Ever since he was a kid, Evan Nelle always wanted to play in an Ateneo-La Salle game. After a so-so debut for La Salle against Ateneo in the UAAP Season 84 Men’s Basketball Tournament’s first round, he finally came to life in the second round against the Blue Eagles tonight with 20 points in 30:20 minutes of action.
However, all of Nelle’s hard work went for naught as the Green Archers folded 68-75 after a hard-fought contest. The win looked far-fetched for La Salle when Ateneo went on a rampage after halftime.
“They made a huge run in the third quarter,” said the NCAA Season 95 Mythical Team member. “We were in the game but bumigay kami. We couldn’t convert lalo na sa mistakes namin so crucial. Yun run talaga nila third quarter, sayang talaga.
“Kinapos but we’ll get them next time.”
As a transferee from San Beda, Nelle is expected to provide the La Salle backcourt with winning experience. While he held the fort for as much as he can, he eventually found the Blue Eagles too hard to handle.
It was so frustrating for him but it just pushes him to work harder.
“Pagod,” said the 22-year-old floor general. “Coming into the game, focus ko talaga si SJ (Belangel) at si Tyler (Tio). I know SJ’s been shooting bad but come big games he really shows up and Tyler he’s been the game-changer so I really had to step up my defense.
‘That was on my mind kanina. Just to stop these two. Pero look, SJ had 15 points, Tyler had six points man. It was tiring. Next time.”
La Salle was able to keep things close in the first half especially since the Green Archers forced Gilas center Ange Kouame to succumb to foul trouble. However, that was as good as it got as they failed to properly take advantage of the situation.
Kouame came back in the third quarter and while he did not produce his usual numbers, the Blue Eagles held on enough to win the game in the end.
“He has a good backup with Geo (Chiu), Raffy (Verano), and Matthew Daves. When you take out Ange, you have Geo, Raffy who still controls the inside. You can’t count anyone out. They have this saying na next man up. So they’re really living up to it,” said Nelle.
“It was our fault that we couldn’t capitalize. That was our game plan. You have to attack Ange so we could get him out of the court. Yun nga, we didn’t capitalize.”
Nelle is in a unique situation wherein he played in the collegiate game’s biggest rivalries – Ateneo-La Salle and San Beda-Letran. While it will be a lengthy discussion as to what rivalry is more intense, it definitely takes thick skin to survive each of them.
He simply enjoyed the moment and has some thoughts about what sets them apart.
“I’ve always dreamt of playing in an Ateneo-La Salle game ever since I was a kid. Siyempre, this is a dream come true for me. For Beda-Letran kase, they get to your skin. The crowd gets to your skin and they say different things,” said Nelle.
“But Ateneo-La Salle? Did you see when we were doing the Alma Mater? Ateneo was like cheering for us. They were giving us claps. Mutual respect. That’s different if I can put it in a good way.”
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