ANOTHER MVP-like performance for Rabeh Al-Hussaini equals another Final Four appearance for Ateneo de Manila University.
The Blue Eagles banked on yet another solid game from their premier center, who powered his team past the Adamson Falcons, 78-59, in the 71st UAAP men’s basketball tournament last August 17, 2008 at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
The 6’7” Al-Hussaini came away with 29 points and six rebounds in what proved to be a scintillating performance by the 4th year cager out of Philippine Christian University. He unloaded 14 points in the first period alone as the Blue Eagles took control of the game and booked their ninth win in 10 games.
With the win, Ateneo is assured of a Final Four spot, its 10th straight since 1999 when Joe Lipa ran the show from the sidelines for the Katipunan outfit, which featured the likes of Enrico Villanueva, Rich Alvarez and Wesley Gonzales.
But for Ateneo coach Norman Black, the Blue Eagles have yet to land at their final destination.
“I’m happy about making it to the Final Four. But our goal is to make it to the top two. So, it does not stop here. We have to keep on winning, keep on playing hard, and keep on respecting our opponents because we have no time to relax right now. This is far from over. It’s a long road,” said Black.
Eric Salamat, who played more minutes in lieu of Chris Tiu and his sub-par showing, tallied 17 points and a season-high six steals while Nonoy Baclao and Jai Reyes had six markers apiece.
Coach Leo Austria’s wards never had a taste of the lead in the game, threatening only at one point in the third quarter when they managed to bring the lead down to six, 39-45. Ateneo quelled the threat, however, by going on a 10-0 blast to extend its lead to 16.
Ateneo’s win is also its 23rd straight against Adamson – the longest active winning streak in the UAAP. The Falcons’ last victory against the Eagles – a 54-52 nailbiter – was on September 18, 1997 at the Ninoy Aquino Coliseum.
The Blue and White shot a remarkable 51.4 percent from the field, their highest this season, and scored a season-high 25 fastbreak points.
Jerick Cañada topscored with 12 points for the Falcons, who dropped to the bottom of the heap along with the National University Bulldogs and the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons with similar 2-8 slates. All three teams are no longer in the running for a semifinal birth.
ARGUABLY the UAAP’s most explosive duo once again delivered for Ateneo de Manila University.
Chris Tiu hit the big outside shots while Rabeh Al-Hussaini delivered down low as the Blue Eagles were virtually unstoppable in disposing of the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers, 85-76, in the 71st UAAP men’s basketball tournament last August 14, 2008 at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
Tiu, who is playing in his final year for the Blue Eagles, waxed hot to finish with 29 points, while Al-Hussaini went toe-to-toe with UST counterpart Jervy Cruz in the paint to tally 24 markers.
“We made our outside shots despite having a little problem in defending the shaded lane,” said Tiu, whose Blue Eagles upped their mark to a league-leading 8-1. “But we’ll take this win.”
Ateneo finished with a 14-of-31 clip from the paint, while UST shot 21-of-54.
“We’ve been hurting in the shaded lane, but the team with a high shooting percentage, of course, will win the game,” said Ateneo coach Norman Black. “We are aiming for the top two spots. I credit Al-Hussaini and Tiu for making crucial shots.”
Eric Salamat, who nearly suffered a dislocated jaw in the Eagles’ game against FEU last week, poured in 14 points.
The Growling Tigers threatened in the final period at 60-65, with Cruz scoring a jumper. But the Blue Eagles uncorked a 10-2 run to erect a 75-62 spread with 2:31 remaining.
UST, which never led throughout the game, slid to 4-5 and solo fifth place to fall a full game behind University of the East (5-4) in the hunt for the last semifinals berth.
Cruz had 23 points and 18 rebounds, while Dylan Ababou chipped in with 17 points for the Growling Tigers.
Ateneo stepped on the gas in the early going, with Tiu and Salamat scoring the points to help create a 20-7 lead with a minute to go in the first period.
