December 30, 2007 : BATCH 83 WINS OVER BATCH 82 , 52 – 42.
In an exciting & hotly-contested exhibition game, Ateneo de Naga High School Class of 1983 was victorious over the Ateneo de Naga High School Class of 1982. The basketball game was part of the exhibition series played at the old Ateneo de Naga gym last December 30, 2007 during the Alumni Homecoming festivities sponsored by Batch 82.
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Present ready to do battle for Batch 1983 on the court were :
# 1 Noel Aureus # 2 Ruben Fajardo
# 5 Vic de Lima # 6 Ric Lozano
# 7 Ed Balcueva # 8 Butch Concon
# 9 Gerry Abainza # 10 Raoul Herras
# 12 Joseph Dychinco # 13 Joseph Dimabayao
# 17 Greg Balatan # 20 Joel Tresvalles
# 33 Rokiks Barrosa # 34 Bobby Castilla
# 69 Gil Doblon # 83 Noel Guevarra
On hand to provide logistical, pictorial and managerial support to the Batch 83 basketball team were Jun Cereno, Pidong delos Santos, Eric Zaens, Lizardo Junio, Jun Alferez, Allen Tolledo, Mike Reburiano, Lino Boncodin, Gil Guerrero, Epok Dacudao, Art Puncia and Jobel Belarmino.
Enthusiastic cheering squad for Batch 83 included families of Dychinco, Dimabayao, Lozano, Abainza and Doblon , plus a Colegio Sta Isabel Batch 1983 contingent led by Bitang Llacer.
The final score showed a Batch 83 victory to the tune of 52 – 42. The keys to victory are the following:
Play Hard.
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From the start, Batch 83 had its game face on. The opening minutes saw Batch 83 racing to an 8-0 salvo and then to a 22-8 lead by the end of the first quarter. The starting five of Dimabayao, Lozano, Dychinco, Castilla and Barrosa was simply overwhelming. No player typified more this hard-working attitude than Ric Lozano who time and again raced for fastbreak drives. It seemed Ric had a 25-year itch that was finally scratched. Never mind that he finished the game injured.
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The back-up frontline of Abainza, Balatan, Herras and Fajardo came in and the hard-working play inside continued. Concon, Balcueva, Aureus, Guevarra and Tresvalles contained the perimeter players of Batch 82 in the 1st quarter.
Hard work results in good luck for Batch 83. Seldom-used playing coach de Lima entered the fray and immediately let loose a rainbow shot from the top of the key resulting in a tongue-waving 3 pointer.
Another hard-working player was Tresvalles who was relentless in pressuring the ball handlers of Batch 82. So much so that in an inbounds play, a Batch 82 player got to inadvertently hit him in the chest which resulted in Tresvalles momentarily being literally breathless and senseless. After regaining his senses on the bench, Tresvalles bravado response was “Hain ang sigarilyo ko?”
Play Together.
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The second and third quarters was a different story as Batch 82 outscored Batch 83 to level the score at 38 all by the end of the 3rd period. Batch 82 was led by Bautista inside and Tino & Santos with the outside shots falling. Despite the comeback of Batch 82, the Batch 83 players did not resort to blaming each other but instead focused on teamwork.
A big help to the coaching staff were Fajardo and Balcueva who pointed out that Batch 82 was trying to bait Dychinco into foul trouble. With the scheme exposed, Batch 83 rested Dychinco and inserted Balatan to do the dirty work.
Play Smart.
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At the start of the last quarter, a move was made which showed the basketball smarts of Batch 83. Star player Dychinco was moved to shooting guard from the small forward position. This move reaped immediate dividends for the team as it allowed Dychinco to regain his deadly shooting touch. While in the first 3 quarters, Dychinco was 0-5 from the 3 point range, the 4th quarter saw him shoot 3-3 from rainbow territory. Plus, at the 2-guard spot, he was free to roam the perimeter which produced a lot of steals for Batch 83.
Another smart ploy made in the clutch period was the fielding in, at the 4-minute mark, of the well-rested defensive stopper Doblon who shadowed Batch 82 top gunner Santos (3-4 from the 3 point range in the first 3 quarters). Let the record show that Santos never got to make an attempt at the basketball goal while Doblon was on the court.
With the insertion of Doblon, the outcome of the game was never in doubt. As Herras exclaimed, “It’s over.”
After the game, both Batch 82 and Batch 83 showed great sportsmanship by having pictures taken in the spirit of camaraderie.
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