As Ateneo trotted off the Araneta Coliseum hard-court with a commanding 63-47 halftime lead over La Salle last August 16, the Blue Eagles looked like a team ready to defend a championship and nothing less. It was neither swagger nor empty boasting. Ateneo exuded a quiet, firm confidence built on stingy defense and championship poise. Learning from its lethargic start against La Salle last August 9, Ateneo burst out of the gates this time around with a 12-2 salvo. Ateneo’s decision to put speedy guard Kirk Long on wiry forward Joshua Webb, good for 17 first half points in their first round meeting, was like sticking bubble gum under a runner’s shoes. With his cat-quick penetrations neutralized, Webb became a non-factor in the first period. In contrast, Rabeh Al-Hussaini frolicked in the post with eight points in the first quarter. Ateneo was happy to score 18 points on offense. It was happier to have limited La Salle to just 11 first quarter points with defense. In the second period, Maui Villanueva tried to ignite a La Salle uprising by using whatever youthful energy he could muster. Unfortunately, Villanueva’s efforts couldn’t overcome La Salle’s woeful 33% field-goal shooting in the first half. In contrast, Ateneo handled La Salle’s backcourt pressure with relative ease, comfortably played at a brisk pace and watched Al-Hussaini score six more points in the second period. A modest seven-point advantage at the end of the first period for the Eagles ballooned to a 17 point lead at halftime.
Ateneo went by its business matter-of-factly. No sense of panic during the game. No over-the-top celebrations after exciting field-goal conversions or defensive plays. It was just another UAAP game-day for a team poised to enter the Final Four and beyond. 
It was tempting for Ateneo to doze off in the second half. La Salle had no inside game. The Archers’ outside gunners save for Joseph Marata and Peejay Barua, were as frosty as snowmen. Yet, the Blue Eagles followed the battle plan with championship precision. For every hint of a La Salle comeback, Ateneo responded with a three-pointer by Emman Monfort, clutch triple by Jai Reyes, steady 15-footer from Nico Salva or one of the many defensive gems by Nonoy Baclao. Ateneo’s lead increased to 21 in the third period and as high as 23 in the fourth quarter. At game’s end, Ateneo won by 16 points, 81-65. It was no contest. Ateneo head coach Norman Black saw how the Blue Eagles could dominate if they rolled up their sleeves on defense from start to finish. La Salle coach Franz Pumaren, on the other side of the court, had no time to think about a possible rematch with Ateneo in the post-season. With four wins and five losses and games against FEU, UST and UE on the horizon, Pumaren is preoccupied with trying not to miss the Final Four altogether. To exude championship poise is to display grace under pressure. Before a crowd of 17,524, Ateneo went by its business matter-of-factly. No sense of panic during the game. No over-the-top celebrations after exciting field-goal conversions or defensive plays. It was just another UAAP game-day for a team poised to enter the Final Four and beyond.
- GMANews.TV 
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