10

10 was the number Dennis Rodman wore during his Bad Boys days. He was a defensive demon as well a monster on rebounds.

10 was the deficit yesterday before someone jump-started the whole team.

10 is the jersey number that someone wore.

Everything would not have been possible without JP Erram. Yes, make no mistake, JP Erram played big when it all mattered most. And no, this isn’t the first time, this is his second straight Finals appearance and he played not meaningful, but significant minutes.

As much as the hullabaloo regarding El Tres Aguilas, this is still a team that relies on every single player down that bench. As much as El Tres Aguilas have been an offensive juggernaut, they would not have made it this far with players who played their role to the hilt. The likes of our Captains: Kirk, Bacon, then there’s Emman, Zags, Chua and even if I am an Oping fan (I would want for the guy to break out), Erram has solidified his presence.

After hitting their first three field goals, Ateneo suddenly groped for form in the latter stages of the first quarter and the early second canto. Our big guys were reluctant to get out on the picks to blitz the FEU guards fearing Carl Cruz and Aldrech Ramos might sneak inside. Romeo feasted on that, much to my dismay. Enter JP Erram. Here we got an agile big man, light on his feet, quick on his wits. Cris Tolomia (who from now on I shall call “Smooth”) thought he was in a free lane for a lay-up. Not missing a beat, Erram swooped from the three-point line where his man was to deny Smooth a deuce emphatically. The rest as they say was history.

As much as praise needs to be given to El Tres Aguilas, combining for a monstrous 63-point output, especially that perfect game of Nico Salva (going 8/8 on field goals and 8/8 from the line), there’s no bigger praise than to that surprise package called Erram. Yes, Erram was my player of the day. He reminded me of the relentlessness and energy on defense by a certain President we honor by creating this blog.

But in no discredit to the other Eagles, they all did a good job of being composed and letting the game come to them. No one forced shots unless there really was no option, yes even Magic did not force his shots. 

Emman Monfort again was a thorn to RR Garcia. Really, how come other guards who are supposedly better than Emman (Lester Alvarez, LA Revilla, etc.) can’t guard this demon of an MVP? I’m sure RR Garcia would wish for the day to come when Emman doesn’t face him down the other end of the court.

Now, let’s get to our 5 For the Blue and White. Guys who performed for the team when it mattered most. The 5 who starred in yesterday’s game is:

• Nico Salva – Again, this “third” banana went nuts and made FEU pay for concentrating to much on Greg Slaughter. 8/8 from the field and from the line plus that throw-down on the break. Nothing more could get any better than that. Oh hark, he’s way tougher than Chris Bosh by the way. LOL

• JP Erram – Sure his stat line read 4 points, 2 rebounds and a block. But that block could’nt have been more bigger since this woke up the team and the crowd. That chase-down may be a nightmare now for Cris Tolomia, who we’re sure will be looking from over his shoulder on lay-ups from now on. I’m relying on you to wow me again Mr. Erram.

• Kiefer Ravena – Showing that this is the stage where he excels the most, Kiefer did strut his stuff as if this were a Finals game in the juniors. 17 points, 5 boards, 4 dimes and 2 steals was the stat-line. Now, anyone else wanna say Phantom?

•  Emman Monfort – The offense (11 points) was a bonus. The real bonus here is the defense he played on the MVP (no, Bobby Ray Parks is not an MVP). 6 points fellas. 6 points was all RR Garcia scored. Here’s to your swan song Mr. Monfort. You are definitely ingrained in Blue Eagle lore.

•  Greg Slaughter – Everyone knows that I’ve been crowing for 5 throw-downs. Three ain’t that bad. The alley-oop still is dreamy big fella, I never thought you’d make it but that one basically destroyed FEU’s heart. Nice game big fella. You don’t have to score 20+ and grab 15+ rebounds. We’re a team and we help each other out. Not like Bobby Ray.

P.S.

- Wasn’t able to watch live and had to go through the pains of hearing Boom and TJ call games. Can we have Sir Sev back please? Studio 23 make it happen!!!

- RR and Aldrech gotta do better than that.

- If trends follow, we’re in for a grinder on Tuesday. People will say no more Buenafe but hey, we got Ravena. Rook’s absolutely clutch.

- 6th man, you’ve outdid yourselves this time. But i still want more. CHEER UNTIL YOU ARE HOARSE!  

By mr. Orange