Saktong-sakto, Parang White Castle Whiskey
Saktong-sakto ang hula ko regarding sa punishment ng team manager ng La Salle dahil sa pagbatok niya kay Arwind Santos. Pagkatapos ng insidente, naisip ko talaga na dapat pagbawalan na si team manager Salgado of La Salle na makapunta sa kahit anumang UAAP game. I was very disappointed with him because what he did was very unbecoming of a team manager. I would have expected such actions from other schools (no offense), but from La Salle? Naalala ko tuloy yung Bantay Bata All-Star Game dati nang sinuntok si Rich Alvarez ng isang player from PCU. For me, other schools would be capable of such but not schools like La Salle, Ateneo and UP. Mataas talaga ang tingin at respeto ko sa mga schools na to, especially when it comes to sportsmanship. Hehehe!Ang kaparusahang binigay ay "perpetual suspension" para sa team manager. In fairness to him, he apologized and said that he only did that because he was provoked. Pero I don't think Santos provoked him in any way dahil sila lang naman ni Joseph Yeo ang nagtatrash-talk sa court. Hindi na siya dapat naki-alam sa mga players. Mas maintindihan ko pa kung isang player ang nanuntok kasi gusto ring bumawi ng player dahil nagkaka-pisikalan sila sa court. Pero isang team manager? Nanonood ka lang at nag-checheer throughout the game... Hindi ka naman tinamaan ng siko ni Santos.I thought he deserved more than the suspension. Dapat mag-public apology siya, magbayad at i-disown na ng La Salle. Kung ako si Santos nung time na yun, sinigawan ko dapat yun, "Hoy, tangina mo! Sa labas mamaya! Wag tayo dito kasi marami ang aawat sa atin." Sobrang cheap shot ng ginawa amp!
Green Overshadows the Lighter Shade of Blue
I thought this Final Four matchup would be a different ballgame compared to Ateneo’s last games against La Salle so I decided to write this recap quarter by quarter. As I turned on the TV, it was already 6-2 for La Salle and I thought to myself, “Man, this is still the same start for Ateneo...”
1st Quarter
Just as I turned on the TV, I was surprised to see a different lineup for Ateneo. Instead of Japhet starting at center, Coach Norman had Martin Quimson start instead. Probably, this was to prevent Aguilar from committing early fouls and have him provide a spark from the bench. Unfortunately for Ateneo though, Kramer committed 2 quick fouls which forced Coach Norman to prematurely send in Aguilar in the game.
Aguilar made an instant impact as he made a Carteresque move on JV Casio. For those of you who can’t quite remember the Carter move, let me refresh your memory. Remember the 2000 Sydney Olympics where Carter jumped over, wait, not just jumped but dunked over the France’s 7-foot center. Yep, Aguilar almost did that as he took off way far from the basket and jumped over Casio who went in front of him to take the charge. Aguilar made the shot, though he did not really jump over Casio and dunk the ball. He just laid the ball in stretching his long arms. He actually lost control of the ball on his way up but managed to control the ball and make the basket. Nevertheless, the shot still merits a “Wow” from the crowd, the commentators, and even I myself.
The first quarter was terrible for JC Intal as he was rendered scoreless (0-6 FG) the entire canto. LA Tenorio also had a bad quarter, at least field goal-wise as he shot 2 for 6 from the field for 4 points. But to come to think of it, it was a great thing as he scored 40% of Ateneo’s points of that quarter (4 of Ateneo’s 10 points). But Tenorio’s overall performance in that quarter was superb as he dished off 2 assists and got 3 steals to go along with his 2 rebounds. To add to that, LA committed 0 turnovers, which is very unlikely, considering that he handles the ball most of time during Ateneo’s possessions.
Overall, it was a great quarter for Ateneo. Hell, I think that quarter was almost god-like for Ateneo as they committed only 2 turnovers and they held La Salle to only 11 points. It was probably their best opening quarter against La Salle ever. Remember Ateneo allowing 40 points by La Salle in their first meeting this season? And take note, these are 10-minute quarters and not 12-minute ones. It is even abysmal to allow 40 points in a 12-minute quarter. So yeah, I stand on calling this a god-like quarter for Ateneo… Quarter ends with La Salle leading 11-10.
2nd Quarter
Intal and LA head to bench to start the quarter while Emman Nazareno comes in for defensive purposes. As expected with Tenorio on the bench, Ateneo starts the quarter in a lethargic manner as they committed 5 turnovers to give La Salle a 19-10 advantage. Ateneo’s offense seemed to be disoriented with Tenorio on the bench. Well, the entire Ateneo five on the floor looked to be in complete disarray without Tenorio on the floor.
With La Salle threatening to break the game loose, Coach Norman had seen enough and tapped Tenorio to head back to the floor. With Tenorio back on the floor, the entire team seemed to settle down. Tenorio instantly made an impact as he dished off an assist to Intal for his first points of the ballgame. Because of Tenorio’s aggressive play, Joseph Yeo actually fouled him while shooting a three. Although the shot did not go in, Tenorio made his 3 free throws. Because of this foul, Tenorio appeared to have found his shooting touch. Remember, prior to the foul, Tenorio shot 0 for 3 from 3-point country, and 2 for 6 overall for 4 points. On Ateneo’s next possession, Tenorio made a 3 in the deep corner. He again made another 3 in front of a La Salle defender to tie the count at 21. On the other end, Rico Maierhoffer was fouled and split his charities to give La Salle a 1-point lead. But Tenorio was determined to give Ateneo the lead as he drove against the La Salle defense and convert on a layup to give Ateneo its first lead at 23-22.
