UAAP Finals: Discipline Wins Out

They almost had us fooled.

Everybody knew going into the championship that the Ateneo Blue Eagles were the stronger team. They had the personnel. They had the system. They had the championship experience. UE never stood a chance.

But by Game 3, the upstart Red Warriors had us convinced that they could take it to the defending champs. That, after years of choke jobs and heartbreaks, they were finally ready to win it all.

***
The UE Red Warriors had a heck of a series. Despite the Game 1 loss, they proved they could hang with the Blue Eagles under the toughest circumstances. In Game 2, they showed they had the tools to blow out what was widely considered to be the best team in the league. There was no doubt in anybody’s minds that they had transformed into a very real threat to the win the crown.

However, the warning signs were there.

If you followed the UE team this season, you know this is a team that can defy logic. They take some really ugly shots, shots that will have you screaming for these players to be benched as soon as they release the ball. Then, they’ll have you sitting back down in mild embarrassment as the ball swishes through the net. They take the worst shots, but they convert. And on the next possession, they’ll do it again.

But if there’s one law that UE has never been able to defy this year, it’s the law of averages.

That has been the number one thorn on the side of UE all season long. Remember how they built a 17-point lead on Ateneo in their first round meeting in the eliminations, only to see it turn into a 15-point Blue Eagle victory. They can turn it on and hit every shot from anywhere on the court, but they can turn it off just as quickly. This team has players that, in stretches, can play outside of their normal capabilities; heck, outside of anybody’s capabilities in Paul Lee’s case. But the law of averages always finds a way to balance it all out.

And in the series, UE had been playing really well.

I don’t mean everybody, of course. Lee and Val Acuna were playing as usual; spectacular in stretches but averaging a dismal 21% from 3-point range combined in the first two games. For two players who have proven again and again how good they are as shooters, 21% just looks like a horrible number.

But in Game 2, Elmer Espiritu and Pari Llagas were making everything from the outside; 16-24 from the field, and a mind-blowing 5-6 from beyond the arc. They turned the perimeter into their own high-percentage playground and the results were fantastic: a 20-point victory over Ateneo. Meanwhile, UE guards Rudy Lingganay and Raphy Reyes were averaging 16.5 points, 11.5 rebounds and 6 assists combined for the series. Those are fantastic numbers for what has looked like UE’s weakest point on the floor.

But this is exactly the kind of thing they’ve done all season. Go nuts and torch the opponent; then lose all steam and let them climb their way back into the game.

I always thought that a UE victory was dependent on the timing of their big run. Every game, they had that huge run that would either blow the game wide open in their favor or allow them back in the game after falling behind big. Sometimes, the run falls short and they lose the game. Sometimes, like in the earlier referenced first round meeting with Ateneo, it comes too early and the opponent has time to get back in it. Against FEU in the second round, they made a huge run in the second half that the Tamaraws couldn’t recover from. The timing had to come at just the right time, if the Red Warriors wanted to escape with a victory.

The championship series, of course, was three games long. And it seemed like UE was able to pace the series as if it were just one game. The big run came in the form of the Game 2 blowout. But one had to be concerned if they had anything left for Game 3.

***
Over on the blue side of things, things must have been a little shaky. After losing only one game all season long, in a lackluster effort against the surprising UP Fighting Maroons, the Game 2 loss was a harsh wake up call for the Blue Eagles.

This was a team that had three players (Rabeh Al-Hussaini, Nonoy Baclao and Eric Salamat) that could start on any other team in the league. Usually, that’s an exaggeration, but Baclao’s ability to slide to either center or power forward and Salamat to either guard spot makes the statement true. I checked.

They have a fourth player, the incredibly talented Ryan Buenafe, who at times, looks like he should be starring on his own team. They have one of the best shooters in the league in fifth-year guard Jai Reyes. And they have a platoon of role players who know exactly what they’re supposed to be doing out on the floor.

And yet, they were one game away from elimination.

This was a team that was known for its discipline. I’ve many a time commented on how impressed I’ve been with their patience in setting up Al-Hussaini in the post. This was a team that picked its shots carefully. No surprise then, that they were the number one field goal shooting percentage team in the league. They were tops in three-point shooting percentage, too.

And that made the Game 2 loss even more mind-boggling. The most disciplined team in the UAAP settled for 34 three-point attempts. Despite the fact that Al-Hussaini was hitting 8-11 from the field, the shock troopers took it upon themselves to chuck up shots instead of setting up the big guy, the reigning MVP.

That wasn’t going to happen in Game 3.

That there I think is the most interesting stat in the series. Much has been said about rebounding, but I find myself drawn to three-point shooting. This has been such an important factor all series long.

In the three games, the winning team has averaged only 18.3 three-point shot attempts per game. The losing team averaged 30.6 three-point shot attempts.

In Game 1, the Blue Eagles rode on Reyes’ 5-6 from the three-point range to keep defenses clean on Al-Hussaini. That allowed Rabeh the freedom to score 28 points down low. In Game 2, Espiritu’s 4-5 from three-point range forced Baclao out of the paint, allowing the UE guards plenty of offensive rebounds and scoring opportunities.

In Game 3, the Blue Eagles refused to settle for outside shots. They pounded it to Al-Hussaini for 27 field-goal shot attempts, the most he’s had in any game in the series. Buenafe repeatedly took it inside to draw contact. On his own, he had 7 free-throw shot attempts. In the previous game, the entire team had just 8 attempts from the stripe.

And the Red Warriors? Acuna went 2-11 from beyond the arc. Lee 1-6. Espiritu 1-5. Llagas went missing, shooting 0-for-8. Lingganay and Reyes came crashing back to earth, combining for 1-8 from the field for 5 points. The team settled for three-pointers (28 attempts) and even when they didn’t, Baclao was there to make life miserable for anybody in red.

***
And that’s where the discipline comes in. Right when it matters the most, the Blue Eagles kept to their game plan and went right for the high-percentage shots. Even when Al-Hussaini was shooting his worst percentage in any game in the series, they pounded it to him in the post.

The Red Warriors, meanwhile, were back to their old habits. I’ve long complained about the UE system not making things easy for Acuna and Lee. These guys are capable of making three-pointers, but they shoot such horrible percentages. It all comes down to the quality of shots they take. UE loves making contested, in-your-face jumpers. Ateneo likes their three-point shots wide open.

The clash in coaching philosophies was an interesting storyline. Ateneo coach Norman Black preached discipline. He has a very structured system, that doesn’t allow for a lot of freelancing. Even super-sophomore Buenafe struggled through the early part of the season, trying to find his role on the team. This was a guy used to having the ball in his hands all of the time.

Meanwhile, UE coach Lawrence Chongson allowed his wards to make their decisions on the floor. He gave them freedom on the court, and more importantly, he gave them confidence. That confidence translated into Lee sinking four three-point shots in the 4thquarter against FEU in the Final Four. That confidence translated into Espiritu knocking down 4-5 from three-point range in Game 2. That confidence got them one win way from the UAAP championship.

On this particular day, that confidence betrayed them. They were missing shots they thought they could make. They were making plays they knew would work. But there was no big run waiting in the wings that could give them a shot at the buzzer.

On this particular day, discipline wins out.