Triangle Offense

So yeah, what’s with Sundays and classic UAAP games? It’s a great way to start the week!

Today was a crazy, crazy game day to put a cherry on top of a very intense first round. FEU and Ateneo are now atop the heap with an identical 6-1 win lose record while UE , La Salle and UST are lodged in a three-way jam at second place with 4-3. Well, and then the rest of the UAAP follows.

The Tams launched a full tirade in the first quarter, taking the lead early on but after the Warriors came back, I knew it was going to boil down to the final posession and not just this or that. So, I’m going to bet that all Red Warrior fans were forced to the edge of their seats when forward Elmer Espiritu fell to the floor, after receiving an inadvertent elbow while fighting for the rebound, with his hand on his face with that unpaintable expression of pain painted all over him.

When Espiritu sat down, blood gushed forth his forehead all the way down his face (it reminded me of Mo Williams, East conference finals) and some in his hand and arms. I scowled instantly because watching that while eating carbonara for a late lunch isn’t really the best combination, you know. But more importantly, I immediately wondered how this would impact the game especially that UE was starting its spirited comeback. Ofcourse, they would miss Espiritu’s inside presence.

Espiritu eventually checked back in the crucial part of the game when UE was already giving a FEU a tough fight, after being stitched up in the dugout. He was a little too late, though.

Second game also showcased some nasty unfortunate injuries, but really didn’t affect the outcome of the game. Center

Rabeh Al Hussaini, who by the way has been on a slump lately (I wonder why), stepped on Bader Malabes’ foot while battling for the  rebound. Very bad landing. He was screaming in pain while holding on to his left foot, so you know it was

bad. Plus, the game was already REALLY heating up (read: kicking? oh you know.) so Rabeh’s loss could have hurt them. He never came back in the game, and something tells me he’ll be sitting out some more games. A sprained ankle can be nasty.

Nonoy Baclao also nearly suffered the same fate as Rabeh. Thankfully, and probably to the whole Ateneo community’s relief, it was his left hand that was beaten up in a battle for the lose ball and not the other one. He works his shot blocking magic in his right hand so, he was like, “no worries,” because his heroics in the overtime period totally gave Ateneo a head start. But he didn’t actually say that. LOL.

So Ateneo went on winning today’s epic battle. But kudos to La Salle for putting up a tough one. :)

I can still recall some memorable moments in today’s game. Like Apeton Built Body’s choice of winners. That always cracks me up. Kidding…not. :P