Good omens

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Lucky? People who’ve seen him only now may think so. But Rey Suerte has had the knack of hitting big shots since torching opponents in Cebu’s varsity scene.

Except this time, Suerte brought his foe-slaying heroics to a bigger, grander stage as he knocked down two triples in the last 15 seconds, including the game-winning trey that powered University of the East past La Salle, 89-88, in Saturday’s UAAP men’s basketball tournament at Mall of Asia Arena.

“Big-time players make big-time shots,” said UE active consultant Lawrence Chongson, referring to Suerte. “One word: swerte (lucky).”

Maybe more than that.

One of the one-and-done standouts seeing action in Season 82, Suerte has been known to hit big shots during his stint in the Cebu collegiate league (Cesafi). In his last season with the University of Visayas Green Lancers, Suerte tortured University of San Carlos twice with game winners—including a triple with four-tenths of a second that propelled UV to victory on his birthday.

His 31-point explosion on Saturday, built around 5-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc, was a good sign for the Warriors, who had dropped their first three games of the season.

First, the win over La Salle (1-2) put UE in the win column after the Warriors entered the match wrangling with uncertainty over the availability of big man Alex Diakhite, who had been in and out of the hospital dealing with dengue symptoms. Diakhite suited up on Saturday but played limited minutes.

Also, Suerte’s heroics gave him a platform to achieve one of his goals in his lone eligibility year with UE.

“I want to help the young players on our team so they’ll carry those lessons into the future seasons,” he added.

He certainly gave them a look at a certified leader.

Suerte, 24, became the first player in the league to surpass the 30-point mark this season. He drained a three-pointer that put the Warriors on top, 86-85, with 15.4 seconds remaining. La Salle’s Aljun Melecio answered with a triple with 10.8 ticks left that put the Archers on the driver’s seat only for Suerte to deliver another bigger shot over Kurt Lojera.

“I was confident, but what was more important to me was we needed the win,” Suerte said in Filipino. “We had to make sure that we make every shot.”

Ateneo saw a portent of things to come in a season where the Blue Eagles can’t seem to make shots. At least, they can turn to making stops.

Ateneo put on a defensive clinic in the second game in shutting down Far Eastern U, 63-46.

“From the looks of it, we have to be a good defensive team since we can’t knock the ball down even in an ocean. That’s what we’re trying to do, to keep the offense of the opponents struggling,” coach Tab Baldwin said.

Missing a lot of shots, the Blue Eagles stayed unbeaten after holding the Tamaraws to just 29 percent shooting and forcing 17 turnovers that they turned to 18 points.

That defense has bought Ateneo time to work on its shooting as it shoots for a third straight crown.

Ivorian center Ange Kouame had 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Blue Eagles, but Baldwin spent most of his postgame press conference praising the performance of Will Navarro, who only had four points in 22 minutes but posted a plus-30 in efficiency.

“He understands the little things that have to be done,” Baldwin said of the 6-foot-5 Navarro, who transferred from San Beda. “And they’re the things that make the team play better. So, you know, I’m really proud of the job he did. It’s not about the highlights. It’s about efficiency, and Will was the, you know, he was the poster boy for efficiency today.”

Adrian Wong also came up with a breakout game after pouring 13 points on 3-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc for the Eagles, who have an eight-day break before taking on the National U Bulldogs.

Wong (5-of-7) and Kouame (4-of-7) were the exceptions to another poor shooting performance from the Eagles, who hit just 32 percent of their shots.

“So our shooting is now a concern. It’s not the quality of the shots because we got a lot of good shots.”