The scores:
Ateneo 85 – Tiu 29, Al-Hussaini 24, Salamat 14, Austria 7, Reyes 4, Buenafe 2, Nkemakolam 2, Salva 2, Baclao 1, Baldos 0, Long 0.
ATENEO de Manila managed to convert only a single field goal in the final three minutes of its game against Far Eastern University. Fortunately for the Loyola faithful, it was more than enough.
Big man Rabeh Al-Hussaini delivered the only field goal for the Blue Eagles in that crucial stretch, but was decisive enough as his squad averted a near endgame collapse and preserved a tense 78-74 win over the Tamaraws in the 71st UAAP seniors basketball tournament last August 9, 2008 at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
“When you lose a big lead, the best thing you can do is to win a game at a crucial stage,” said Ateneo coach Norman Black. “You can’t control things like that when you are at the sidelines. But we won it in the endgame and that’s the important thing.”
Al-Hussaini’s 16-point, nine-rebound effort was complemented by the efforts of Eric Salamat, who scorched the Tams with a game-high 18 points, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc.
The Blue Eagles saw their nine-point lead in the final 3:32 wiped out by a
determined charge from the Morayta-based squad. By way of a 1-2-2 halfcourt zone trap, FEU was able to force Ateneo to commit costly miscues.
That resulted to an 8-0 blast capped off by an Andy Barroca basket off a Benedict Fernandez feed, which shoved the Tamaraws within striking distance, 74-76.
Instead of panicking, though, Black sued for time and mapped up one important play at the low block for Al-Hussaini. Sensing the Tamaraws’ lack of height at the post, he scored easily with 51 seconds remaining to give the Blue Eagles a slightly larger advantage at 78-74.
The Tamaraws had several chances to rescue the game. Forward Aldrech Ramos was fouled by Ryan Buenafe with 35 seconds to play, but muffed both charities that could have cut the deficit further.
In FEU’s next possession, Barroca was called for a travelling violation, which enabled Ateneo to secure its seventh win in eight matches to keep the Blue and White atop the team standings.
“We didn’t come out prepared against FEU’s 1-2-2 halfcourt press. That’s why we lost our big lead,” said Black. “But the good thing we did today is we challenged their perimeter shooting pretty well. We also hammered them inside because we knew we had the advantage, with FEU lacking big men.”
So effective was FEU’s trapping defense that it resulted to 33 points off turnovers. But Black has Salamat to thank for.
The 2005 NCAA juniors MVP, along with Kirk Long, hit back-to-back treys that opened up a fourth period upsurge for Ateneo, which took its biggest lead of the game at 67-52 with still 8:10 left.
The Tamaraws rallied though. A 13-4 run capped by Reil Cervantes’ inside bucket moved FEU to within four, 67-71. Salamat, however, responded quickly and knocked down his fourth three-pointer of the game to give Ateneo a 74-67 advantage, with 4:52 remaining on the clock.
“Eric is the anchor of our second team. He could have been the starter, but Chris Tiu is still playing with us. The good thing about him is he makes the most out of the time given to him and he can always be counted on when called off the bench,” said Black.
Cervantes led FEU with 14 markers, while Paul Sanga had 12. FEU dropped to third place as it absorbed its third loss in eight meetings.
The scores:
Ateneo 78 – Salamat 18, Tiu 16, Al-Hussaini 16, Buenafe 10, Long 5, Reyes 5, Baldos 3, Baclao 3, Salva 2, Austria 0, Nkemakolam 0, Escueta 0.
ICE water ran through Ateneo de Manila University’s veins against one of the country’s oldest academic institutions.
The Blue Eagles pulled through when it mattered the most and carved out a 64-57 triumph over University of Santo Tomas to give them the solo lead at the end of the first round of eliminations of the 71st UAAP seniors basketball tournament last August 3, 2008 at the Araneta Coliseum.
Point guard Jai Reyes’ trey with 6:49 left in the third quarter gave the Blue Eagles their biggest lead, 39-29. And when the Tigers clawed their way back to a 54-52 lead thanks to back-to-back Khasim Mirza treys, the playmaker from Ateneo de Manila High School capped off a furious 9-0 run with a triple of his own with just 24 seconds left in the game.
