The Ateneo Blue Eagles tried to counter FEU’s zone but ended up shooting blanks.
The Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles were on the verge of eliminating the defending champions FEU Tamaraws Saturday evening. Up by 10 points with approximately 11 minutes left in the contest, the young Blue Eagles were in cruise control, displaying crisp ball movement for easy buckets.
However, even if Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin has a wealth of tricks up his sleeves, so did FEU Tamaraws head coach Nash Racela.
“They took the fourth quarter away from us. They played good FEU basketball. Very aggressive on the offensive boards, attacking the rim. They shot 17 free throws in the fourth quarter and had seven offensive rebounds,” Baldwin lamented after Ateneo’s 61-62 Game 1 loss to FEU.
“That’s FEU basketball.”
The troika of Raymar Jose, Monbert Arong, and Price Orizu combined for 22 of the Tamaraws’ last 24 points, schooling the young Blue Eagles. However, it was just half of the story as FEU basketball is better known for its defense.
On the other end, Racela constantly switched to the zone defense — a 3-2 zone and a 1-3-1 zone to be exact. The late adjustment proved to be effective as the Blue Eagles struggled to penetrate the paint and had to settle for long jumpers.
“We didn’t shoot the ball well [either] and every zone in the world is tough when you don’t shoot the ball well,” the American-Kiwi head coach furthered.
The Blue Eagles went just 6-of-36 from distance, three attempts more compared to their shots inside the arc. Moreover, the cagers from Loyola Heights struggled to get to the stripe as much as they like, attempting 15 free throws compared to FEU’s 28.
“In this game, it made accumulating points really difficult for us. At halftime, we talked about shooting the ball with confidence but being ready to shoot the ball. I think in the first half, we weren’t really mentally ready to catch and shoot. In the second half, we shot a little bit better, but still, it’s too many threes,” the National Team consultant reflected.
And with their semifinals series going the distance, Baldwin is hoping that his young team can find the maturity and composure they displayed late in the regular season that led them to a six-game winning streak.
“We didn’t play with the sort of composure and experience that we think we have developed over the course of the season,” he said.
“It got away from us in the fourth quarter, and we paid the price. We have to make sure it won’t happen again.”
With Game One being a tactical masterpiece by both Baldwin and Racela, the Ateneo and FEU communities are in for another treat come Wednesday afternoon as both coaches are arming themselves with new sets of tricks.
