La Salle flirting with an epic collapse

MANILA, Philippines – That gut-wrenching loss to Ateneo? It was supposed to be the wake-up call.

That closer-than-anyone-would-like-to-admit win against FEU? It was supposed to be a slight bump on the road on the way back to their dominant selves.

But this latest performance – a narrow escape against an inexperienced, still-on-the-rise Adamson team which left head coach Aldin Ayo fuming – well, it might be time to ring up the alarms.

The DLSU Green Archers currently look like a far cry from the team which rampaged through the early part of UAAP Season 79. That team, which brought a sense of intimidation the moment they entered the playing court for warm-ups, has been replaced by a squad that, at many moments, looks lost on offense, misses out on key rotations on defense, has forgotten that team work makes the dream work, and bickers more than a Green Archers fan would be comfortable with.

This is indisputable: La Salle is still the most talented team, led by the UAAP MVP in Ben Mbala and arguably the most clutch player in Jeron Teng. DLSU’s past 3 performances have given the indication that for the Green Archers to hoist the championship trophy again after 3 years, they need the best out of their two key guys every time.

That’s not such a bad thing to bank on, given how reliable Mbala and Teng have been. But with how loaded La Salle’s roster is, mixed with the expected “Mayhem” brought by Ayo, leaning on the individual brilliance of the two superstars was supposed to be a bonus, not a necessity.

It feels pretty impulsive to say all these things, given that the Green Archers are 14-1 through 15 games this season and are two wins away from getting to the mountain top of college basketball. Get those two more victories, regardless of how the games go, and all of this is moot. But the eye test shows differently, and there’s starting to be a sense that La Salle may have peaked too early, giving the rest of the league the time to catch up with them. Invincible, they no longer are.

It was on display on Wednesday, November 23, when the Soaring Falcons kept moving the ball until a good shot attempt was found (with help from spreading the floor with corner shooters), pressed the living hell out of DLSU on defense, forced the ball out of Mbala’s hands with double teams, and dared La Salle to beat them with isolations.

Had Papi Sarr, the runner-up to the MVP race, not been in foul trouble (two early calls in the first period), the Falcons may have raced off to an early lead, making the Green Archers play catch-up a third straight time. Factor in the unsportsmanlike foul on Rob Manalang, the hilarious technical foul on Franz Pumaren, and numerous open-shot misses in the fourth quarter, and DLSU did have some luck in its late-game escape.

The chinks in the armor are starting to show, and it’s becoming glaring.

“I told them to play our game and I told them to take care of the basketball and keep on executing,” Ayo said post game. “Even in the third quarter and early part of the fourth quarter, we were not playing our game. That’s why I’m hesitant to congratulate them (his players), because that was a horrible game for us.”

“Binigay lang saamin pare,” he later said, “pero hindi namin kinuha.”

(It was given to us, but we didn’t take it).

The most telling sequence of the game took place with 1:26 to go and La Salle clinging on to a 67-64 lead. After getting a stop on Teng, Adamson turned to Jerrick Ahanmisi who missed a floater. Sarr then grabbed an offensive board, but Manalang misfired on a 3-pointer on the kick-out.

The Soaring Falcons had another opportunity to score after Sean Manganti beat two Green Archers for another board, but Ahanmisi, the UAAP Rookie of the Year, missed on a 3-pointer. Sarr, however, corralled another offensive rebound, and had it not been for a travelling call on Jonathan Espeleta, chances are Adamson would have tied the game or cut the lead to one.

Mbala was then called for a travel, opening the door once again for Adamson. After Dawn Ochea missed a wide-open 3-pointer, La Salle gave the Falcons another chance to come back with an 8-second backcourt violation as 26 seconds remained on the clock. Ahanmisi then got a good look from deep, but missed again.

Adamson missed its last 9 attempts from the field, which is a fluke and likely wouldn’t happen again. La Salle, which dished out only 3 dimes and threw away 26 turnovers, won a UAAP game with the lowest assist total since 2003.

“Bakit pag may camera na, bakit [pag] may TV na, bakit [pag] may mga crowd na, bakit nagbabago yung galaw nang mga bata. Yun ang problema namin,” Ayo said at the press room, the disappointment clear in his voice.

(Why is it that when there cameras are on, when it’s on TV, when there’s a huge crowd, why do the players play differently? That’s our problem).

He then took it a step further.

“Bakit may mga players na ayaw mamasa pag may TV na, o pag may camera na? Yun ang problema namin, pare.”

(Why are there players who don’t want to pass the ball when the TVs and cameras are on? That’s our problem).

What’s next for La Salle is a date with either Ateneo or FEU, both of them rivals for different reasons, but both also possessing equal threat to halt the Green Archers from what was supposed to be a cruise to the championship. The Blue Eagles and Tamaraws have played like they have the belief they can beat La Salle, and it won’t be any different once the stakes are higher. In the Finals, this is certain: the pressure is going to be on the guys in green, and by the looks of things, it feels like the pressure is starting to get to them.

“Be careful with what you wish for,” is how Ayo explained, not selecting a preference for an opponent. After all, his first concern, as he put it, is to wake up his own boys.

“If we don’t fix our problems now, there’s a chance we might regret kung paano matapos yung season namin (how our season will end) and of course, we don’t want that to happen. We’re going to do whatever it takes to win the championship,” said Teng.

 

Here’s that clutch @jeronteng J late yesterday, with the matching flex. For 5 years, he’s been $ late in games. Great use of the Mbala pick. pic.twitter.com/tvPAjQWKxA

— Naveen Ganglani (@naveenganglani) November 24, 2016

It was Teng’s jumper with a little over a minute to go which was the game-changer, giving La Salle the 3-point lead they were able to protect the rest of the way. The so-called “King Archer” finished with 25 points on 10-of-18 shooting, adding another crunch time performance to his greatest hits. And after that basketball hit nothing but net, Teng flexed his muscles for the entire Mall of Asia Arena to see.

This entire season, La Salle has flexed its muscles to the entire UAAP. But as of late, those guns aren’t looking as scary anymore. What was a year with so much excitement and potential for having a storybook ending is in danger of turning into a nightmare – one of the biggest collapses in UAAP history. – Rappler.com