The View from the Armchair: Season 72 Final Edition
Finally, closure for a season like no other in recent memory.
Season 72 for the Green Archers ended with a 61-63 loss to the nothing-to-lose NU Bulldogs. For the first time in a long time, the Archers finished with a losing record, 5-9. Also another first – the Archers failed to reach the playoff stage for the first time since the final 4 format started in the early 90’s.
Why we lost
NU simply wanted it more. They played their usual free wheeling game without pressure, taking long potshots and individual dribble drives past their perimeter defenders. They pressured the Archer ball handlers, and made ball movement difficult around the perimeters.
Injuries hounded the green-and-white in this game. Arvie did not suit up due to injury, and we lost Yutien early in the game to a sprain. A few minutes later, Kish also had to be helped off also after he sprained his ankle, although he managed to return in the second half. Without a credible inside defender, the ‘dogs penetrated at will although their shooting also left much to be desired.
Archers couldn’t hit the target
Another game where our team couldn’t shoot straight for most of the game, both from the field and from the foul line. In the first half, the Archers made less than 1 out of every 4 shots from the field, and missed 13 out of their 20 foul shots. Missed free throws were costly. Joshua missed two in the last minute after successfully fishing fouls from the NU defense.
Ineffective offensive patterns were the offshoot of poor ball movement. Joel had a so-so game, and was not fielded for much of the second half. Without his quickness and smooth ball distribution, the Archer offense became a walk up half court offense, easily predictable and defended even by the weak-guarding Bulldogs. Peejay misfired early, but persisted and scored 17 points on a variety of long shots and drives. Bader saw action, coughed up the ball a couple of times, but scored on gutsy drives and a now rare triple. Ferdinand was fielded in for the first time in a few games, expended a lot of energy but contributed little else. James pulled another one of his now-familiar disappearing acts, contributing a single field goal and very little else. Kish played well but committed a momentum-breaking offensive blunder, taking a hurried jumper from the elbow early in our shot clock after the Archers had taken the lead at 52-51. His miss effectively halted a potential run by the Archers and enabled NU to regain its bearings.
The season in a nutshell
In a way, this last game was representative of the Archers’ season. Poor shooting, weak ball movement and distribution, the walk-the-ball up offense and the absence of fastbreaks, vulnerability to the perimeter drive-and-dish penetrations, lackadaisical effort from some veterans, and the rookies unable to follow anyone’s lead (because no one wanted to take the lead).
Wait till next year!
So the pregnant wait starts (hey, it’s all of 9 months), and in the meantime rumors are sure to swirl about who remains on the team. Only Hyram is ineligible for next year. Of the veterans, James, Ferdinand, Peejay, Bader, and Kish have at least 1 year each, Jovet, Maui, and Joshua have 3 years of eligibility left, Simon has 2, and our rookies all have 4 years to go. Our team B has exciting talents like Norbert Torres (eligible only in Season 74), Papot Paredes, Martin Reyes, Paolo Rodriguez, and Manoj Chandumal on its roster. The Junior Archers have several good seniors who could potentially go to DLSU. Let’s not forget our guys who sat out the season while in sick bay – big man Marko Batricevic who should have fully recovered from his knee injuries, and LA Revilla whose quickness and ball handling were sorely missed this year.
In the meantime
An early vacation for the men’s basketball team. But not necessarily for the loyal green-and-white basketball supporters, since the Junior Archers and Women’s Basketball Team are already into the final 4. Come and cheer our Junior and Women’s teams as they try to reclaim the championships in their respective divisions. Why not help our Pep squad as they compete in the cheerdance competitions on Sunday.
And let’s not forget our athletes who compete in the other UAAP sports. The badminton and beach volleyball competitions are currently under way. Judo, table tennis, swimming, and taekwondo will kick off within the first semester, while baseball, fencing, chess, football, softball, track & field, and volleyball are slated for the 2nd semester.
Our men’s basketball team may have bowed out for the season, but our other teams are sure to figure in the thick of the battle. Let’s show up and cheer them on (except in chess, of course!).
Pregame Bullets: DLSU vs NU 9/10
- Oh boy, it can’t get any more pulsating than this. Just when we all thought that the Archers’ season was practically over with last Saturday, the team got a new lease of life following UST’s loss to Adamson on Sunday. And the Tigers didn’t just lose; they lost terribly to a team that has nothing anymore reason to play for except pride and maybe make things complicated going into the homestretch.
