Kiefer ignores jeers of “One Big Flop” as he victimizes UE again
Kiefer sure heard them, those loud cries of “One Big Flop” from the red-and-white gallery on Wednesday's UE-ADMU tiff at the MOA Arena.
“Pero narinig ko rin ang cheers from the Ateneo fans, and yun ang nag-motivate sa akin,” said Ravena in the postgame press conference.
Once again the phenom capped a pedestrian afternoon with a moment of magic, lofting a trey that seemed to graze the rafters before dropping into the basket for a priceless two -possession, 76-72 lead with just fourteen ticks left in the game. Ateneo went on to win 78-73.
The UE fans were likely reacting to Ravena's reputation, some say undeserved, for embellishing contact during games with a bit of theatrics. But “One Big Fight” wasn't the only Ateneo cheer edited by the Red Warriors fans on Wednesday.
ALSO READ: Philippines U18 team blows out Jordan in FIBA Asia championship.
Scores of UE supporters held signs that read “One Clean Fight” or hashtagged as #OneCleanFight. They even cheered “One Clean Fight” along with the Ateneans in the crowd cheering the original.
Perhaps they were harking back to the first round matchup between the two squads, also won narrowly by Ateneo. In that game UE coach Derrick Pumaren complained about the large disparity in free throws given to each team, with the Blue Eagles receiving the lion's share of charities, 45 against 30.
This time around once again Ateneo trooped to the line more times, but just by a 32 to 24 margin. Unfortunately for UE, they only hit fifteen of their attempts from the stripe for a 62.5 percent clip.
In truth it was Ateneo's balanced scoring that won the day. Kiefer only scored 16, but Chris Newsome was brilliant with 23 points and three blocks, while Von Pessumal, Nico Elorde, and Alfonso Gotladera all reached double digits. Only Charles Mammie and Roi Sumang reached the ten-point mark for UE.
Mammie, who hauled down a game-high 18 rebounds, confessed that he was unaware of the jeers of the UE faithful.
“I didn't notice what they were saying. I was just playing basketball.”
Adamson goes 0-9 but there is hope
The Adamson team showed incredible coordination and poise, with every move fluidly executed. They matched up to their opponents from NU on the court in every way, to the delight of their fans.
By the way, we are talking about the Adamson marching band, not the hoops team. The band put up a great display at halftime alongside their NU counterparts. But before and after that Adamson's cagers struggled to keep up with the Bulldogs, falling 71 to 50 on Wednesday.
No doubt it was an improvement from the last time the two teams met, when the Bulldogs defeated Adamson 62-25. But Adamson shot only 24% from the field and got outrebounded 65 to 32. Game commentator Anton Roxas told me statistician Pong Ducanes says it's the biggest margin on the boards stats since they started keeping it.
ALSO READ: Stephon Marbury will star as himself in Chinese stage play.
Adamson's coach for the day was Vince Hizon. The assistant filled in for Kenneth Duremdes, who was away on a family matter. Before the match, Hizon admitted a sense of deja vu. He was a UAAP player once, for a season in 1993 for Ateneo.
“This team reminds me of that (Ateneo) team,” says Hizon. “We didn't have the support but we played hard.”
The coach understands all too well that this season is a washout. “It is what it is,” he says with a sigh. But like any good coach, he is optimistic for the future.
Hizon points to a kid shooting around with the first team before the game. Adamson is saving him for a rainy day, which makes his name, Nico Capote, rather apt. Capote is from Iloilo and, like Hizon two decades ago, will play his one and only year of eligibility next year. Hizon assures me that Capote will make an impact on the offensive side next year. A Cameroonian center is also in the pipeline as well as some promising recruits.
There is also a parallelism with the Falcons of today and the Eagles of 1993. Back then Hizon and his cousin, Richie Ticzon were pretty much the only offensive weapons for then-coach Baby Dalupan. It's a similar story in 2014 for Adamson, with Celedonio Trollano and Jansen Rios providing the bulk of the artillery. The pair combine for 25 points, half of the entire Falcon output.
Adamson slump to yet another loss, but a silver lining remains for the future in San Marcelino.
Follow Bob on Twittter @PassionateFanPH.
