1) JV Casio. I know JV Casio topscored for La Salle with 20 pts but his shooting percentage hovered around 30% (I think he shot something like 7-24). When your leading scorer is throwing up bricks (and JV missed some extremely open shots, especially from 3 point range), you find yourself relying on other people who aren't used to being a focal point of the offense for long stetches. Maierhofer had a really efficient game, scoring 16pts and cornering 14 rebounds but we all know that where JV goes, La Salle goes.
2) Too many blown easy shots. The ring simply hated anything green last Sunday. I guarantee you, you will never see another game as frustrating for the Archers as Game 1 of the UAAP Finals. How many times this season did Casio miss layups after a great move? Less than the number of times he missed last Sunday. Maierhofer should have had at least 4 more buckets on putbacks that rolled around the ring before droppping into the hands of an Atenean defender. Everywhere I looked, there were Archers missing lay ups, putbacks, even short jumpers...Had they made those, they would have led from the first quarter onward.
3) The Lost Guards. Where the hell were Malabes, Atkins and Revilla? With Chris Tiu out on fouls, La Salle had an opportunity to run away with the game. Instead, La Salle's three guards were outplayed by Jai Reyes...alone (and Jai Reyes isn't exactly what you would call a dominant guard). At times, it felt like a 4 on 5 game, with the La Salle guards just standing around, waiting to do the next thing on this list.
4) Too many unnecessary (and stupid) fouls. Sure, the La Salle press forced Ateneo into 15 turnovers in the first half alone (which is already Ateneo's average in a game). But for every time the Archers forced a turnover, there where 2 other times when they fouled an Atenean who was worlds away from making a play. Just how bad was it? La Salle was in the penalty midway through the first and second quarters. In the third quarter, La Salle was in the penalty after just three minutes! Taking into consideration the fact that each team had 24seconds, this means La Salle fouled Ateneo every time they took the ball downcourt. And these weren't fouls on drives, postups or slashing plays. These were fouls on ball carriers who weren't even in the position to initiate a play. These bonehead plays were responsible for a lot of Ateneo points, which, if we subrtract them from the total score, would have probably given La Salle a comfortable lead.
5) Cold outside shooting. We've talked about Casio's 30% shooting percentage and the unfortunate shrinking of the ring for post players. We compound it with the fact that, midway through the fourth quarter, La Salle has shot just 2-17 from beyond the 3 point line. That's barely 15%! If you can't hit from outside, don't keep hoisting it up. Charge in and try to get an easier shot. At the very least, try to get a foul. But the La Salle ineefectiveness from rainbow land was so evident that the Ateneo big men (and even their small men) just set up camp in the painted area and waited for rebounds off La Salle misses.
Fortunately for La Salle, none of these factors are permanent. Casio can regain his shooting touch. Maierhofer, Barua and Mangahas can start hitting from the inside. Malabes, Atkins and Revilla can be big factors on defense. The question is, can they be all these in time for Game 2?
