Growing Their Wings: Eaglets Through to Final Four

Thirdy Ravena has been putting up big numbers
as the Eaglets enter the Final Four.

The Ateneo de Manila High School Blue Eaglets remained the only team to make every single Final Four in the UAAP Juniors Division after ending their elimination round campaign by winning three of their last four games to finish right behind the top three teams. The Eaglets have never missed the Final Four bus ever since the postseason format was implemented in 1993, and they were able to continue that sublime streak after winning against UE, De La Salle-Zobel, and Adamson in succession. They ended the second round with a defeat at the hands of one of their first round tormentors, the UST Tiger Cubs.

The Eaglets were fresh from their conquest of the UPIS Junior Maroons when they faced the Red Warriors of UE two Wednesdays ago. The Blues used a decisive 25-5 blast bridging the first and second quarters to blow the game wide open, and they never really looked back thereafter. Jolo Mendoza, Mike Nieto, and Anton Asistio were the principal contributors in that run as the Katipunan quintet cruised to the easy win, 88-60. Thirdy Ravena and Asistio each finished with 20 points, while Nieto grabbed 18 rebounds, his season-high.

A few days after, the Eaglets found themselves in a pivotal battle against their archrivals, the Zobel Junior Archers. Both teams were toting similar records, and the winner of this match would virtually determine who would get the last ticket to the Final Four. With such high stakes, the Loyola five responded with aplomb, overwhelming a 10-point third quarter deficit to ultimately top the Greenies, 92-80. Anton Asistio, once again, led the offense with 23 markers and 4 dimes, while hardworking sophomore Mike Nieto scored 10 points to go along with 15 big boards. It was Thirdy Ravena, however, who hogged the limelight with an immaculate triple-double line. The second-generation cager recorded 21 points, 15 rebounds, and 12 assists as Ateneo secured the fourth and final seat in the playoffs.

Gabe Capacio seems to have found his
game in the second round.

Jolo Mendoza shows some savvy as he uses a
scoop shot against the Junior Archers.

Last Wednesday, the Eaglets faced an old nemesis, the Adamson Baby Falcons. Back in the early 90s, Adamson was one of the top Juniors programs in the UAAP, and they would usually figure in the championship discussion together with the Eaglets. Recently, however, it seems the Baby Falcons’ program has gone through somewhat of a rebuilding stage. Not since the days of Leo Canuday have they been seen as a title threat, and the same could be said about this year’s edition. This is why for the first 12 minutes of this game, it was a little surprising that Adamson stuck close to Ateneo. It wasn’t until Anton Asistio scored 9 points in a telling 15-0 second period spurt that Coach Joe Silva’s wards were able to break away. The Blue & White eventually erected an insurmountable 23-point bubble at the half and then simply coasted all the way to win #8. Anton Asistio topped Ateneo’s scorers anew with 18 points, while Thirdy Ravena, Mike Nieto, and Aaron Black scored 10 points each.

In their last game of the eliminations, the Eaglets went up against another familiar adversary – the UST Tiger Cubs. I can remember with fondness and bitterness the several classic championship series in the late 90s between the Eaglets and the Cubs. Names like Kelwin Ang, Alwin Espiritu, Andrew Aquino, and Mark Lindaya still ring in my ears as the guys who gave Enrico Villanueva, Wesley Gonzales, Bajjie Del Rosario, and BJ Manalo headaches. For this season, it seemed like the Cubs were doing the exact same thing to the current crop of Eaglets. UST outplayed our boys in the first round, and, unfortunately, they repeated the feat this past Sunday.

Ateneo fell behind early, a double-digit deficit staring them in the face at halftime, 41-27. They tried their darnedest to trim the gap to a more manageable number, but, alas, their efforts were in vain. Every mini-run put forth by the Blues was countered effectively by the España crew. In the end, the Eaglets fell, 72-64. Thirdy Ravena had another beastly line of 14 points, 14 rebounds, 11 assists and 5 steals, but he shot just 4-of-14 from the field. Anton Asistio also shot blanks, making just 1-of-13 attempts from the floor. The graduating shooter finished with only 7 points. Despite turning the ball over just 9 times, Ateneo wasn’t able to capitalize on its opportunities. The Eaglets converted just 26% of their field goals and were outrebounded, 52-45. One interesting thing was Ateneo shot FORTY ONE free throws, converting thirty one.