I’m not sure if Tenorio made the last shot of the half but nevertheless, the half ended with Ateneo up 25-22. I would like to commend Nazareno’s relentless defense on La Salle’s point guards and his on-court hustle. He harassed Tang and Casio and made them ineffective in the 2nd quarter. Tenorio finished the half with 15 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, and 4 or 5 assists to his name. Halftime Report
Ateneo looked like a completely different team from the team that La Salle faced in the elims. Here are the stats to support my claim:
---------------------------ADMU----------------DLSU----------------
FG----------------------9/27 (33%)-----------9/33 (27%)-------------
Turnovers ------------------9----------------------8------------------
Points off turnovers---------4----------------------4------------------
Fastbreak Points------------4----------------------5------------------
Ateneo held La Salle to only 22 points in the first half. That alone is amazing. When Ateneo goes neck-to-neck with La Salle in turnovers committed, turnover points and fastbreak points, Ateneo is definitely in the right track. They are miles away from being blown out again. Limiting La Salle’s FB points and points off TOs, is certainly a positive thing, when they take away La Salle’s strength.
3rd Quarter
Ateneo started the half with an unorthodox lineup with Tenorio, Membrere, Kramer, Quimson and Intal on the floor. But Macky Escalona quickly subbed Membrere after 2 minutes. Ateneo once again had a sluggish start as La Salle made 4 straight points. But Ateneo counters with a nice press break which led to an easy layup by Quimson off an assist by Intal. Ateneo once again had a difficulty of breaking La Salle’s press as they already committed 3 turnovers with 5 minutes left in the third. The only highlight for Ateneo in that quarter was the emphatic double-block by Intal and Aguilar on Aquino.
I was caught by surprise when Coach Norman fielded in Bajie del Rosario, knowing his tendency to commit blunders and turnovers. La Salle went on a 13-0 run since the 4:42 mark of the third. Del Rosario committed two straight turnovers to give La Salle a 41-31 lead. La Salle had a 14-0 advantage over Ateneo in points off turnovers in this quarter.
Tenorio drove in for a layup to break Ateneo’s silence. But Yeo answered on the other end to preserve their double-digit lead. A mental lapse on Kramer on an inbounds play added to Coach Norman’s headaches, as Kramer went to the backcourt to catch the inbounds pass even if the ball was inbounded on their frontcourt. To add to Ateneo’s problems, TY Tang found his stroke in the third as DLSU enjoyed biggest lead, so far, of 14 at 50-36 to end the quarter.
Ateneo was outscored by La Salle 28-11. Hell, they were even outscored by Yeo alone, who unloaded 14 big points in the third quarter alone. And even more hell, their 9 turnovers almost equaled the total number of points they scored in that quarter.
4th Quarter
Ateneo starts the quarter with a turnover with Tenorio on the bench. Tenorio enters the game at the 6-minute mark of the quarter. Tenorio immediately made an impact as he converted on a trey. But on the other end, Yeo answered back with his own version of a three. After Yeo’s shot, Ateneo’s doom seemed to be inevitable as Tenorio suffered from cramps. But Membrere seemed to be unshaken as he made a three to cut the lead to 10.
But on the next possession, Yeo was fouled he made his 2 charities. Meanwhile on the other end, Intal attempts a layup that didn’t even hit the rim. La Salle got the ball back as Yeo sets up Arana for a 3 to give La Salle a 15-point cushion. Tenorio’s cramps spelled Ateneo’s undoing as Lasalle went on to break Ateneo’s spirits. Tenorio cried on the floor with a towel over his head.
Game ends 74-57 for Lasalle. This is a sad way to end LA’s illustrious and stellar UAAP career.
Post-Game Analysis and Trivia
Ateneo committed 21 turnovers compared to Lasalle’s 12. Need I say more?
Some trivia by the way… Coach Franz Pumaren is 18-9 against Ateneo, and 7-4 in the postseason.
Ateneo's Nightmare Becomes a Reality and No Upset in Boxing
I was just reminded of how good a boxer Marco Antonio Barrera is. He is known as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world today. And I mean he showed why he really is a good “boxer” against Aussie Robbie Peden in their WBC and IBF unification bout earlier today. That was probably one of the best “boxing” matches I’ve ever seen. I mean most boxers today win by knocking out their opponents with their punching power but you never get to see the so-called “boxers” anymore. He boxed very impressively that he rendered his opponent very ineffective all throughout the fight. He just showed why he was given the moniker “The Babyfaced Assasin.”
Aside from his boxing, Barrera showed great defense that Peden landed just 10 percent of all the punches he has thrown. Barrera just caught Peden’s punches with his gloves. The boxer that reminded me of that type of defense was the Golden Boy, Oscar dela Hoya.
