswriters and observers believed and Ateneo taskmaster Norman Black is glad to have him on the lineup.

"He's been very consistent coming off the bench," Black said of Gonzaga. "He's probably our best bench player this year and he comes off and gives energy every single game so tonight was a good offensive night for him and he always plays good defense."

It was another disappointing loss for the Archers, who are now two back of University of Santo Tomas in the race for the No. 4 spot.

The dominance of Ateneo and the otherwise inconsistency of La Salle perhaps encourage some fans not to watch the 67th tussle of these two nemesis in the UAAP since 1986.

Saved for a La Salle fan who had a shouting match with UAAP president Ricky Palou of host Ateneo for heckling commissioner Andy Jao and his crew, there were no fireworks in this match.

In fact, about 60, maybe 70 or even 75 percent of the crowd were bleeding blue while there were several seats left in the cheap bleachers section on the green side.

Ateneo-La Salle II: Just another game

We're just hours away from the second meeting of between Ateneo and La Salle, the biggest rivalry in college basketball.

There seems to be little interest though. For obvious reasons, both squads are on different paths in this UAAP season.

Ateneo is dominating with a perfect 10-0 record thanks to the Greg Slaughter's imposing presence in the paint, Kiefer Ravena "unrookie-like" performance and key players such as Nico Salva, Eman Monfort and Kirk Long making their veteran presence.

Saved for some inconsistent first half efforts against University of the Philippines and University of the East, the Blue Eagles are such a well-oiled machine that they may even finish the elimination round with a perfect record or at best complete a rare four-peat.

Then, there's La Salle, a team that is up-and-down (mostly down) and hoping to snap a three-game losing skid.

It's been a difficult year for the Green Archers. Their offense has been inconsistent, their defense hasn't carried them unlike in the old days and then there's injuries and sickness. No wonder coach Dindo Pumaren is in hot water these days.

Their difference makes this latest battle between these two old rivals just another game.

There's been nothing special about this rivalry for the last year or two simply because of Ateneo's dominance.

Ateneo has beaten La Salle four of the last five meetings and the former won most of those games by double figures thanks to strong starts and several 15-20 point leads.

And that's what makes this rivalry predictable. La Salle just isn't competitive unlike in the old days where it's hard to predict a winner.

The characters from both sides we're interesting too.

There's Mark Cardona and Wesley Gonzales taking trash at each other.

There's Enrico Villanueva annoying La Salle fans with his antics and also ripping them with their post moves.

There's Carlos Sharma and Jerwin Gaco playing physical to the disgust of the Ateneo gallery.

And there's Renren Ritualo, Mike Cortez (except in Game 3 of the 2002 Finals), LA Tenorio and Larry Fonacier uncorking clutch shots.

It might take a while before this rivalry becomes competitive again. For now, fans from both sides will to settle with a one-sided game later at 3 p.m. unless the Archers pull off an stunning upset.

The first game of the doubleheader pits University of Santo Tomas and UE at 11 a.m. It's going to be an interesting match with the Tigers, led by Jeric Fortuna, Jeric Teng and Karim Abdul, aiming to increase their lead over La Salle and National University for the fourth spot in the standings although UE has been playing better recently despite a team is awful on paper.

UST versus UE used to be THE rivalry in the UAAP.

Veteran sportswriters, most them graduates of both schools, used to recall how great their rivalry was.

Before Ateneo and La Salle arrived, the then-Golden Glowies and the Red Warriors figured in numerous title clashes with the latter, mostly led by Robert Jaworski, winning most of their UAAP record seven consecutive titles from 1965-1971 (photo on the right taken from Video48) at the former's expense.

The last time they met in the championship was in 1985 when Allan Caidic and Jerry Codinera led UE to a win over the Pido Jarencio-led UST cagers. It was the 18th-and-last (to this date) for the Recto-based cagers.

The rivalry died around the 90's as UST won a four-peat and UE having an up-and-down decade. In 2006, the Tigers overcame a twice-to-beat disadvantage to stun the Warriors in the Final Four. Of course, everyone in Espana knew what happened after that.

