An Inboundpass.com Special: Ateneo-La Salle rivalry retro 31

This piece was lifted from the NCAA archive. The Year was 1975. 50 years since the NCAA was established, this article describes the rivalry that is – Ateneo vs. La Salle, The Blue Eagles against the Green Archers. For the De La Salle and Ateneo fans, students, community and Alumni, thank you for supporting us and enjoy reading.

Blue and Green, don’t the produce a great combination? Oh- yes – especially when Blue means Ateneo and Green is La Salle’s namesake.

At the Araneta coliseum recently high-octaned action turned into explosive consternation as the La Salle Green Archers spotted a three-point margin amidst a deafening uproar of protest from the Ateneo crowd, 94-91.

In so far as the scoreboard and the non-Ateneans were concerned, the score could not be otherwise; for the second consecutive years, the deadly arrows of the taft-based archers had pierced the Blue Eagles’ unguarded heels.

“So what?” asked one Ateneo fan. “We’ll get them some other time.”

This rivalry between Ateneo and La Salle stemmed 50 years back when the seed of the NCAA first started to germinate.

“It all started as a rivalry in the field of academic excellence,” recalls one NCAA observer. “Inevitably it spread into sports.”

This explanation sounds shallow because it really is.

Actually it is the unending lectures by priests-teachers to their students about the virtue of being loyal to one’s alma mater that built up the school spirit of the NCAA goers.

These loyalties go as far as defending with their fists when necessary; the brawls that often follow the games outside the coliseum are as classic as the encounters inside the hoopla.

As the years showered the NCAA with enough charm to be courted by a crowd of admirers, it has become apparent that La Salle and Ateneo have turned fanatics.

For how would one explain the presence of coeds in a match between what are supposed to be exclusive boys’ schools? Or the presence of a man aged sixty-six in a coliseum peopled by students aged six and above.

Not only that, the old man can chant his school’s cheers as if he graduated from college only a year ago.

That is college spirit for you; it lingers with the years – like the paper planes that rained the coliseum.

No, the sixty year olds did not make the flying objects – it could be a scheme of a sixty year old lad.

But who cares? Only the La Sallites do. For the Ateneans, it was a day the memory of which should be forgotten and buried.

Inboundpass.com would like to thank the NCAA and the San Beda College Library for this article.

Sweet Revenge for the NCAA All-Stars

The NCAA All Star selection have been known for their winning attitude. And they showed it against college league counterpart UAAP all-star last October 13, 2007

NCAA finalists Rogemar Menor of San Beda and RJ Jazul of Letran teamed up impressively to power the NCAA selection to a come-from-behind 83-78 win over the UAAP selection in the Samsung-Bantay Bata 163 at the Arena in San Juan City.

Down by 16, 23-39, at halftime, the NCAA All-Stars woke up in the third quarter as Menor and Jazul pitched in for 22 points each, including 10 points apiece in the 3rd quarter, to register a 65-60 lead at the start of fourth period.

Samuel Ekwe, racked up 19 points and hauled down 13 rebounds, assured the NCAA All-Stars’ victory after making two free throws to peg the final count with only 4.1 seconds to go.

Edwin Asoro of National University tied the score at 77-all after hitting a trey.  But Ekwe’s two straight jumpers had given the NCAA All-Star squad an 81-77 advantage with 42 seconds left

The UAAP-All-Stars narrowed the gap as Mark Borboran of UE scored on split free throw, 78-81, with 32 seconds remaining.  But the three-point attempts from Dylan Ababou of UST and La Salle guards JV Casio and TY Tang failed as time expired.

Asoro and Casio had 13 points each for the UAAP selection and failed to repeat against the NCAA All-Star squad.

In the side events, the team of University of the Philippines’s (UP) Martin Reyes and Vic Epres were adjudged champions in the two-ball competition.

Reyes and Epres bagged the title after they scored 45 points in the finals, besting the tandem of University of the East’s Paul Lee and Jorel Canizares, who scored 41 points.The two teams went to the Finals after they were tied for first and second places, respectively during the 16-team elimination round with a score of 61 points.

A trophy, P5,000 cash and MP3 players from Samsung were given out to the winners of the event. The three-point shootout was a La Salle and San Beda finale with King Archer Jayvee Casio winning the competition by scoring 23 points in the Finals. Casio bested San Beda’s JR Tescon who finished with just six points. Fr. Mateo de Jesus of San Beda and Jerry Lacson of Samsung Philippines handed out a trophy, a check of P5,000 and an MP3 player to Casio who was named as co-MVP in last week’s UAAP Finals.

