- Yet another loss, this time to playoff contender UE. The Archers are now entering uncharted territory, following an unprecedented 5th consecutive loss to fall to a 4-7 record. The best the Archers can finish is an even 7-7 IF they win their last 3 games against UST (Thu Sept 3), FEU (Sat Sept 5), and NU (Thu Sept 10).
- Making the final 4 is no longer within the Archers’ control. UE has the inside track for the 3rd Final 4 slot, and the last slot will be contested by the Archers and the UST Growling Tigers. UST plays NU (Sun Aug 30), the Archers next Thursday, Adamson (Sun Sept 6), and UE (Thu Sept 10).
- The first half was lackluster, to say the least. The Archers allowed UE to get off to a hot, 7-0, which UE built up to a 17 point lead before a spirited closing minute by the Archers cut it down to a 13 point deficit at the half, 27-40. A few of the UE points came because of a lack of concentration, as was the case with the Llagas field goal with less than 5 seconds to go. Arvie was so focused on watching Llagas that he neglected to keep an eye on the ball, didn’t see the fastbreak pass coming, and Llagas was able to catch and shoot just before the halftime buzzer sounded.
- The second half was much more competitive, and the Archers’ stiffer defenses held UE to 26 points after yielding 40 in the first half. The aggressive defenses partially neutralized Paul Lee, who tallied only 13 points, but the UE inside players Llagas and Espiritu had their way, combining for 37 points. Only 5 UE players scored in the game.
- With Simon out again, pg duties were shared by Bader, Hyram, and Joel. Joel played more minutes, and the offense was noticeably more fluid with him acting as the ball handler and distributor. Joel assisted on several baskets, and scored 10 points as he provided the quickness and competent ball distribution that has been lacking so far this season.
- Several travelling errors were called against the Archers, notably Joshua, Hyram, and Peejay. While some of them were debatable, the Archers will need to practice their basic moves to avoid turning the ball over again.
- Among the veterans, Hyram and Maui were the most active. Maui scored repeatedly on gutsy penetrations, and Hyram connected on 3 triples to fuel the rally. Joshua also scored 10, Kish pumped in 8 points. Peejay was a non-factor with 4 points, and James was practically invisible.
- In hindsight, if the Archers had played the first half with the same intensity they exhibited in the final 2 quarters, the result would have most probably been different.
- We don’t want to complain about the officiating, but a dubious call cost the team the opportunity to tie the game at 66-all. Hyram was fouled, sank the basket, and should have been awarded a bonus ft, but the referee insisted that the foul was before the shot. No continuation. And we thought that this season the officials would allow the players to decide the result of the game.
- It’s still possible, but the Archers must now win all the games to have a chance to contend with UST for the last slot. Our stands were fairly well populated, showing that many faithful still KEEP THE FAITH!