Young but promising Blue Eagles show winning character

MANILA, Philippines – When Thirdy Ravena stepped up to the free throw line late in crunch time during the Ateneo Blue Eagles’ win against the FEU Tamaraws, he started to whisper the words “follow through” to himself repeatedly. 

All those hours he put in working on his shooting stroke, working to visualize nothing but himself and the rim during those type of moments, paid off with the chance for his team to get a momentous win early in the UAAP season.

“I always tell myself when I shoot free throws to ‘follow through,’ because that keeps my shot consistent, and I mean, that’s what I think about lang whenever I shoot a free throw,” he told Rappler later on.

Ravena had 17 points on an effective 6-of-9 shooting from the field and total 5-of-7 from the foul stripe in only 16.3 minutes, leading a young Ateneo squad which had lost one of its most reliable players early in the game to injury against the league’s defending champion. (READ: All eyes on Thirdy)

Three of those free throws came in the final minute of the game. There was FEU, as it always does, rallying from a double-digit deficit and unwavering late in the contest. Call it the heart of a champion. Over and over again, the Blue Eagles threw haymakers at the Tamaraws throughout the game in search of the knockout punch, only for the boys of Coach Nash Racela to deliver counters and remain on their feet.

Ateneo went ahead 64-57 with 5 minutes to go after a Chi Ikeh basket, but FEU quickly responded with a 9-2 run – capped off by an impressive drive and layup by the rising Richard Escoto – to tie the contest and awaken the always-boisterous Tamaraws crowd. 

In need of a basket, there was that concern around the air for the Blue Eagles fan base: Who was going to lead the team at this moment? Who would step up to the call?

The graduated Kiefer Ravena wasn’t walking through that door. A Von Pessumal 3-pointer? He was in Iran, leading Gilas in a losing effort against Jordan. The Blue Eagles are young guns, and who the team’s go-to guy in the clutch hasn’t been determined just yet.

Fortunately for them, two players answered the call.

“I [felt] that I just needed to do what I had to do,” said Thirdy.

A baseline cut gave the younger Ravena a good look under the basket with 2:07 to go. He converted the lay-up to provide some breathing room for the Blue Eagles, who later on extended the lead and put more pressure on their opponents thanks to none other than Antonio Asistio. Who’s that? You might be asking yourself the question if you hadn’t watched the team before the FEU game. But so far this season, Asistio’s been making his own mark for his school.

There were the two big 3-pointers in the opening game to help get the win against UST, and then against the Tamaraws, with only 4 seconds left on the shot clock, the little guard attacked the paint against Allen Trinidad, made the bucket, and got the foul. 71-66, and it was all a matter of icing things at the foul line from there.

 

Asistio = CLUTCH.#UAAPSeason79 pic.twitter.com/qfCQRoe8II

— ABS-CBN Sports (@abscbnsports) September 14, 2016

“It’s all about teamwork. It’s a team effort that brought us to this win. FEU’s a really strong team. Our game plan was just to work hard, work as a team,” said Ravena post-game.

“Definitely going up against a team like FEU…look at their first two games; they’re a tough team and they’re gonna really, like Thirdy said, ‘fight for every possession,'” explained Ateneo head coach Sandy Arespacochaga about his team losing their leads. “They’re a tough team. So it wasn’t because we relaxed or what. They’re a good team too, so you have to give them credit for that.” 

The victory was important for Ateneo because it showed that the young team, aside from the potential of the talent in the roster, has that important trait: a winning character. The performance against UST was good, but the Growling Tigers are on rebuild mode and unexpected to make noise come the Final Four. The loss against NU, which is a dark horse championship contender, displayed the Blue Eagles’ flaws, particularly how the offense was haywire as Ravena and Aaron Black combined to shoot a nightmare 3-of-16 from the floor. 

FEU, even if it no longer had Mac Belo and Mike Tolomia, came into the match with momentum after surprisingly keeping close with favorite La Salle in its opener and dominating Franz Pumaren’s Soaring Falcons on defense just 3 days prior. Ateneo lost Black to what looked like a serious foot injury in the opening minutes of the game – Tab Baldwin isn’t “optimistic” about a quick recovery – and was once again out-rebounded, but dug deep enough to find what was required to win anyway.

So far this season, management and players of the Blue Eagles have used #BEBOB as a mantra on social media. It’s a private battle cry but, just a guess, the line might mean “Blue Eagles Band of Brothers.” On Wednesday against FEU, that’s what they were, because that’s what they needed to be to pull through.

“Everyone contributed naman. Jolo [Mendoza] (a rookie) had 10, Adrian [Wong] had 13, Mike [Nieto] had 9, Ikeh had 8, so everyone was there to contribute naman to the scoring, so it wasn’t really a problem,” said Ravena, who deserves more praise for bouncing back the way he did after his 2-point, 1-of-6 showing against the Bulldogs.

“Siguro yung mentality ko coming into the game [was] relax lang, tapos, kasi once you stick to the system, the game’s going to come to you; hindi mo kailangan hanapin, so my teammates were there to deliver the ball pretty well. The ball was in good rotation. Everyone poured out their whole effort that’s why we were able to get the win,” he said.

(My mentality coming into the game was to just relax, then, of course, if you stick to the system, the game’s going to come to you; you don’t have to look for your own shot.)

They’re already 3 games in, but it’s hard to get a proper read on these Blue Eagles. Baldwin said it best over the weekend: the season is going to be a roller-coaster ride. Ateneo played like a Final Four team against FEU, but when it takes on Adamson on Saturday, who knows which squad will show up? Aside from the unbeaten Green Archers and Bulldogs, it looks like the rest of the teams in the UAAP are still trying to figure themselves out. That provides an opening for Ateneo to make the semis a third straight year, but in order for that to happen, consistency will be key.

But at least entering their next game, the Blue Eagles can be confident that the team is improving. What Baldwin envisioned for the roster is more and more coming to fruition. Sure, getting dominated on the glass and often spurts of terrible defense are still issues that need to be tackled, but the offense looks more free-flowing, there’s constant off-ball movement, and the team doesn’t give in during pressure situations.

Such was the case with 52 seconds left against the Tamaraws when Ravena stepped up to the free throw line. He split his charities, giving Ateneo a 72-68 lead. After Prince Orizu split his own free throws, Ravena grabbed the rebound and was fouled again. He trooped to the stripe, whispered “follow through” repeatedly as his eyes fixated on the orange rim amidst the cheering and jeering, and, this time, made both shots. Later on, Asistio would get his own trip to the foul line and would convert both as well.

“It’s just me and the rim,” Ravena said about that situation. “All the noise, all the people that are shouting, I don’t hear them anymore.”  

That sounds a lot like what a winner would say. – Rappler.com