Ateneo and De La Salle - probably the most famous and most fabled rivalry ever in the history of Philippine sports. After two years of long wait, the blue and green teams have battled it out again. And after 45 minutes of high-octane basketball, it was the Blue Eagles of Loyola who came out victorious over the Green Archers of Taft.
Renewed rivalry. The Blue Eagles won the first encounter against the Green Archers in UAAP's 70th Season. Final score is 80-77. Congratulations to the Hail Mary squad! ÜSigh. The buzzer have sounded and it's final. The Ateneo Blue Eagles already have scored one against the De La Salle Green Archers. Unfortunate as it may seem (haha!), I think it was a very good, hardly-fought game. Me and my officemates watched the game live and we can argue that the tickets and travel were all worth it. We were all ecstatic all throughout the game; one can never guess who's gonna win the game until the final buzzer sounded.
And so, Ateneo won. Here are the three things which I think have been crucial to the Eagles' victory:
1. Free throw shooting. I don't have the exact numbers, but I can clearly remember how bad was DLSU's free throw shooting against ADMU's. Had the Green Archers capitalized on this, the game might have a different outcome.
2. Limiting turnovers. The Eagles have really come prepared to face the Archers' legendary full-court defense. Take this, they only committed two turnovers due to DLSU's press - one was a 5-second infraction by Jai Reyes and the other was a cross-court steal by Rico Maierhofer. The guards of Ateneo did a brilliant job breaking La Salle's press.
3. Decision making. Rico Maierhofer got a steal. JV Casio was already running ahead of the entire pack. But Rico wanted his show. One possession badly lost. Surely not something that Franz Pumaren was very happy about.
Phew. Haha, and there goes my quick post-game analysis. I really hope DLSU takes the two losses (the other one to the UE Red Warriors, last Sunday) seriously. The next two opponents they're up against are no underdogs - the defending champions UST and the dangerous NU. Let's go, Archers, let's go!
Here are some photos from yesterday's game (special thanks to my teammate Boni Andino for these!):
Go Lasalle! Shouting our hearts out for the green-and-white squad! (counter-clockwise, from top) Anton, Maxi, Herbert, Boni, Ryx, Toffee, & Joyce.
Let the game begin! This game took two years in the making. One big fight! Animo Lasalle!
The Queen Eagle stuck in an army of green. Tots never minded sitting in the Lasalle gallery. Truly admirable. Ü With her in the picture are Joyce & Charmagne.
Thursday at Friday's. Hungry after more than 45 minutes of endless cheering and jeering, our team found a healthy refuge at Friday's. Ü (from l-r) Toffee, Boni, Anton, Maxi, Charmagne, Tots, and Joyce.I really hope the Green Archers win their next games and take it all the way to the Final Four and eventually, the championship! Animo La Salle! :D
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Labels: De La Salle, Sports
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