And now for the main event of the day, the De La Salle Green Archers beat the UE Red Warriors to claim the second spot of the UAAP standings. When I said in my previous post that La Salle seems to finish their season with a bang, this win was definitely the exclamation point to that. With this outcome, there will be a playoff for the third place this coming Thursday between Ateneo and UE.
And by the way, personally, I think UE lost the game because of too many missed free throws. I’m thinking, why don’t coaches put more emphasis on making free throws when free throws definitely win games and make big leads closer? If I were the coach I’d make my players shoot a hundred free throws while screaming profanities in their ears. This way, they would be able to handle the great pressure come game time. I was pretty impressed by the women’s game between Ateneo and FEU prior to the UE-La Salle game. These Lady Eagles really know how to shoot free throws. So why don’t the Blue Eagles ask pointers from the Lady Eagles. Even their bigs know how to shoot from the line, like Tioseco and Barracoso. I most impressed by these two since they could stroke it from the charity stripe considering they're the Ateneo's twin towers.
This playoff game would be the game I’d hate for Ateneo to win. Because if they do, they’ll face La Salle in the Final Four. They’d probably be better off facing FEU in the Final Four since FEU was in some kind of a slump coming into the Final Four. They lost to Ateneo and won over UST by just a solitary point. This is probably where the UST loss hits Ateneo right in their nuts. Instead of securing the 2nd spot, now they’re facing a twice to beat disadvantage regardless of Thursday’s result.
I said Ateneo would be better off facing FEU since they have a microscopic chance of beating La Salle. I’d have to correct myself when I said in my previous post that Ateneo has lost four straight times against La Salle. I’m sorry but Ateneo has lost not 4, but 5 straight games dating back to last season. The three games last season would be their second round meeting, the playoff game for 2nd place, and their Final Four matchup. And don’t forget the two blowout losses this season. So if God forbid Ateneo wins on Thursday and goes on to face La Salle in the Final Four, I could just imagine the morale of the team coming into their game against La Salle. Their morale would probably be lower than sea level, maybe lower than 10 layers of crap underground.
At least with FEU, confidence would be high especially after beating FEU in their second round meeting. Besides, Ateneo should be able to exploit FEU’s weak backcourt, at least point guard-wise. FEU has got a very promising point guard in Jonas Villanueva, and indeed he has shown that he is one of the top point guards in the UAAP, next to Tenorio, of course. But the problem with FEU is that once Villanueva sits on the bench, they are forced to use Rizada as the point guard. And Rizada, as we all know, is not a natural point guard. That’s why FEU lost to UE because UE pressured FEU all throughout the game. Once Villanueva goes to the bench, FEU seems to panic once they are pressured full-court. So the best thing for Ateneo to do is to get Villanueva in early foul trouble in order to disrupt the flow of FEU’s offense.
I wonder why Ateneo never gets to recruit players who don’t succumb to pressure. I mean, why does La Salle always get the players who play with nerves of steel? And Ateneo gets the chokers. Well, maybe except for Tenorio, the other players of Ateneo can’t seem to handle the ball, make their free throws and cross the midcourt line during crunch time.
I also have one observation regarding Jai Reyes. I think that the Ateneo crowd is so desperate to make him an Ateneo version of Renren Ritualo. I pity the guy, really, because he is still young and too much is expected of him. I just think that Ateneo still hasn’t recovered from the threes made by Ritualo during his collegiate stint. So they expect Reyes to shoot the lights out everytime he steps on the court.
Archers Shoot Down Eagles, Again
The game started out like it was going to be a blow out since
La Salle went on a 9-2 run to start the game. This forced Coach Norman to call an early timeout to stop the bleeding. Ateneo came back and tied the game at 14 (I think). From that point on, the Ateneo Blue Eagles looked way different from the Blue Eagles that faced De La Salle in the first round. The first half was a close one despite an unstoppable Ryan Araña who poured in 16 points in the first half alone. He made the Ateneo defense look disorganized. The half ended with
La Salle leading by 5.
The game was very close. Well at least in the first half. The second half turned out to be a different ballgame. You would have thought that Ateneo would come back and grab the lead, similar to the game against FEU. But no, Ateneo scored just 10 laughable points compared to La Salle’s 19. So the third ended with Ateneo facing a 14 point deficit.
During this quarter, La Salle had another scoring machine in JV Casio who scored 10 points all in the third. Meanwhile, Ateneo had to bleed for every point. The game would have been a lot closer if Ateneo shot 70 percent from the 15th parallel. Ateneo shot less than 50 percent from the line, which is a big no-no in basketball. So based on that stat alone, I had a feeling that Ateneo would lose the game. Tenorio even missed two charities, which is very unlikely for him. Even Membrere, who is considered to have a decent free throw shooter, missed crucial free throws.
Tenorio, who scored a magnificent 23 points in the second half in their game against FEU, was nowhere to be found. He scored 9 points in the first half but I don’t think he scored more than four points in the second half of this game.
Ateneo seemed to build some momentum during the start of the fourth as JC Intal scored four straight points to cut the lead to 10. After the play, Intal slightly twisted his knee on a scramble play. He had to be substituted and that’s when the blow out began. La Salle’s lead ballooned quickly as Ateneo struggled to score as well as stop the Archers on their offensive. Final score was 72-55 (tama ba?).
