Ateneo vs FEU Game 1 : Plus & Minus

UAAP Season 74 Men’s Basketball Finals

Ateneo vs FEU Game 1 : Plus & Minus

How  did Ateneo win Game 1 of the Finals? 

I tried to analyze want went wrong with FEU in game 1 after they were blown out in the crucial third quarter as I wanted to see how well Ateneo played ( or how bad FEU played).

A check of  the game stats revealed interesting figures in terms of the following major categories: field goal/FT shooting ( 2pt/3pt/FT) , rebounds, assists, turnovers.

	Ateneo	FEU
2 pt FG	30-50 (60.00%)	28-70 (40.00%)
3 pt FG	2-9 (22.22%)	5-24 (20.83%)
FT	20-25 (80.00%)	3-9 (33.33%)
Rebounds	5-29/34	12-16/28
Assists	17	18
TOs	17	14
Blocks	5	6
Personal Fouls	13	22
Total Points	82	64

First , Ateneo shot better in terms of 2pt, 3pt and FT shooting! FEU had more attempts though from the field but had less FTs! It’s not conclusive though  which  team had more second chance points .

Second, Ateneo rebounded better defensively but FEU had more offensive rebounds!

Third, assists were just about even.

Fourth, Ateneo had more TOs although it was not conclusive which team had more TO points!

Fifth, FEU was called more fouls.

What the stats mean? 

Ateneo had a much better offensive game this time as shown by its 60% 2pt FG shooting and  22.22% 3pt shooting even if FEU had more attempts. While FEU won the first quarter, its shooting percentage may have  started to go down in the second period. Also , while both teams were about even in terms of misses from the FTs , the fact that Ateneo were given more FTs gave them plus 17 FT points from FEU’s plus 9 fouls! 

Bottomline: FEU missed so many shots!

It is obvious , too, that Ateneo had more rebounds mostly from its plus 13 in defensive rebounds probably indicating that FEU had  less second chance points. While FEU had a plus 7 in offensive rebounds this translated to a plus 20 in FG attempts but a lower shooting percentage (40%). The fact that Ateneo had a better shooting percentage may  indicate there was less need for offensive rebounds since they were making their  shots  anyway! On the other hand, Ateneo’s  advantage in defensive rebounds surely stifled FEU’s offensive game . Certainly , FEU players  just weren’t making their shots or taking bad shots and,  worse , had a hard time grabbing back Ateneo's missed shots from the other end !

Bottomline: Ateneo controlled the boards!

To be sure, Ateneo  was plus 3 in TOs indicating a chaotic offense probably in the first period to early in the second quarter when they trailed by as much as 10 points .FEU may have committed more TOs going in the latter part of the second quarter and in the second half thus failing to score more points since Ateneo was able to  tie the game at the end of the half and blew the game wide open in the closing half. 

FEU was plus 1 in assists although the advantage may have come from its superb first quarter game and slackened in the latter part when Ateneo rallied in the second and poured it on in the second half! Arguably, Ateneo’s game improved as the game progressed validating Coach Norman’s analysis that they were able to solve FEU’s pick & roll and pick & pop game beginning the second period.

Bottomline: Ateneo took good care of the ball and played better team ball as the game progressed .

Now , I think what really hurt FEU the most is the fact that they gave away plus 9 in fouls allowing 16 more FT attempts and a plus 17 BIG points for Ateneo in FTs made! Note that, and here's probably the big plus - Ateneo won by 18 points!

Bottomline: FEU was too over eager or probably too aggressive , at least from the points of view of the refs.

So , what must FEU improve on in Game 2?

Shoot better probably taking more high percentage shots or inside the shaded lane. 

Grab those rebounds to limit Ateneo's ball possession and stifle its running game. 

Play tougher defensively but limit their fouls! Play perfect team basketball  and not depend on who's "hot"! 

And, above all don't just play good basketball in the first quarter-after all,  the game  is played for 40 minutes!

As for Ateneo, continue what they've been doing well. Find the open man .Share the ball better.Limit TOs.

Now , I am be wrong because I'm just an ordinary kibitzer so don't believe everything I  say...