- The Green Archers overwhelmingly disposed of the Bulldogs in the first round and it would take a gargantuan meltdown for the team to lose this one. Even though we lost to FEU, I think the team still has the momentum to probably inflict some damage if ever they still get a chance to play beyond the eliminations.
- The Archers must guard against complacency against NU. The Bulldogs are sure to finish in the cellar, but they might just try to salvage some pride by going out with a victory at our expense. If the Archers don’t want this to be their last game, they have to tame the Bulldogs all over again, and pray that the 2nd game ends in our favor as well.
- The Archers are only just now beginning to realize just how good they are. They narrowly lost both games to UE and FEU, and noticeable in those games was the growing confidence of our young players. Against FEU, only the good individual play of big man Cervantes and rookie RR Garcia saved the Tams from a possible upset at the hands of the young Archers.
- This is going to be a “win and wait” situation for all of us this Thursday. If we win our final elimination game, expect the La Salle faithful to be glued to their seats or TV sets after as we need to hope that UE defeats UST to forge a playoff for the final spot in the semis.
- This might be the last pregame bullets for the year… then again maybe not. Whatever happens on Thursday, let us all thank the Green Archers for a great season. An1mo!
Pregame Bullets: DLSU vs UP 8/22
- A 3-game losing streak is unknown territory for the Green Archers and their followers. If that’s a difficult concept to swallow, how about not making it to the Final Four for the first time? Mind-boggling, isn’t it? With the way the team is playing now, there is a growing concern that this highly improbable scenario could now become a reality. After everything that we have seen this season, could it still get any worse?
- Of course all is not lost. A Final Four stint is very much possible but the Archers should get their act together now and make a good push towards the end of the elimination round. Historically, the Archers have started slow but began to peak in the second round. It’s that time of season now.
- La Salle defeated UP in their initial outing. Since then, the Fighting Maroons have beaten defending champion Ateneo and almost scored some upsets against the other powerhouse teams. In their losses, they have always been just that small bit short of victory.
- Yes UP may be down at the basement of the standings but they’re still a dangerous team. Just like Adamson, the Green Archers will have their hands full against the perimeter players of the Maroons such as Padilla, Co, Lopez, and the 2 Reyess: Martin and Mikee. Iencidentally, both Martin and Mikee come from the ranks of the La Salle high schools.
- This is a repeat of the battle of the crossover players: Marata and Tolentino came from UPIS, while Martin, .Mikee, and Migs came from La Salle. UP diehards call Marata and Tolentino “the lost boys”.
- This upcoming game is critical for the team as they need to keep pace with UE and UST, both currently ahead by a game. As mentioned before, there’s no where to go for the Archers but UP .
- Let’s hope that this Saturday’s game would be a start of something good. It’s been said before, but our 4-game streak started after an initial 2 losses to start the first round. Well, our first 2 games in the 2nd round were also losses. Will we see the start of another streak? I wouldn’t bet against it.
- See you at the San Juan Arena on Saturday at 4pm. This will be our first game this season in this venue.
Archers reach new low, fall below .500 again
The De La Salle Green Archers suffered a rare debacle, succumbing to Ateneo de Manila University, 65-81, on August 16 for the Archers’ third straight loss in UAAP men’s basketball at the Araneta Coliseum.
Besides going 0-3 dating back to last Sunday, this is also the first three-game losing streak of the green and white squad in the Franz Pumaren era. Add to that the fact that the Green Archers are 0-6 against its nemesis the past two UAAP seasons.
Unlike the first encounter, the Eagles started strong, erecting a double-digit lead going into the half. By the time 20 game minutes elapsed, they were ahead, 44-27.
Rabeh Al-Hussaini asserted his might, scoring 14 of his game-high 26 points during that time. The lead became 21, 59-38, from an Al-Hussaini fastbreak finish started by an Eric Salamat steal, 5:16 in the third quarter.
The farthest it got was 23, 73-50, from a Al-Hussaini bucket. The reigning MVP shot 12/20 from the field and also had three rebounds, two assists, and three blocks.
He was helped out by partner Eric Salamat, who had 11 markers on 4/8 field goal shooting and eight assists. Nico Salva had ten.
Three DLSU cagers scored in double figures, led by Peejay Barua’s 16 points. He was followed by Joshua Webb with 13 markers, while Maui Villanueva came up with ten.