Japhet Aguilar played his usual game by playing superb defense. He collected a number of rejections. By my count, I think he had at least 5 blocks, two on Maierhoffer. I think Intal and Escalona put up their usual numbers. But no other Atenean stepped up during the game. Tenorio, once again had another sub-par game. That makes it 3 of their last 4 games.
It really impresses me that every year, La Salle finishes season with a bang. Despite losing 3 games in the first round, they went on to lose just one game in the second round, a one-point loss against league-leading FEU Tamaraws. Well, except for their last game against UE this Sunday where the result still remains to be seen. And again, it saddens me that Ateneo once again, peaked at the wrong part of the season, as they again ended the eliminations on a losing note. The only good thing that happened to Ateneo to end this season was dealing FEU their 2nd loss. Remember last season? Ateneo went on a 7-0 blast in the first round but went on to win just 3 or 4 of their last 7 games. La Salle eventually caught up with them in the team standings, forcing a playoff for the second place. Ateneo went on to lose that game against La Salle. Ateneo settled for third place and had to beat La Salle twice in order to enter the Finals. They also lost to La Salle in the Final Four.
With this result, Ateneo killed its chances of getting the second place. This is where the loss against UST comes into play. That loss would go on to haunt the Blue Eagles for a very long time… If La Salle goes on to lose against UE on Sunday, UE automatically gets 2nd place, Ateneo 3rd and La Salle 4th. If on the other hand UE loses, this would force a three-way tie. And the second place team will be decided by the quotient factor, which means that La Salle would get the 2nd place, thanks to their 18- and 17-point blowout wins against Ateneo. Ateneo would probably get 3rd place since they beat UE twice this season. Personally for me, this is the situation Ateneo would want to avoid since they would face La Salle, who enjoys a twice-to-beat advantage in the Final Four. La Salle also has the psychological edge with their blowout wins against Ateneo this season. Meanwhile Ateneo’s morale would be way below 10 layers of crap after this game. Dating back to last season, they already lost 4 straight games against La Salle. Talk about psychological edge, huh?
Based on my expert opinion (uluuuul!!!), the two primary factors that cost Ateneo this game are poor free throw shooting and their inability to break La Salle’s press. When a team shoots below 50 percent from the charity stripe, they are almost bound to lose the game. Remember the UP-DLSU game that destroyed UP’s hopes of entering the Final Four? UP shot a horrifying 20 percent from the line! If they made at least 70 percent of their free throws, they would have probably won the game. And talking about La Salle’s press, this forced a lot of Ateneo turnovers, 22 for this game compared to La Salle’s 11. You see, when Tenorio goes to the bench, Ateneo has trouble getting the ball halfcourt. I think he’s the only Ateneo guard capable of breaking the infamous La Salle press, dating back to point guards like Quimpo and Tanchi.
Here’s something that I just came up with. I’m sure you’ve all seen the shirt that AECES is selling. I just thought of a shirt for the De La Salle Green Archers… Here’s what it says in the front:
Ateneo Blue Eagles
And at the back:
Because not all players can get into the La Salle Team B Basketball
Hahahaha! Although I think Tenorio and Aguilar both deserve to be in their Team A. LOL
Bong Soon-Young
Dahil bored na bored ako nung tuesday at wala akong magawa, naghanap na lng tuloy ako ng mga pics ni Chae Rim. Yung bida sa Oh Phil-Young na babae. Ayan tuloy lumabas na ang pagka-jologs ko. At nung sinearch ko yung pangalan ko, natuklasan ko na 2 lang pala ang wallpapers nya sa net. Well, at least ung nahanap ko. Pero d naman ako ganun katagal naghanap. Kasi kung umabot na ako ng isang oras, baka sabihin sobrang jologs na talaga ako... Hahaha!
So dahil bored na talaga ako, naisip ko na lng gumawa ng wallpaper para gawin kong wallpaper sa laptop. Nagsawa na rin kasi ako sa Cindy Kurleto wallpaper ko. Hehehe! Try ko na lng kung may naalala pa ako sa mga natutunan ko sa multimedia class ko sa Photoshop. Pero simple lang ginawa ko. 1024 x 768 ang size. Here it is:
OMG! In my defense, eto lang yung koreanovela na pinanood ko... Defensive amp! Hahaha!
Bisdak Song Post #1
"Ako si M-16"
by junior kilat
Ako si M16 at your service bai
aduna pud ko'y anak, si baby armalite
Ako si M16 at your service bai
aduna pud ko'y anak, si baby armalite
Ako si M16 at your service bai
aduna pud ko'y anak, si baby armalite
Ako si M16 at your service bai
aduna pud ko'y anak, si baby armalite
(I'm M16 at your service friend
I also have a child, baby armalite)
..:..
Bratatatatatatatatatatatatat!
Bang bang bang bang bang Bang bang bang bang bang Bang bang bang bang!
Bratatatatatatatatatatatatat!
Bang bang bang bang bang Bang bang bang bang bang Bang bang bang bang!
Bratatatatatatatatatatatatat!
