MANILA, Philippines - Losing by a rout in a game it was fancied to win is no big deal for Ateneo coach Norman Black, who remains confident of the Eagles’ title retention bid in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament.
“It’s just one game,” said Black, referring to Ateneo’s 68-88 loss to University of the East last Sunday that sent the UAAP title series into a winner-take-all match.
It was Black’s worst defeat since absorbing a 60-78 blowout from La Salle four years ago and it could haunt him and the Eagles in the next three days as they try to figure out what went wrong and what should be done in Thursday’s keenly-awaited sudden death.
“What happened in Game Two has no bearing on what’s going to happen on Thursday. But as far as I’m concerned, we will show up to win on Thursday, that’s the bottom line,” Black said.
But for Ateneo, which took the opener, 78-71, to complete its back-to-back title run and fifth overall, the Eagles would need to toughen up on defense, particularly against UE’s pair of Elmer Espiritu and Pari Llagas, who torched the Eagles with a combined 40-point output in Game Two.
“The most important thing is that we have to defend better, I mean we’ve got to this point in the season of having the chance to win the championship because of our defense,” Black said. “And our defense really broke down in the second half. Of course, they shot the ball well but we just have to play good individual and team defense as well.”
Last year’s MVP and Ateneo’s tower of power Rabeh Al-Hussaini must also assert his might in the shaded lane.
“Rabeh took 11 shots. If you look at our guards, they might have combined for 25 three-point shots. On the contrary, we didn’t give the ball to Rabeh enough and we relied too much on the perimeter shooting,” said Black.
Eric Salamat must also provide not only the leadership for the Eagles but also the big points as the spitfirish guard normed just four points in the series.
“He’s the guy that shoots well inside the arc but he can make the outside shots. He’s a lot better when he’s attacking the basket so that’s what I’ll probably encourage him to do in Thursday’s game,” Black said of Salamat.
The Eagles also hope to use their championship experience against a team oozing with confidence in a game which could go either way.
“Based on what happened in Game Two, I think they’ll be brimming with confidence on Thursday, that’s for sure,” Black said.