Capacio: Tamaraws self-destructed

IN Game 1 of the 73rd University Athletic Association of the Philippines men’s basketball finals, the Far Eastern University Tamaraws hardly looked like the ferocious animal that they were like in the eliminations and in the Final Four.

In fact, they looked like easy picking in the lair of the fierce Blue Eagles, who clawed and feasted on their prey en route to a lopsided 72-49 victory – just a win away from annexing their third straight crown.

The Blue Eagles, proud owners of back-to-back championships, clamped down on the Tamaraws’ big men, took the first quarter by storm and never once looked back to hand FEU its most embarrassing loss of the season.

The Tamaraws last tasted this kind of defeat against De La Salle,72-47, in Game 1 of the finals in 1998, but this one was more painful since they were the slight pick going into the finals.

The loss so stunned the Tamaraws that they spent two full hours inside the dugout after the game, perhaps asking themselves what suddenly went wrong.

FEU coach Glenn Capacio ventured an answer: The Tamaraws, for all their supposed might, were no match to the Eagles’ championship experience and poise.

“Parang nabigla sila (Tamaraws) sa style ng Ateneo sa finals. Nag-self-destruct kami. Maganda ang nilaro ng Ateneo. Siyempre, champion team na iyan eh. They have been there and have done that. Malaking bagay ‘yun. So, dito na nasusubok iyung character namin. Kasi, natisod kami at na-experience nila agad kung paano maglaro sa finals,” said Capacio when he and the rest of the team finally emerged from their locker room.

Ateneo stepped on the gas early, soaring to a 7-2 bubble and as FEU tried to regroup, kept the pressure on both ends to build a 24-4 advantage before the first 10 minutes were over.

The 6’5” Justin Chua, who finished with 13 points and 5 rebounds, led Ateneo’s attack under the boards with rookie JP Erram , who picked up the slack for the suspended Jumbo Escueta.

Erram ruled the paint with impunity, blocking five attempts, four in the first half, as Ateneo translated its defensive intensity into a smooth-flowing offense that had the Blue Eagles posting an 18-point lead in the first 10 minutes of the game.

Peter Atencio, Philippine Star