Bang bang bang bang bang Bang bang bang bang bang Bang bang bang bang!
Bratatatatatatatatatatatatat!
Bang bang bang bang bang Bang bang bang bang bang Bang bang bang bang!
Ang akong mga bala, hastang pwerting baratoha
Ayaw lang katingala, kung supplier di magpaila
Ang akong mga bala, hastang pwerting baratoha
Ayaw lang katingala, kung supplier di magpaila
(My bullets are very cheap
Don't be surprised if suppliers remain anonymous)
Buy-one take-one kung walay gyera
Presyo times two kung election o kudeta
Buy-one take-one kung walay gyera
Presyo times two kung election o kudeta
(Buy one take one if there's no war
Price is 2x if election or coup d'etat)
..:..
Bratatatatatatatatatatatatat!
Bang bang bang bang bang Bang bang bang bang bang Bang bang bang bang!
Bratatatatatatatatatatatatat!
Bang bang bang bang bang Bang bang bang bang bang Bang bang bang bang!
Bratatatatatatatatatatatatat!
Bang bang bang bang bang Bang bang bang bang bang Bang bang bang bang!
Bratatatatatatatatatatatatat!
Bang bang bang bang bang Bang bang bang bang bang Bang bang bang bang!
Kini si M203, kini sa M203
Ang bala kusgan, kini si M203
Kini si M203, kini sa M203
Ang bala kusgan, kini si M203
(This is M203, this is M203
The bullet is powerful, this is M203)
Grenade launcher, dugangi lang dyes mil
Grenade launcher, dugangi lang dyes mil
Grenade launcher, dugangi lang dyes mil
Grenade launcher, dugangi lang dyes mil
(Grenade launcher, just add 10,000)
..:..
Bratatatatatatatatatatatatat!
Bang bang bang bang bang Bang bang bang bang bang Bang bang bang bang!
Bratatatatatatatatatatatatat!
Bang bang bang bang bang Bang bang bang bang bang Bang bang bang bang!
Bratatatatatatatatatatatatat!
Bang bang bang bang bang Bang bang bang bang bang Bang bang bang bang!
Bratatatatatatatatatatatatat!
Bang bang bang bang bang Bang bang bang bang bang Bang bang bang bang!
--Turntable Solo-
--Guitar Solo-
Ako si M16 at your service bai
aduna pud ko'y anak, si baby armalite
Ako si M16 at your service bai
aduna pud ko'y anak, si baby armalite
Ako si M16 at your service bai
aduna pud ko'y anak, si baby armalite
Ako si M16 at your service bai
aduna pud ko'y anak, si baby armalite
Ako si M16, Ako si M16, Ako si M16, M203, Ako si M16,
Ako si M16, Ako si M16, Ako si M16, M203, Ako si M16,
Ako si M16, Ako si M16, Ako si M16, M203, Ako si M16,
Ako si M16, Ako si M16, Ako si M16, M203, Ako si M16,
Bratatatatatatatatat
Nilagay ko na ung translation for the benefit of those na di nakakaintindi ng Cebuano... Yung written in purple.
Return of the LA
Talk about timely hot shooting. Ateneo avenged its first round loss from FEU as they beat FEU in a thriller ball game 69-66. After averaging a measly 5.5 pts on 29% shooting from the field in their last two games, LA Tenorio poured in 25 huge points, 4 for 7 from three-point country and dished out 5 assists to help deal FEU its second loss of the season.
Ateneo started the game slowly as they played catch up for the entire first half. Macky Escalona picked up two quick fouls early in the first forcing Coach Norman to send in Magnum Membrere to enter the game this early. Fortunately for them, almost everyone tapped in by Coach Norman Black contributed scoring-wise. The Blue Eagles were led in scoring in the first half by Membrere, Intal and Escalona with 4 points apiece. Meanwhile, FEU was led by their main man Arwind Santos with 7 points on two treys and one free throw. You would start to wonder where Ateneo’s main man is on the scoring board. LA Tenorio shot a measly 1 for 4 from the field for 2 points in the first half.
The second half turned out to be a different ball game for the Blue Eagles. Ateneo had a sense of urgency of winning the ballgame to build momentum against archrivals LaSalle on Thursday and eventually entering the Final Four. A win would also put them in a tie with the UE Red Warriors at second place, which is a crucial spot since it holds a twice-to-beat advantage against the team at third place.
After shooting a meager 2 points in the first half, LA realized that another mediocre game from him could kill Ateneo’s chances of getting a twice-to-beat advantage in the Final Four. He unleashed the scoring devil inside of him as he carried Ateneo in his shoulders during the third quarter. He made two from beyond the arc and made incredible layups as Ateneo grabbed the lead late in the third canto. He made 10 points in the third quarter alone.
At the start of the third quarter, Ateneo looked to blow the game away as it erected its biggest lead at 11. This was also the biggest deficit FEU faced all throughout this season. This allowed Coach Norman to reward Tenorio with a well-deserved rest in the fourth quarter with 9 minutes left in the game. FEU smelled they had to capitalize with Tenorio sitting on the bench. And they did. They went on a run to cut the lead down to two with a little over five minutes left in the game. Ateneo was forced to call a timeout and send back Tenorio back in the game. Despite the timeout, Ateneo was unable to produce and FEU was able to tie the game. They even managed to lead by 1 solitary point.
