MANILA, Philippines–More than the championship experience, it’s the painstaking preparation that got the Blue Eagles rolling to a blowout win over the Far Eastern U Tamaraws in Game 1 of the UAAP men’s basketball championship.
The Eagles got everything down pat heading into last Saturday’s 72-49 rout of the Tamaraws, the top seeds who absorbed the league’s worst championship thrashing in over a decade.
“Not most of you expected that [rout], that’s for sure, judging by the predictions going into the series,” said Ateneo coach Norman Black. “But we did a good job of preparing for the game.”
The Tamaraws were outplayed in practically all statistical departments, and Black credited the effort to their hard work in breaking down plays and studying the opposing players’ tendencies.
“If you break down their (Tamaraws) games like we have, they normally run their team plays in the first three quarters,” Black said.
“But in the fourth quarter, or the second half, they usually go to their two-man game, which normally consists of (Terrence) Romeo and RR (Garcia), or one of the big guys.
“They were pretty consistent with what they did in their game.”
The Eagles aim to wrap up the series and claim their third straight championship in Game 2 at 4 p.m. Thursday at the Araneta Coliseum.
“Every possession in Game 2 is important,” said veteran guard Kirk Long, who shot 14 points in the opener to lead the Eagles’ offense.
“We’re going to just keep executing and work hard in practice like we did last last week. We want to finish it as soon as we can.”
Twelve teams that won Game 1 in the last 16 seasons went on to claim the crown.
“The first thing we have to do is check the tape to see whether they tried any new things,” said Black. “Normally, coaches pull out new plays.”