Had Ateneo won this game, they would’ve shot up to third place and set a Final Four date with the defending champion NU Bullpups. Instead of that, though, the Eaglets will face the seemingly indomitable FEU-FERN Baby Tamaraws, who enjoy a twice-to-beat edge, in a rematch of last season’s Final Four pairing. As of this writing, the game is set for Sunday, September 30, 2012, 1:45pm, at the San Juan Arena.

Go out and support our Blue Eaglets! One BIG Fight!

AdMU Blue Eaglets over UE Junior Warriors, 88-60

AdMU 88 – Ravena 20, Asistio 20, Mendoza 16, Black 10, Nieto Ma 8, Capacio 5, Quioge 3, Puno 2, Jose 2, Consunji 2, Vitangcol 0, Vinasoy 0, Gamboa 0, Escaler 0, Calilung 0

UE 60 – Castillo 17, Viajar 12, Briones 12, Pangilinan 9, Rafol 4, Garcia 3, Ceralde 3, Swan 0, Posadas 0, Del Rosario 0, Carabejo 0

QS: 17-11, 40-23, 64-46, 88-60

Notable Performances:

Thirdy Ravena (AdMU) – 20pts, 7asts, 4rebs, 3blks

Mike Nieto (AdMU) – 8pts, 18rebs

Dexter Castillo (UE) – 17pts, 12rebs, 3asts

AdMU Blue Eaglets over DLSZ Junior Archers, 92-80

AdMU 92 – Asistio 23, Ravena 21, Nieto Ma 12, Capacio 11, Nieto Mi 10, Puno 4, Black 4, Gamboa 3, Vitangcol 2, Escaler 2, Mendoza 0

DLSZ 80 – Subido 20, Melecio Aj 18, Saubier 15, Melecio Ak 10, Banzon 10, Manguera 4, Andaya 3, Samonte 0, Cabarrus 0

QS: 26-24, 43-44, 65-63, 92-80

Notable Performances:

Thirdy Ravena (AdMU) – 21pts, 15rebs, 12asts, 1blk

Anton Asistio (AdMU) – 23pts, 4asts, 2 treys, 1reb, 1stl

Alex Saubier (DLSZ) – 15pts, 11rebs, 3asts, 2stls

AdMU Blue Eaglets over AdU Baby Falcons, 88-60

AdMU 88 – Ravena 20, Asistio 20, Mendoza 16, Black 10, Nieto Ma 8, Capacio 5, Quioge 3, Puno 2, Jose 2, Consunji 2, Vitangcol 0, Vinasoy 0, Gamboa 0, Escaler 0, Calilung 0

UE 60 – Castillo 17, Viajar 12, Briones 12, Pangilinan 9, Rafol 4, Garcia 3, Ceralde 3, Swan 0, Posadas 0, Del Rosario 0, Carabejo 0

QS: 17-11, 40-23, 64-46, 88-60

Notable Performances:

Thirdy Ravena (AdMU) – 20pts, 7asts, 4rebs, 3blks

Mike Nieto (AdMU) – 8pts, 18rebs

Dexter Castillo (UE) – 17pts, 12rebs, 3asts

UST Tiger Cubs over AdMU Blue Eaglets, 72-64

UST 72 – Martin 18, Corre 14, Ungria 12, Bahia 9, Baetiong 8, Mayor 6, Abuyen 5, Soriano 0, Lavarias 0, Dandan 0, Borje 0

AdMU 64 – Ravena 14, Nieto Mi 11, Black 9, Asistio 7, Nieto Ma 6, Escaler 6, Vitangcol 5, Puno 2, Mendoza 2, Gamboa 2, Quiago 0

QS: 17-11, 41-27, 55-42, 72-64

Notable Performances:

Prince Martin (UST) – 18pts, 4rebs, 2asts

Alvin Ungria (UST) – 12pts, 9rebs, 1ast, 1blk

Thirdy Ravena (AdMU) – 14pts, 14rebs, 11asts, 5stls, 1blk

Alvin Baetiong (L) squares off with
Bolek Vitangcol (R) under the basket.

Mike Nieto continues to impress despite being
undersized at the slot.

All images are by Erwin Cabbab/Fabilioh.com.