At this point, Tenorio had to take the game into his own hands. He made an off-balanced three pointer and made a looper against three FEU defenders, one of whom is the shot-blocking Arwind Santos. In one of these sequences, Ateneo got the rebound from an FEU miss. This led to an outlet pass to Tenorio, who very surprisingly, muffed the layup. He jumped in disgust after the miss. This led to a counter fast break for FEU. In that fast break, the ball was fed to Arwind Santos for an easy layup. This would have been a sure two for FEU had it not been for Japhet Aguilar’s presence. Aguilar emphatically erased Santos’ shot. On another play after, Santos drove in again for another layup. But guess who came to the rescue? Yes, Japhet rebuffed the layup! Returned to sender baby! He also had another rejection on another inside shot by Mark Isip (I think it was him).
This game was by no means an all-LA Tenorio show. Japhet Aguilar did his job on defense, as usual, and he also contributed a decent number of points. He converted on a no-look assist from Escalona, plus a foul. He also made a shot on a fast break play plus a foul against Mark Isip. Isip’s hands were just on Aguilar’s wrists when he made the shot. Who’s tall huh? Mag-Growee ka muna! Hahaha! Martin’s idol, Quimson, did his share by getting offensive boards and converting on offensive putbacks. Ken Barracoso was fielded in for JC Intal who I think sprained his ankle in the game. Barracoso was used to finish the game together with the starting 4 of Ateneo. He made very crucial free throws and he also made a fast break layup in the fourth. Macky Escalona also made a jumper in the fourth which ended a mild Ateneo drought in the fourth. The Jainamyte and Zion Laterre didn’t make significant contributions but they were good enough to give the starters a brief rest.
So this is the reason why I never lost faith in LA Tenorio despite two mediocre games against losing teams, UST and NU. He really steps up when he feels it’s necessary. Remember Game 3 of the UAAP Finals 2001? Even though Ateneo eventually lost the finals to LaSalle, Tenorio poured in 30+ points during that game. Had it not been for Enrico Villanueva’s dismal game, Ateneo would’ve won that game, with LA as the game’s MVP. So LA, do well next game and in the Final Four and the Finals… We believe! MVP! MVP! MVP!
And just to show how great his game was, about 3-5 of Tenorio's shots could make this years top ten plays. I mean they were great and impossible-looking shots. One commentator even said, "Is that shot even legal?" to show his disbelief on how Tenorio was able to make the shot against 3 defenders, one of whom is Arwind Santos...
3 Nilled for the Pinoys Plus an Upset
9-11 proved to be a very memorable day for the Filipinos. No bombings or terrorist attacks, only a barrage of knockouts in the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Today is one of those days where one could be proud to be a Filipino. I had to get up early today for church. After church I was in a hurry to get home in order to watch some big-time boxing. First up was Boholano Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista. Boom Boom is a very well known boxer in Cebu since he began his impressive boxing career there. Unfortunately, I arrived too little too late for Boom Boom’s bout. When I turned on the TV, I saw the replay and slow mo of how he knocked out his opponent. He was up against an African. So I’m going to watch the replay of his bout tonight (930 tonight on RPN). A powerful left (I think, if I remember it correctly) right in the face put the African in the canvass. 1-0 for the Philippines, and of course, for trainer Freddie Roach.
Next in line is Fil-Am Brian Viloria. He went up against a world champion, a Mexican. Viloria is the son of Filipino parents although he was born and grew up in Hawaii. It was said that when he was a kid, he used to punch banana trees in order to increase the power in his punches. He was a 2000 Olympian (represented the US, unfortunately) and he participated in a boxing event featuring boxers both from the US and Puerto Rico. It was basically a US vs. Puerto RicoPuerto Rico.
boxing event. He was very impressive in his match that he was named one of the two top boxers in the event, the other being Miguel Cotto from Viloria’s fight against the Mexican was a very short one. The bout officially lasted only for 2 minutes and 59 seconds. He actually connected with a couple of shots that shook and staggered the Mexican midway through the first round. But during the closing seconds of the first round, the Mexican found himself trapped in the corner. Viloria, smelling blood, went in for the kill. A strong right to the jaw sent the Mexican lying flat on the canvass. You could actually see his eyes rolling upwards while trying to get up. He actually made the count and got up but his legs were uncooperative. He fell down again and the referee had to stop the fight. Even though time had run out of the first round, the referee had to continue to give him a count since international rules of boxing state that no fighter can be saved by the bell in any round. And now, Filipinos and Freddie Roach go up 2-0.
