Breakout boys Verano, Santillan lead comeback efforts for Ateneo and La Salle

MANILA, Philippines – In basketball, good teams succeed on the back of those who often shine. Great teams, meanwhile, succeed on the back of those who often don’t.

Such was the case with Saturday’s (October 21) Final Four teaser match card, where top championship contenders Ateneo and La Salle produced comeback victories against FEU and Adamson, respectively.

In a rare alignment of misfortunes where both the top UAAP teams couldn’t buy a bucket nor a lead, role players stepped up and delivered. For the still-undefeated Blue Eagles, it was Raffy Verano’s 14 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals that led the comeback rally en route to their playoff-clinching 10^th straight win. Meanwhile, for their cross-city archrival Green Archers, it was the young Santi Santillan who recorded a career-high 16 points and 10 boards (5 offensive) and woke the team up from a 3-quarter-long slump.

Both were not known for such levels of performances but on Saturday night, both were hailed as breakout heroes. Prior to Saturday’s games, Verano has just been averaging 4.9 points and 2 boards while Santillan averaged 7.3 points and 6.1 boards.

Ateneo sharpshooter Matt Nieto acknowledged Verano and the team’s overall adjustments after trailing most of the game. “Akala namin kaya namin individually. Naisip namin na “Bakit tayo magkakanya-kanya?” Eh kaya kami naging 9-0 kasi we played as a team. In the second half, we just [stuck] with one another and we did what we do best.”

(“We thought we could handle it individually. We thought that “Why would we take things upon ourselves?” when we got to 9-0 because we played as a team.”)

Likewise, rising La Salle star Ricci Rivero gave his compliments to the Archers’ backup big in what Coach Aldin Ayo described as a character-building game. “Knowing Santi’s character, he’ll do everything just to win, just to get a rebound, just to help a team. So that’s what really mattered in the endgame.”

Consistent role players like Verano and Santillan just make all other coaches in the league green with envy. Star players are not immune to off nights and more often than not when those nights come, teams without reliable substitutes consequently come crashing down hard.

This is the main reason why Ateneo and La Salle are leading the pack for the season. A well-oiled machine still won’t run properly without all the cogs locked in place. – Rappler.com