Tecson scored 20 points to enter the shoot-out finals first with Casio and Letran’s RJ Azul being tied for the second spot with 19 points apiece. Tecson and Casio entered the Finals as rules state that only players coming from the UAAP and NCAA can go to the Finals of the three-point shoot-out.

The scores in the first round: James Martinez of University of the East with 8 points, Jayson Nocom of Jose Rizal University (10 ), Khasim Mirza of University of Santo Tomas (5), JR Tecson of San Beda (20), Migs de Asis of University of the Philippines (11), Kelvin de la Peña of Mapua (12), JVee Casio of De La Salle (19), RJ Azul (19).

In the slam-dunk competition, Letran’s Rey Guevarra was named champion after scoring a perfect 50 points in the Finals to beat San Beda’s Sam Ekwe and UE’s Hans Thiele

A trophy, P5,000 cash and MP3 players from Samsung were given out to the winners of the event.

The judges for the event were Jasmine Payo of Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI), Teodore Jurado of Taliba, Fernando Lozano of Mapua, Mr. Rolando Perez of UE and Peter Musngi of ABS-CBN.

Francis Soriano of UST, Jerome Cruz of JRU, Aaron Galapon of NU, Jason Bellesteros of SSC, Reil Cervantes of FEU and Elmer Espiritu of UE also joined the slam dunk competition.

Get That Ball

The EKWElizer

San Beda Cheers and Hymns now on CD

“Music offers the most sublime experience when it engulfs the singers, musicians and listeners in something greater than the individual, it can resonate with traditions, histories, and futures far beyond that immediate moment in which our ears bear witness.” – Cover of Umpah Umpah, San Beda College Battle Hymns and Cheers.

San Beda College, now back to back champions after 28 long years, very rich in basketball tradition, would like to share to everyone the cheers and battle cry hymns that kept the Bedan Community together after a long, long, long wait.

The San Beda Alumni has an old saying, “Once a Bedan, Always a Bedan”. If you have a classmate, a schoolmate, a bestfriend, an officemate, a compadre, a brother, even a former Red Cub or Red Lion, who have one way or another have been able to experience the Bedan way of Life, he, now including a she, will tell you about the Bedan brotherhood. It is something that a only a Bedan can explain. This CD is an outlet for us to express our passion and tradition that kept us together thru all those years of waiting and weeping. That hope every Bedan has been waiting for.

The CD comes with a glossy poster type insert and 25 tracks including 6 instrumental versions to sing your own rendition of the hymns that made Bedans Bedans.

Proceeds will go to the San Beda Cheerleaders and San Beda College Band.

For a sampler, just click on the play button below for your choice:

UAAP Weekly – The Finals

UAAP Weekly with Charlie Cuna, Kim Lesaca and Mike Abasolo analyze about the University of the East Red Warriors and De La Salle Green Archers Championship series

“One Ring to rule them all”

May I Offer You Some Cake?

LA SALLE WINS ITS 7TH TITLE ON THE 7TH DAY OF OCTOBER 2007 IN THE 7TH DECADE OF THE UAAP WHICH HAD ITS FIRST GAME ON JULY 7, 2007.

This is a UAAP season that would drive a mathematician crazy. The equations are not right. The team that should didn’t and the team that shouldn’t did. Beating Ateneo twice in 5 games, the Green Archers get to the finals. Today, 2 straight was far better than 14 straight. La Salle had an overall record of 13 – 6 while UE had 14-2, but La Salle wins the most coveted prize in Philippine college basketball, the UAAP Men’s Senior Basketball Crown.

Even before the game began, the La Salle gallery showed class by cheering each player who was given an individual award. From “Go USTE, Go USTE” for Jervy Cruz and Japs Cuan then “NU, NU, NU” for Edwin Asoro and “Go Ateneo” for Chris Tiu (represented by his brother Charles), the La Salle gallery just showed what sportsmanship is all about.

The game started out slow with both teams missing its first few shots. After splitting a pair of free throws, La Salle scores the first point. All of sudden UE scores 8 straight points. Coach Franz immediately calls a timeout and when the Green Archers come back on the floor, they slowly chip at the lead. They force the Warriors to turnover after turnover and most importantly they do not UE to control the boards. Casio ends the quarter with drive. The quarter ends 15 -11. That was UE’s lowest 1st quarter output all season. La Salle would never relinquish the lead

The 2nd quarter was a different La Salle team that came on the court. They looked determined while UE looked tentative. Even the coaching staff of UE looked uncertain.

La Salle played defense that made it impossible UE to get into a groove. On the other hand La Salle’s offense was picture perfect. They took their time on the offense and their patience paid off. It was a classic case of a mature team outthinking and outplaying a team that has never been to the finals.