Ateneo coach Norman Black said Reyes’ timely baskets underscored the squad’s tenacity on the defensive end, especially in the endgame.
“We just got back from what gave us a good start and that is playing good defense. We were beaten off the boards, but we made some good stops down the stretch and that was the most important thing,” said Black, whose wards improved to 6-1.
The Blue Eagles display a balanced attack against the Growling Tigers, with Rabeh Al-Hussaini leading the way with 17 points. Chris Tiu had 14, Ryan Buenafe added 12 and Reyes chipped in with 10.
Ex-West Negros College Mustang Nonoy Baclao had another splendid game as well, registering four blocks to go along with 11 rebounds.
All in all, Ateneo held the Tigers to just 26 percent from the field despite being outrebounded, 58-42.
Forward Dylan Ababou led UST, which dropped to 3-4, with 15 points. Big man Jervy Cruz was held to just eight points, and forced to take medium-range jumpers in lieu of his power game on the low block.
The scores:
Ateneo 64 – Al-Hussaini 17, Tiu 14, Buenafe 12, Reyes 10, Salamat 3, Baldos 2, Baclao 2, Nkemakolam 2, Long 1, Salva 1, Escueta 0, Austria 0.
THERE won’t be a 14-game sweep of the elimination round this season.
Far Eastern University ended Ateneo de Manila’s quest to emulate the 2007 University of the East Red Warriors after scoring a come-from-behind 72-66 win in the 71st UAAP seniors basketball tournament last July 31, 2008 at the Araneta Coliseum.
FEU displayed remarkable endgame poise and leaned on the heroics of forward Aldrech Ramos and slotman Reil Cervantes to hand Ateneo its first loss and in the process share the top post together with its victims and defending champion De La Salle University at 5-1.
In doing so, the Tamaraws also rendered Ateneo big man Rabeh Al-Hussaini’s career-high 33 points academic. The ex-Philippine Christian University Baby Dolphin’s output was the highest since Adamson slotman Kenneth Bono recorded the same output in the elimination round two years ago.
“My big men struggle every time they face Ateneo because of Al-Hussaini. But in the endgame, we able to stop them,” said FEU coach Glen Capacio.
Al-Hussaini missed a crucial short jumper, which almost extend the Eagles’ 66-65 lead entering the final minute. Ramos, who had 12 points, scored the go-ahead jumper in the ensuing play to give FEU a 67-66 lead with 47 ticks to go.
FEU’s solid defense then prevented Chris Tiu from scoring the much-needed basket in the pivotal seconds, which cost Ateneo the game.
Asked if Mac Baracael, FEU’s fallen forward, was still the catalyst of the team’s strong play, Capacio said: “I don’t know what it is. Maybe it is the desire and the heart of the players who are working now.”
The Tamaraws have won two straight games since Baracael was shot by a still unknown assailant a week ago. According to Capacio, center Robert Kave has decided to leave the team to return to Papua New Guinea tomorrow.
Kave was with Baracael and Ron Cabagnot when the incident happened outside the FEU Gym along Morayta.
The Tams, despite not finding any answers to Al-Hussaini’s onslaught, still managed to claw back into the game thanks to solid guard play.
After Al-Hussaini scored on two free throws to hand the Blue Eagles a 60-57 lead at the 4:53 mark, FEU guards Andy Barroca and Benedict Fernandez combined to move FEU to move within a basket at 65-66, with 1:21 left.
The loss was painful, especially for the Katipunan faithful, who were celebrating the feast day of the founder of the Jesuit order, St. Ignatius. Ateneo seemed to have the game under control after erecting a 56-46 lead early in the fourth, where Al-Hussaini looked unstoppable in the shaded lane.
Reil Cervantes, who led the Tams with 14 points and 13 rebounds, put the finishing touches on his squad’s win with a two-handed slam in the dying seconds of the ballgame.
Apparel Ateneo (