Will UE and UST rekindle their rivalry someday? Unfortunately, it may take another generation for that to happen.

On UP and Perpetual

It's not good to be a fan of a varsity basketball team bearing initials containing U plus P and sports maroon or brown-colored uniforms these days.

With winless records to show, University of the Philippines and Perpetual Help are close to completing their dismal performances in the UAAP and NCAA, respectively.

The Maroons (tough to call them Fighting Maroons when that moniker isn't reflecting on the hardcourt) recently fell to a 0-11 slate following another lopsided loss, this time against Final Four contender Adamson 74-51.

On the other hand, the Altas dropped to 0-9 on Wednesday when they bowed to Jose Rizal University, 66-55.

It's quite a disappointment for both teams considering how they have played solidly in the preseason tournaments.

Everyone was hoping for a Maroon revival after a quarterfinals showing in the Filoil preseason tourney. With the veterans somehow maturing and highly-touted Mike Silungan expected to inject some offensive firepower, expectations were high in Diliman.

In fact, they trained in the United States during the summer and even got a huge sponsor boost from Meralco.

But alas, the hopes of reaching the Final Four for the first time 1997 turned out to be a complete disastrous campaign.

After a 0-2 start, the weird coaching change occurred as former PBA champion coach Boyet Fernandez was appointed as acting coach in lieu of Aboy Castro "taking a leave of absence."

It didn't help that the Maroons encountered three heartbreaking losses: 1.) University of Santo Tomas (when Silungan committed a foul in regulation play with his team up one with two ticks left. The Tigers eventually won in overtime) 2.) National University (wasted a 22-point lead in the third quarter) and again 3.) National University (Diony Hipolito's missed freethrow with two ticks left and NU up one).

Adding insult are the injuries and suspensions: Mark Lopez done for the year with an ACL, Woody Co out with an injured foot, Silungan missed one game due to flu and Alvin Padilla getting suspended twice.

As for Silungan, who was hoped by many to be the team's "savior", his stellar plays in preseason tournaments and the Father Martin Cup events became an afterthought and has somehow became some sort of a mortal player in the UAAP.
Sigh. As some would say, "Lahat na yata ng kamalasan sa basketball, naranasan na ng UP."

As for the Altas, they were able to make waves in the preseason that made them one of the favorites to enter the Final Four of the 86th NCAA basketball tournament.

However, the eligibility issues on Marlon Gomez and Paul Nuillan prior to the start of the season instantly killed momentum of the squad of coach Boris Aldeguer.

Even without the two, Perpetual showed signs that it can be one of the toughest teams to beat in the NCAA when it pushed San Sebastian and Mapua to hard-fought matches only to falter down the stretch.

But since then, it was all struggle for the Las Pinas cagers even with the presence of Arnold Danganan (the league's third leading scorer but has been suspended recently by the league), Jet Vidal and Mark Sumera.

Veteran Raffy Ynion has been forced to play center in Gomez's absence. It hasn't helped that his weight problems are affecting him on the court.

The disappearing act this season has been Chris Elopre. The 5-foot-10 guard showed wily abilities last season but those flashes have somehow disappeared this season.

With both leagues already in the second round of hostilities, it is the only hope of some, particularly students, faculty members, alumni and even non-fans are getting that sympathy for each defeat.

Many are hoping that they could get that elusive first win before the season is done. The question though is: Makukuha nga ba nila?

Notes:

- UP hasn't won a game since August 22, 2009 when then-rookie Mikee Reyes erupted for 22 points in an 83-78 win over La Salle at The Arena in San Juan.

- Since then, the Maroons have lost 15 consecutive games.

- Perpetual hasn't won a game since August 12, 2009 when it beat Emilio Aguinaldo College, 86-79.

- The Altas have since lost 18 straight.

- Before the streak, UPHSD finished the first round with a 3-6 slate.

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.