Ateneo proved it can win sans stars

MANILA, Philippines - Ateneo’s conquest of the UAAP Season 73 men’s basketball tourney at the expense of longtime leader Far Eastern U showed that a team can climb the heights of success even without an explosive, dominant player for an anchor.

Try to identify the Blue Eagle who took the cudgels for the three-peat champs all year long and chances are you won’t come up with a single name.

Erik Salamat, the most senior of the lot, shone in some of AdMU’s win while Ryan Buenafe made a killing in some other W’s, including a dagger triple in their title-clinching 65-62 win over the Tams in Game 2 last Thursday.

Taking turns with them were diminutive Emman Monfort who stood tallest in a couple or so; Kirk Long, who delivered the lethal blows in some; Nico Salva, who sparkled in a few of the wins; and Justin Chua, who asserted his presence in different occasions.

“Nobody really expected us to win because we didn’t have a dominant player,” said Ateneo coach Norman Black, who plugged a huge hold left by 2009 Finals MVP Rabeh Al-Hussaini, as well as defensive whiz Noy Baclao and clutch shooter Jai Reyes in this campaign.

“It’s truly a team effort this year, the players showed a lot of teamwork and unselfishness,” added Black.

To illustrate how balanced AdMU’s attack was, no one managed to pile up enough statistical points to land in the Mythical 5. Salamat (11.3 ppg, 4.1 apg, 1.9 spg) was good for seventh with 48.857 SPs while Long and Chua ranked joint 12th with 44.000 SPs and Salva and Buenafe shared 14th with 42.785 SPs.

Black said the players sacrificed individual honor for team glory. “I think the players were really concentrated on trying to get the big one, which was the championship,” he said.

“Each of us served as the leader for the team, that had been the situation from the start. So for me, each and everyone of us are MVPs,” said Salamat.

“Our mindset was always set on helping the team win, points were just a bonus for us. It didn’t matter who the highest pointer was as long as we won,” said Buenafe, who was adjudged MVP of the finals.

As a team, the Eagles were the league’s leader in assists with an average of 16.7 entering the finals, as well as best off the breaks with 12.3 points an outing.

Of course, Ateneo’s dreaded defense was in full display throughout, choking opponents to 62.4 points an outing through the Final Four. In the finals, they put the cuffs on top offensive team FEU, which struggled with 55.5 points in two games from a whopping average of 75 prior to the championship.

“Defense has been our calling card, it’s what made us successful the last three years,” said Black.