There is a side story in Viloria’s fight. He dedicated the bout and the win eventually, to his previous opponent Contreras. During their previous bout, Viloria knocked Contreras out. Unfortunately, Contreras had a seizure after the fight and was hospitalized. This is the kind of situation you don’t want to in boxing, when a boxer would find himself fighting for his life. Fortunately, Contreras recovered after a few weeks or months. That officially ended his boxing career but at least he lived through that life scare. Viloria actually hugged Contreras while on his way to the ring. He said that it really bothered him while he was training and he couldn’t sleep well at night knowing that Contreras was still in the hospital. During the end of the fight, Contreras spoke on the mic and thanked God and the Filipinos. He also said out loud that his win was dedicated to Contreras. And Contreras was given a standing ovation. It was a very touching moment…
And then came the most anticipated fight of the night (or noon in the Philippines). The fight actual fight happened around 8AM in the Philippines but it was televised around 1130 AM. Manny Pacquiao went up against Hector Velasquez. While watching the pre-game introductions, my cousin called me and told me that Pacquiao won by KO at the end of the sixth. Unfortunately, the surprise was gone. Anyway, if I hadn’t heard the good news, I would have thought Pacquiao lost the bout since he was a bit sluggish in the early rounds. I personally thought Velasquez won the first two rounds. But Manny, a relentless fighter that he is, increased his intensity with each round. And midway through the sixth round, he had his best chance of knocking out Velasquez as he unleashed a flurry of punches. But Velasquez managed to get himself out of the danger zone by holding on to Manny, and the referee had to break them up. But during the closing seconds of the sixth, Manny was not letting the same opportunity slip again. He unloaded a number of good punches that eventually sent Velasquez kneeling on the floor while holding on to Manny’s legs. The referee gave him the count, and he got up probably on the eight or ninth count. But the referee looked at his eyes and called a halt to the bout. The referee, by the way, was also a doctor so he probably thought Velasquez was in no condition to continue the fight. And the official time is 2:59 in the sixth. Filipinos seem to finish their opponents with one second left in the round. So, the Pinoys and trainer Freddie Roach finish the Saturday fight night in a clean slate at 3-0. FYI, Velasquez hails from Tijuana, Mexico, just like Erik Morales…
This was probably the most ineffective Morales has been, including his two losses to Marco Antonio Barrera. He just couldn’t get his game going. Or maybe, Raheem just caught Morales on a bad day. Again maybe, Morales was just overconfident and underestimated Raheem’s boxing capabilities. Lastly, maybe Raheem’s fighting style was just the exact style that counters Morales’ fighting style. I could still remember the Felix “Tito” Trinidad-Bernard Hopkins bout. Trinidad came into the fight undefeated. And his undefeated record was not courtesy of mediocre boxers, but this included a win against the great Oscar “The Golden Boy” dela Hoya. Trinidad was favored to win against Hopkins by KO. But during the course of the fight, TrinidadHopkins and was literally crushed by Hopkins. If you’d have seen the fight and had not known any of the boxers, you would have thought that Hopkins was a champion and was up against a mediocre boxer. Trinidad was very frustrated throughout the match that he decided to slug it out with Hopkins in the twelfth. Eventually, he was KO’d. looked very ineffective against
So what happens next? What would happen to the Pacquiao-Morales rematch? Would there be a Raheem-Morales rematch instead? And no, there won’t be any Raheem-Pacquiao match since Raheem is in a higher weight class, Manny is only in the 130 lb division. And anything more than 130 lb would be too much to handle for the Pacman. Morales said he and his team would watch the tape of his bout against Raheem and see what happened in the bout. And then they’ll decide who the next opponent is. Would he go down to 130 lb and fight Pacquiao or stay in that same division and fight Raheem again or go up again one more division? We’ll just wait and see… Nevertheless, 9-11 is still a great and memorable day for the Filipinos.
*all photos courtesy of AP Photo/Jae C. Hong
Guy Solves Rubik's Cube Blindfolded
Last Monday, I tuned in to ABC 5 and the show that was on was Guiness World Record's Primetime. There was this guy who owned the most records in Guiness. And he said that his desire was to add to his records. And he said that everthing he did just needed practice. So, attempted to enhance his memory by memorizing a very long sequence of numbers...
Then he attempted to solve a Rubik's cube blindfolded. Take note, the cube did not have any markings like the one that the Braille system uses. He had to memorize the formation and solve it blindfolded. A cube was given to a member of the audience and she jumbled it. Then the guy looked at the cube for about 5 minutes and memorized everything. Then he said he was ready to go. He said he associated each color with family members, celebrities, etc. Well, everyone has his own way of doing things.
So his blindfold was put on and... Voila! After about 5 minutes, solved! I was thinking he solves faster blindfolded than me without a blindfold! Hahaha! Amazing! Napa-bilib talaga ako! Tsk tsk tsk! Grabe ang mga taong walang magawa sa buhay, amazing talaga ang mga nagagawa nila!
UE vs DLSU III
Just heard the news a while ago. Because DLSU protested against the technical committee's decision of awarding their last game to UE, the board has decided that the game be re-played. This means they are going to meet for the third time this season. This one's going to be one helluva game again. Go UE! Win for sure this time, for ADMU's sake...
Streaks Always End at Seven and Franz's Best Play Put to Waste
Winning streaks, that is. Today's game would have secured Ateneo a sure spot at the Final Four. It looked as though it was gonna be a walkthrough because they were going up against UST. UST would be playing for nothing but pride. This looked like this game was gonna be a walk in the park since UST's best player Warren de Guzman sprained his ankle early in the first canto. And Their 2nd best player Danny Pribhdas sat out the game.