La Salle starts to build a lead. They have the momentum and force UE to take bad shots After UE’s Marcy Arellano scores a 3, La Salles’s PJ Barua takes it back with a 3 of his own.

Then UE starts to crumble. La Salle is not intimidated by UE’s size. They bring the ball inside and just break down UE’s defense. La Salle runs the ball and UE just can’t find a way to stop it. Maeirhofer is unstoppable in rebounds and scoring, making 7 straight points,

Midway through the 2nd quarter, La Salle takes an 8 point lead, the largest margin of the series. But they weren’t done yet. UE just self destructs. They were held scoreless for 5 minutes.

When Pocholo Villanueva hits a dipsy doo shot, the Green Archers took the first double digit deficit lead that UE has experienced all season. Not one in the UE players could find his rhythm, even from the foul line. The most telling sign was that unlike Game 1, La Salle controlled the rebounds. More surprising was that the rebound leader at this point was Kish Co,

With La Salle up by 14, UE finally hits a 3, but PJ Barua again takes it back with his own 3. Rico Maierhofer makes the final point of the quarter and La Salle takes an 11 point lead, 34 – 23 at the half. The 23 points of UE was the 2nd lowest output of any team this UAAP season and the lowest of this regular season unbeaten team. UE made only 9 out of 23 shots and La Salle outrebounds UE 34 -22.

The 3rd quarter starts off with UE scoring 10 straight points and brings the lead down to 1. But it is obvious that La Salle does not panic. La Salle does not score for 5 minutes but when Pocholo Villanueva finally scores, UE just can’t keep up. Casio hits an under goal stab, is fouled and makes his shot. La Salle pulls away again by 6.

Coach Dindo Pumaren keeps shuffling his players. Coach Franz does not fall for it. He stays with his veterans. Every time UE makes a move, La Salle stops them on their tracks. It was all about composure. La Salle did not allow UE to dictate the tempo.

I was really surprised by the hustle of Kish Co. He was a man possessed. He averages 2 rebounds a game yet today he had 10 in the first half alone. But the most unbelievable statistic in the 3rd quarter was that La Salle committed zero, wala, nada, turnovers. I don’t think I have ever seen that in any game I have ever watched.

The 3rd quarter ends with La sale on top 52 – 45. Again the 45 points of UE was the lowest they have scored in the 3rd quarter this season.

The last quarter starts with UE’s James Martinez and Mark Borboran hitting 3s. But JV Casio retaliates with a 3 of his own followed by Villanueva’s 2.

La Salle just stays focused while UE is starting to panic. They don’t look like the team that they were in the regular season.

Pocholo Villanueva, playing in his last season, takes over. He steers the team to play smart basketball. He shoots, he hustles, and plays great defense.

With 4 minutes to go, La Salle is up by 6. Only UE’s Paul Lee shows some spark. UE brings the lead down to 2.

Again, the turnovers just kills UE. La Salle’s transition defense just does not allow UE to set-up. They just can’t find a way to tie the score. After Casio splits his free throws, UE commits its 21st turnover.

With 2 minutes to go and La Salle up by 3, UE can’t buy a basket even from under the goal. Tang takes the rebound and gets the 5th foul from Paul Lee. Tang makes both foul shots, giving La Salle a 5 point lead with 1:48 to go.

In UE’s next possession, Mark Borboran misses both his foul shots and Maeirhofer gets his 10th rebound. In La Salle’s next possession, JV Casio hits a shot with no time left on the shot clock.

La Salle is up by 7 with 51 seconds to go. UE’s Marcy Arellano runs the ball down and makes a quick 2. With La Salle up by 5 and 45 seconds to go, Coach Dindo calls for an intentional foul. This was a big mistake by Coach Dindo. There was too much time left and hitting both foul shots would give La Salle a 3 possession game. Casio hits both and the game is all but over.

Arellano drives and misses an open under goal stab. UE takes a 3 and misses but they are fouled and splits the foul shots. With 28 seconds to go La Salle gets the rebound and OJ Cua is fouled. He makes both and La Salle leads by 8. UE gets the ball back but can’t even make a lay-up.

Casio is fouled and splits his free throws. The final foul shots are made by Rico Maeirhofer and La Salle wins the game and the championship 73 – 64.

The Finals MVP was awarded to both Pocholo Villanueva and JV Casio.

It is the sweetest championship for the Green Archers. From suspension to champion. From being doubted to being validated as the best team in the league.

It was a total team effort. The veterans were expected to perform but they were ably supported by the heads up play by the virtual unknowns in Barua, Kish Co, Mangahas, Ferdinand, Atkins and Malabes. If this were a play, it was a perfect script.

