DLSU beats Adamson in the first round of UAAP Season 70
DLSU came out 1 shy of a 100 pt win vs the valiant Adamson Falcons with a final score of 99-75. Truly a noble effort on Adamsons part as they tried to keep up with the DLSU Green Archers. They grabbed the lead from DLSU, 12-9 in the first quarter behind a trey from Cabahug and a twinner from Canuday before DLSU’s defense clamped down on them and DLSU was able to hold on to the lead and build on it.
Adamson’s offense on the onset pretty much went like this: Pass to Hugnatan on the lower block, do his thing, pass out to Cabahug if things get sticky, Cabahug licensed to shoot from anywhere.
Of course DLSU’s defense went like this: Double team Hugnatan with two 6′5 players, shifty guards to anticipate his outlet passes, lightning fast Guards and Small Forwards masquerading as PF’s to score on the Fastbreak FB. That’s not even speaking about DLSU’s prodigious now-you-see-it-now-you-don’t full court press and half court trap. Case in point, in the first half DLSU had 8 steals versus 1 for Adamson.
Key’s to the Game (Press and Trap excluded because that’s a given):
- Hugnatan contained - with DLSU’s “Bigs” trapping him on the lower block they effectively took him out of the equation. Rico as a help defender wouldn’t slide back to his man once Hugnatan had the ball. Even though they knew that Cabahug was going to fire at will they just allowed it to happen because in the end Cabahug would tired himself out. Especially with Mangahas guarding him. The court side reporter of ADU noted that Cabahug was even too tired to drink water during the break.
- DLSU’s Long Range Bombing - JV Casio shot 4-5 three pointers for DLSU, along with treys from Barua and a sling of others. Even C/F Walsham shot a three in the first quarter. It was like they were daring Adamson to go to a zone or slack off on their big men. This opened up the paint for the guards incursions and the big mens mop up operations whenever the guards missed their shots.
- Paint Dominance - Rico Maierhofer scored 17pts in 17 minutes in the first half, most of that were in putbacks from missed shots. In the first half, DLSU had 26 rebounds versus ADU’s 18. If that isn’t dominance on the paint I don’t know what is. Like short of saying that if Adamson missed their shot that they had to start running back on defense as they hadn’t a prayer to grab an offensive rebound.
- DLSU Bench - You have to give it to JV Casio for his efficiency. He came off the bench to relieve Cholo V and instantly would contribute a key steal on defense and a fastbreak layup to boot. But that’s not what I’m talking about when I say DLSU’s Bench. The rotation of players was so fluid that starters were mixing with second stringers and yet they still played cohesively. Attribute that to the Coach and the Coaching staff.
Simon Atkins wasn’t suited as he was out with Sore Eyes. I hope he gets well soon and that he doesn’t contaminate his teammates nor any other players during his comeback. In his place Rejan Lee did well by contributing his intensity to the game.
In the 4Q, Bader Malabes was inserted into the game. He was expected to be back in DLSU’s 3rd game, but with the lead that big in the 4Q it was a good enough opportunity to acclimatize him to his first UAAP game. He missed on a couple of 3’s but sank a couple of free throws to notch his first points in the UAAP. With this 3 point specialist’s entry into the game, expect better things to come for DLSU as he forces the other teams to play honest defense.
PJ Barua was also inserted into the game and did well, good to get his confidence back up after coming back from a career threatening knee injury.
Its still too early in the season though to say that DLSU is an all out favorite as their two wins were against weaker teams saddled with inexperienced players adjusting to College ball and their Playing Systems. Not to mention that once the second round comes in, its like a reset of each teams performance and energy levels. Finals and Mid Term exams can do that to you *snicker*. The winner is usually the team that peaks at the middle of the 2nd round and carries it all the way to the play offs.
DLSU’s next game will be against the FEU Tamarraws, this thursday at 4PM.
DLSU 99 - Casio 19, Maierhofer 17, Mangahas 15, Villanueva 10, Tang 9, Barua 7, Walsham 6, Ilad 5, Co 5, Cua 4, Malabes 2, Lee 0,
ADAMSON 75 - Cabahug 31, Cañada 13, Canuday 10, Hugnatan 8, Gonzalgo 4, Colina 2, Alvarez 2, Yambot 2, Lozada 1, Margallo 1, Gorospe 1
Game Transcripts can be found here. Hey, looks like I started a new career as a basketball transcriptionist… HarHar
Some Rico Maierhofer Dunks courtesy of course of Channel 23 and their sponsors (Gatorade and Canon Powershot)
Here’s a shot of the “We’re Back, We’re One La Salle” Tag on the back of the DLSU Jacket’s:
An here’s a funny sequence: Casio steals, he drives and gets rewarded by 2 pts and a flurry of camera flashes going off *snicker*
According to the announcers, Rico’s younger brother is a player for the Adamson Falcons, while their sister was the muse of the Falcons during the opening ceremonies.
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