It was nothing short of a heroic performance for La Salle guard Simon Atkins.
Showing that he has moved on from the tragedy that was Season 72, the five-foot-11 captain erupted for a career-high 20 points to spearhead the hosts to an easy 80–62 drubbing of a distraught University of the Philippines side in the opening match of the UAAP Season 73 men’s basketball tournament Satuday night at the Araneta Coliseum.
“It’s a new year,” said the 21-year-old Atkins. “We have moved on and we are moving in the right direction.”
The half-British, half-Pinoy debuted as shooting guard for the first time but proved that he was more than up to the task, scattering four three-pointers in the opening half to help the Taft-based squad to its maiden win.
“I really worked (on my shot) during the off-season,” Atkins, much-maligned after a disappointing junior year, added. “With what happened today, maybe they will respect me now.”
Atkins then teamed up with forward Maui Villanueva and rookie Luis dela Paz to bury the Fighting Maroons, who looked nothing like the Final Four contender they were penciled in before the season started, in the fourth quarter.
Energy, aggressiveness
“I am very happy,” shared an obviously elated rookie coach Dindo Pumaren. “We played well. They gave energy. We were the more aggressive team all throughout.”
True enough, the young and undersized La Salle quintet dove for loose balls, skied for offensive rebounds and stuck like leech to their defensive assignments – and saw their efforts pay off big time.
Atkins, for one, had three steals while Villanueva, now in his second year with the team, hauled down a career-best 13 boards in only 24 minutes.
The Green Archers were always a step ahead and even though the squad shot under 40 percent for the game, their hustle more than made up for it.
The UP cagers, meanwhile, looked tired from the start and save for ultra-hyped rookie Mike Silungan and fellow freshmen Joshua Saret and Jose Manuel, lacked the energy to match the quick La Salle team.
The vaunted Green Archer defense also proved effective in holding down Silungan to a miserable seven-of-18 shooting, spiked with six turnovers and limiting the Maroons to a horrible 31% shooting from the field and 19% from beyond rainbow territory.
Opening day jitters
And it was not just Silungan who fired blanks in the opening day.
Maroon gunners Woody Co, Alvin Padilla and Martin Reyes combined for a terrible two-of-14 three-point shooting, with only Co having a decent game with 17 points and six boards.
The rest of the team shot three-of-13 from behind the arc and 11-of-29 from two-point land.
Adding insult to injury was the squad’s inability to hold their foes defensively.
“We didn’t defend as much as we want to do,” related UP coach Aboy Castro. “They didn’t defend as how I would have wanted them to.”
La Salle was splendid in the second half, sinking more than half of their shots inside the line and repeatedly slicing through the porous defense of the Maroons.
Castro, however, just shrugged off Silungan’s woes to opening-day jitters and the hype that surrounded his prized catch’s debut.
“Probably it’s the hype,” he said. “But we are going to forget this game and move on to the next. Of course, without forgetting the lessons learned from this.”
The scores:
DLSU (80) – Atkins 20, Villanueva 13, Marata 10, Webb 9, Andrada 7, Dela Paz 6, Vosotros 4, Mendoza 4, Ferdinand 4, Tolentino 3, Reyes 0. Paredes 0
UP (62) – Co 17, Silungan 17, Sison 8, Reyes Ma 6, Manuel 5, Saret 2, Padilla 2, Maniego 2, Lopez 2, Reyes Mi 1, Juruena 0
Quarterscores: 19 – 13; 34 – 31; 56 – 47; 80 – 62
