2015 UAAP: Ateneo Observations

Ateneo has just completed it's second game, a 24 point win over Adamson to match a 24 point loss to FEU.  While the outcomes of the two games were very different, what they showed about the team has been consistent.

• Ateneo is an offense oriented team.  Consistent with Bo Perasol's coaching style, which is also what he did with Coca Cola/ Powerade in the PBA, his teams are designed around the offense, and more specifically, a perimeter oriented offense.  Defense is something they play while waiting to get the ball again for offense.
• Bigs are there for rebounding and defensive rotations.  They score off drop passes and ball movement caused by penetration of the small players.  Post ups on offense occur occasionally for diversity purposes and results generated from there are a bonus.
• Player rotation is determined by what they want to do on offense.  Defensive balance is sacrificed for offensive balance.  That results in a hesitation to field two regular bigs at the same time, specially post up bigs.  For that reason, Ikeh and Gotladera will back-up each other and will rarely, if ever, play together because neither has an outside shot.  One reason for Gwynne Capacio getting more playing time this year is that he plays as a stretch 4 and also a mobile big man to complement the post bound offense of Ikeh and Gotladera.
• We do not have a defensively gifted front line.  Ikeh is best in a sweeper role as a ring protector, as is Babilonia.  But they have difficulty playing defense on their own man.  Our best post defender is Gotladera who can battle against power playing bigs and can play good position defense.  But he is not much help as the defensive anchor because he is not a threat to block shots.
• Ateneo will compete when their offense is clicking but will risk being blown out when they are cold because the team's defense cannot hold the opponents down. 

As an offensive oriented team, Ateneo has to improve the quality of the offense to an elite level if this will have to offset poor defense.  Our perimeter shooters have to be automatic when left open and ball movement has to be properly placed and efficiently delivered.  Given the quality of defense, this team will need to create an advantage by hitting threes against their opponents twos.

When playing defense, our wings need to be able to exert pressure on the ball and playing perimeter defense.  They must be able to cause turnovers before the opponent can get settled into their post offense.  In the Adamson game, an offensively limited big like Pape Sarr dominated inside on offense in the first half because we couldn't defend him in the post.  In the second half, he was limited because the defense was able to contain he ball on the perimeter and they were not able to set him up for the same post plays he had in the first half.  The guards absolutely cannot afford to be beaten off the dribble when Ikeh is not in the game.  They do not need to steal the ball everytime, but they need to ensure that their man does not beat them off the dribble.

Last year showed that a good offensive team can dominate the eliminations, but it will not be sufficient to win the championship.  If Ateneo's offense continues to improve and find its rhythm, the team can still do well in the eliminations, but they will have to find a defensive identity or find something that it does well on defense to avoid suffering the same end as last year.