UAAP 76: Eagles vs Tigers

Keys to the Game:

Admu

-Contain Karim Abdul. Double team intermittently. 

-Do not be late on rotations. 

-Be judicious with the long ball. Long misses, long rebounds. Deficiencies in size, athleticism, are exposed by shooting too many perimeter bombs. 

-Get to the cup, draw fouls. Use Kiefer and Newsome on pick and rolls. Buenafe can be used as a high post gunner. Or top of the key iso player for a smart kick out pass or drop off to a big for a layup.

-Contributions from the bench are huge. Babilona, Capacio, Enriquez, Lim, Tolentino, etc. Look for this to be a gritty tiff with a lot of fouls. He who has the deeper bench because the odds on favorite. 

Ust

-Establish Karim Abdul inside. In him you have arguably the best Center in the UAAP. Let the offense flow off of the low post. UST has enough shooters to space the floor with.

-A Kevin Ferrer affair. Ferrer is likely to have a size and quickness advantage over a Buenafe or Pessumal. Even if a Newsome helps on him, he should be able to use his craftiness around the hoop to get a jumper or floater off.

-Mariano needs to have a big game on both ends. He will likely be asked to help-defend on Ateneo's primary scorers and ballhandlers. On offense, he will play slasher and finisher on the break. If he gets it going early, the Eagles will be forced to rely on Newsome to defend him. Tiring Newsome out should bode well for UST, as he is arguably Ateneo's top offensive threat- inside and out. 

-Win the battle of the Boards. They have the size advantage, so, they should play smart, box out, and pummel Ateneo into submission with second chance opportunities near the rim. Ateneo wins on additional possessions per game, given their Motion Offense-Freewheeling style. Reduce that, and you beat the defending champs.

Let's play ball!

MC