Ateneo lost to La Salle despite leading by as much as 15 points in the first half. Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Ateneo has developed a bad habit of blowing big leads. It’s happened twice this season and on both occasions, the Blue Eagles ended up ruing those missed opportunities.
“We always know that if we are leading, that’s not always going to be the final score, especially against teams that are really strong. We might’ve had a good start, but the challenge is how can we make a good ending,” Ateneo head coach Bo Perasol said shortly after his team’s 80-76 loss to rival De La Salle in a game where the Eagles squandered a 15-point lead.
READ: La Salle rallies to stun Ateneo
Eight days ago, Ateneo built a 16-point gap late in the third quarter only to lose by 10 points to University of Santo Tomas after a major collapse.
READ: Tigers claw back from 16 down, snap Blue Eagles’ streak
Perasol had hoped the Eagles have learned from that painful experience but his team was back dealing with the same situation against the Archers and they crumbled yet again.
“For this game, although (La Salle) had a rally, in the end, it all boiled down to our free throws. We really can’t control what’s going to happen, so whatever’s given to us, we should take it. I think we also had lapses during the last defensive possession.”
Ateneo went 13-of-23 from the charity stripe, including misses from Gwyne Capacio and Kiefer Ravena in crunch time. The Eagles also committed costly turnovers in the final two minutes that allowed the Archers to steal the win.
READ: ‘On me’: Ravena takes blame for Ateneo collapse vs UST
Perasol sees it as a good sign that his team can establish double-digit leads against the strong teams and that it’s only a matter of figuring out how to sustain its strong play from start to finish.
“There’s no doubt in our minds that we can compete with teams. We know that the mere fact that we’re leading, we can, but it’s not the end,” said Perasol, whose squad ended the first round with a 4-3 slate. “At the end of the day, a team that is behind big will always going to have to find a way and it takes a lot of maturity to stop that.”
“It’s a big thing that we’re seeing what we did and we know what we can do to fix those. We know we can and there’s no doubt in our minds that we can beat UST and La Salle, but it’s just that we’re unable to have a strong finish.”