One Day Later: UP vs ADMU, UST vs FEU

Bigger than you - Alinko Mbah was neutralized by Greg Slaughter (pic source)

ADMU 77 - UP 57
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Player of the Game : This guy who wears #15 on Ateneo is pretty good. Have you heard of him? He finished with a game-high 15 points on 5 of 8 shooting, plus a 4 for 4 stint at the free throw line. The dude also added 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals in just 26 minutes of play. And he's a rookie? Wow, he may have a future in this league. 

UP Stat to Watch : Ateneo did a good job of preventing the run, with good transition defense, to prevent UP from scoring a ton of fastbreak points. From their average of 20.67 a game, UP only had 12 today, spread evenly throughout the game. It's no mystery then why they only scored 57 points the entire game.
UP Player to Watch : Mike Gamboa started out hot, scoring 8 points on 3 of 5 shooting with 2 assists in the first quarter. But that was all she wrote for the former Eaglet, as he couldn't connect with the basket in the remaining three quarters, and only tallied one more assist.

ADMU Stat to Watch : Despite having a foul-less Alinko Mbah shadow Greg Slaughter for much of the game, the Blue Eagles still managed to play some shut-down defense. Not only did they hold UP to just 33.3% on 2-point baskets (20% on triples), they also allowed just 22 points in the paint, on 40.74% shooting, well in excess of the already gaudy defensive numbers the Eagles put up.
ADMU Player to Watch : Justin Chua was blah again, finishing with 2 points on 1 of 3 shooting, and 2 rebounds. Save for Tonino Gonzaga's outside sniping and hustle, the bench was a nonentity once again, with even Juami Tiongson missing in action. Coach Norman Black hinted that he might make some adjustments, which means we could see him experiment with a line-up change versus UST in preparation for their end of round one game versus FEU.

Other Stats:

• The Maroons did a pretty solid job on the offensive glass, getting 15 to just 6 by the Eagles. They couldn't convert on the second chances though, as both sides finished with 4 second chance points each.
• After scoring 21 points in the first quarter on 47.06% shooting, Ateneo held UP to quarter outputs of 10, 12 and 14 points, with the Maroons shooting 22.64% in that stretch. 
• All five of Ateneo's starters scored in double-digits, while UP had not a single Maroon with more than 8.

Everybody loves Cris, especially after he made the game-winning triple (pic source)

FEU 62 - UST 59
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Player of the Game : Two-part credit here, with the first going to RR Garcia, for making the smart basketball play and passing out of a double team. It's possible that if he attempted a layup, it would have gone in, but Garcia was unselfish in the moment and placed the team over individual accolades. The second goes to Cris Tolomia, who sank the open triple without any hesitation. Tolomia also gets credit for a good all-around game, 10 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals. Garcia finished with 9 points, 5 boards, and 4 dimes.

UST Stat to Watch : The switch to a slower paced, grind-it-out game meant UST often settled for halfcourt plays instead of forcing the issue in transition. As a side effect, they also didn't gamble for the steal as often as before. They finished with just 4, down from their 7.67 average and scored just 12 turnover points, also down from 20.
UST Player to Watch : Though Karim Abdul couldn't put the ball in the basket (1 of 7 from the field), he certainly made sure it didn't fall in either on the other side, getting 11 rebounds an swatting 2 shots. That includes a big denial late in the game, and also the taking of the jump ball that let Fortuna tie the game.

FEU Stat to Watch : Normally one of the best at stopping triples, allowing 17% only coming into this game, the Tams helped UST along to a 31.6% game from beyond the arc, making 6 of their 19 attempts. They did manage to stop on person in particular, Kevin Ferrer, who was a paltry 1 of 6 from the field.
FEU Player to Watch : Despite the slower pace, Christian Sentcheu didn't see a whole lot of play, probably also because FEU did not zone as often. The 6'10" giant finished with just 2 rebounds and no points in 7 minutes of play. Looks like, the tactic they used against NU will be placed in a mental folder marked "in case of emergency only," in Coach Flores' mind.

Other Stats:

• A lot of times, UST's play often devolved into 1 on 1, player versus player offense. When they did run a couple of plays or screens to get shooters open, the shots just weren't dropping. That's reflected in their stats, with just 7 assists to their name, compared to 17 for FEU.
• Marked from the start, Aldrech Ramos and RR Garcia combined for just 8 of 21 shooting, and only 19 points, as Abdul and Jeric Teng respectively did quite a number defensively on them. 

UAAP Picking Record: 14-4