Defense wins championships. Three of them, actually, for Ateneo de Manila University.
On Saturday night, the reigning champions Blue Eagles showed everyone why the team has sat at the top of the UAAP mountain for the last three seasons. Tab Baldwin’s squad once again leaned on their stifling defense to edge out rival De La Salle University with a 74-57 victory.
After a good defensive showing, the former Gilas mentor pointed out that they still need to put more effort into crashing the boards to complete their possessions. This came after the Blue Eagles managed to outrebound the Green Archers, 46-44, in the contest.
“The defense was pretty solid throughout the game, as was theirs,” the American-Kiwi tactician opined.
“But when we weren’t rebounding the ball, then it didn’t look so good. Because we weren’t finishing possessions with good defensive rebounding.”
Anchoring the Blue Eagles’ defense was team captain Gian Mamuyac, who notched six steals despite matching up against Evan Nelle and Mark Nonoy. He deflected the credit for his performance to Ateneo’s coaching staff, who prepared them coming into the rivalry game.
“First, I’d just like to point out that the Ateneo–La Salle rivalry brings the best out of both of us. I just want to give credit to the coaching staff for preparing us tremendously for their scouting reports and sets,” Mamuyac said.
“Defending them [Nelle, Nonoy] was still hard. But they [coaching staff] made it easier because they gave us everything – all the information – and the whole team committed themselves on defense so that also helped.”
Dave Ildefonso, Geo Chiu, and Raffy Verano all recorded a steal of their own as well.
Meanwhile, Ange Kouame made his presence felt in the paint after coming out with two blocks against DLSU.
Their overall activity on defense forced the Green Archers to have an off night. They only shot 30.6-percent from the field and 20.8-percent from beyond the arc. Points off turnovers also spelled a huge difference in the game; Ateneo had 15 while La Salle only settled with five.
All in all, Baldwin liked the performance of his players in the rivalry game. It also helped them keep their record unblemished with four consecutive wins to start the season.
“I think both teams played themselves to a standstill. It was a great Ateneo – La Salle game I think.”
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