But the man of the hour is Coach Franz Pumaren. He has undoubtedly proven to be the best collegiate coach. He has become our version of John Wooden of UCLA who won countless championships in the US version of the NCAA. The best thing about Coach Franz is that he enjoys college basketball and from the looks of it has no plans to go pro.

On TV, even Kobe Bryant, whose father and former NBA star Joe is a La Salle alumnus, congratulated the La Salle team with an ANIMO LA SALLE!

Anyone care for a slice of cake with delicious green icing?

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UAAP Season 70 Finals: Green Archers breaks Red Warriors’ heart

From suspension to champion.

After a year of absence, La Salle, unexpectedly, regained its throne in the 70th UAAP Senior Men’s basketball tournament last October 7, 2007.

The De La Salle University Green Archers has done the improbable in a best-of-three championship series by completing a two-game sweep – a 73-64 win in Game two – over the University of the East Red Warriors at the Araneta Coliseum.

The Green Archers, armed with a one-game advantage, used the free throw territory as its main course particularly in the fourth quarter, supplied long-time mentor Franz Pumaren his fifth UAAP title since 1998.

The Green Archers now have seven overall UAAP titles since joining the league in 1986.

“I won several championships in the past but it is bittersweet for me because I know now how it feels to beat your brother,” said Pumaren, also a Quezon City councilor. “If I can share half of our trophy, I can give it to UE because they also deserve it.”

“Cholo (Villanueva) is terrific, especially in the last three games including our playoff game against Ateneo while you should also give credit to TY (Tang),” he said. “Our championship experience did it for us.”

“They could have been playing now in the commercial leagues but they decided to stay with us, it’s so priceless to win a championship.”

University of the East, with a 14-0 record going into this series, performed fairly well in the defensive end but had 21 turnovers – including two in the final three minutes – that cost them the run for the title.

The Red Warriors also gave up 28 fouls, giving the Green Archers the opportunity to register 27-of-36 shots from the foul line. La Salle committed 18 fouls and UE only recorded 5-of-14 attempts from the free throw line.

UE committed a season-high 31 turnovers to drop Game one via a single point, 64-63.

After racing to a 15-11 lead in the first period, La Salle’s big man Rico Maierhofer and Peejay Barua merged for 14 points in the second quarter to ignite the Green Archers’ blistering 19-12 burst and earned their biggest lead by halftime, 34-23.

The Red Warriors tried as many times to trim down the gap in the 3rd quarter. With Kelvin Gregorio, Paul Lee and Mark Borboran at the helm, the Red Warriors were very close trailing by 1, 33-34 after 4 1/2 minutes of play in the 3rd. UE again had another run courtesy of Elmer Espiritu and Jorel Canizares for a 3-point deficit, 43-46, with 1:16 minutes to go. But the Green Archers had an answer to every UE rally.

In the final quarter, when Mark Borboran drained a long trey at the left flank to come closer at 51-52 with 8:31 minutes remaining, La Salle countered with a 9-4 run initiated by Casio’s triple and baskets from Villanueva and Tang to stretch back the lead, 61-55, with 5:21 minutes left in regulation.

UE’s combo guard Paul Lee scored two straight baskets to keep everything in striking distance, 59-61, with 2:05 minutes left in the last quarter. But Tang and Casio had their eyes focused on the prize anew and extended the edge, 66-59, with 51 seconds left.

From there, the Red Warriors lost control and could do nothing. La Salle’s gallery was celebrating chanting the Animo cheer.

Joseph Casio, who had 14 points (15 points in the 2nd half) shared the Finals MVP honors with Cholo Villanueva contributing 17 points for La Salle.

Maierhofer had 11 points – nine from the charity stripe – and grabbed 11 boards. While TY Tang had 8 points.

Borboran and Lee made 12 points each for UE, while Kelvin Gregorio added 11 points.

Individual Scores:

DLSU (73) – Casio 17, Villanueva 14, Maierhofer 11, Tang 8, Co 6, Barua 6, Malabes 5, Cua 2, Mangahas 2, Walsham 2, Atkins 0, Ferdinand 0.

UE (64) – Borboran 12, Lee 12, Gregorio 11, Cañizares 8, Martinez 8, Arellano 5, Espiritu 5, Fampulme 3, Lingganay 0, Bandaying 0, Llagas 0, Thiele 0.

Quarter Scores: 15-11; 34-23; 52-45; 73-64

UAAP Weekly – The Finals Season 70

Charlie Cuna, Kim Lesaca and Mike Abasolo talk about Game 1 of the UAAP Season 70 Finals between the University of the East Red Warriors vs. the De La Salle University Green Archers. DLSU now 1-0 in this best of 3 series.