The Blue Eagles started the game well by shooting 5 for 9 from the field, and led by as much as seven points (I think). Then UST had to call a timeout since the game was starting to look like another blowout. It proved to be the best timeout called by the Tigers this season. They had an 11-2 run and took the lead for good. They also showed an unusual type of defense by employing a Box1 against LA Tenorio. Ateneo was caught by surprise since it looked like coach Norman had not prepared for such a defensive strategy. As the commentators had said, coaches do not usually prepare for a BOX 1. I think this strategy was put to use since LA got a triple double (15 pts, 12 ast, 11 reb) during their first encounter. The strategy worked all throughout the game as LA shot 1 for 7, with his only shot coming from a fast break layup. He was only able to dish out 3 ast (according to the commentators). But I thought he had more than 3 though, not counting the nice passes he dished out to Kramer and Quimson where both missed from point-blank range.
To add to Ateneo's misery, they committed a whole lot of turnovers. It looked like the games where they lost against LaSalle and FEU where they piled up more than 20 TOs. During their previous 7 wins, they averaged only about 14.6 turnovers. In the first quarter alone, they already committed 6 TOs. So this game definetely looked like a loss from the beginning. Even Japhet Aguilar missed a two-handed dunk, which he usually makes in the game, and would be one of the the highlights of the game. So this game was definitely a loss in the making. Besides, Ateneo barely beat UST the first time around 79-72, depite LA's triple-double and JC Intal's 23-9 output.
But wait, here's more. Ateneo shot poorly from beyond the 3-point arc, shooting 0 for 9 during the first half. Their first basket from three-point country came in the third quarter courtesy of rookie Jai Reyes. Ironically though, Ateneo is the league's most accurate 3-point shooting team, shooting 30.8 percent. In fact, they're the only team to break the 30% barrier (Thanks to the commentators again). Ateneo badly missed Magnum's services that game. I don't know why he didn't suit up for the game. Probably nursing some mild injury or something. Ateneo probably thought this game would come easy after getting victories from UE and UP twice this season. And that they would be fine without Magnum's services. Now I think the team regrets having him sit out this game... And oh, UST actually shot the lights out from 3 point country. Although not at a great percentage (just above 30%, 7 for 24 ata), but considering Ateneo's 3 point shooting during the game (2 out of 14 ata), you would have to consider that "shooting the lights out".
Ateneo actually came to within 1 point with less than a minute to go in the game. But a defensive lapse on Ateneo's part gave UST a 3 point lead with 27 seconds to go. After the shot, Ateneo called for time. Right after the shot, I saw LA screaming at Kramer for leaving his man wide open for the layup. After the timeout Ateneo went for the three. And guess, who they went to... Nah, not Jai Reyes, despite being the the only player to give Ateneo a 3 point field goal in the game. By the way he shot another three late in the fourth to narrow the gap to 76-73. Oh yeah, back to Ateneo's play... They went to LA despite his very cold shooting. Ateneo had another chance since they got the offensive board. And guess what, they went for another three! Yes again, it was LA who shot the three and missed again for the fifth time from the arc! UST got the rebound and Duncil was fouled. And he split his charities to seal the game.
Anyways, despite LA's horrible game, I still trust him in crunch time. And I hope SMB would be able to acquire him in the PBA next year... Para dramatic din ang passing of the point guard chores, from one Atenean to another. Olsen to LA. Parang sa Coke this year. Johny A. to Denok Miranda... FEU connection! Go San Miguel!
And the game's moral: Never underestimate someone who has nothing to play for exept pride.
"Never assume that the person you are dealing with is weaker or less important than you are. Some men are slow to take offense, which may make you misjudge the thickness of their skin, and fail to worry about insulting them. But should you offend their honor and their pride, they will overwhelm you with a violence that seems sudden and extreme given their slowness to anger." -48 Laws of Power
Winning streaks do end at 7 in this year's UAAP season. But unfortunately for the NU Bulldogs, their losing streak is at 10 this season. That losing streak is probably gonna end next season or 2 seasons from now. Remember Adamson's winless 2 (or 3 ba yun) seasons? When they finally won a game, the players (perhaps the coaching staff) cried as if they won the championship. Very emotional win for them, really...
This just in. (Actually while typing the first part of this post) Back to Thursday's game between LaSalle and UE, Cholo Villanueva's game tying shot was nullified since, according to the technical committee, no more time was left. Ergo, the game was given to the Red Warriors. Which actually increases Ateneo's chances of not facing LaSalle in the Final Four. Honestly, I'm not that confident with Ateneo when they play against LaSalle. Hehehe! It's better they face UE since they have the psychological edge since they beat them twice convincingly. At para na rin magkaubusan na ang LaSalle at FEU sa Final Four. Well, assuming LaSalle holds on to the number 4 slot.
I dunno, maybe LaSalle would protest against the decision. Or then again, maybe they'll accept the decision and let their game do the talking…
Errata pala sa mga kinuwentohan ko nung UE-LaSalle game. Apparently, 23 or 28 seconds na lng daw yung natira when Lasalle held the 6 point lead (according to the commentators of the UST-AdMU game). I'm pretty sure mga 43 pa yun e...
