UAAP Season 74 Play of the Year

UAAP S74 - Kiefer Ravena's No-Look Pass for Nico... by coldbluestar

Battle of Katipunan 2011 Edition

It brings great pride and honor whenever UP and Ateneo take the spotlight at any stage. Coming from both schools, I can't deny how proud I am to be an alumnus of arguably the top two schools in the country.

When it comes to basketball, I've been a big fan of the Blue and White since I was probably 6 years old. Watching UAAP games isn't something new to me so WIN or LOSE, I'll be right there cheering for the Hail Mary Squad. So please don't be surprised if you see biased comments on this blog. Sometimes I get carried away!

Now that I'm also part of the Maroon side of things, I had to be creative. So for the Battle of Katipunan, I wore my PE uniform from way back in High School that was maroon! :P Cool huh?

Watching a game between these two schools can be stressful. Don't know who to cheer for. Whenever Ateneo executes oh so flawlessly, can't help but be proud! Whenever the Maroons fight hard and catch up with the lead, can't help but hope for the best! Nevertheless I observed the game a lot (77-57 for Ateneo) and here are my thoughts:

photo from goateneo.com

1. Ateneo is on top but the team still has long ways to go.

The Eagles boasts of the best combination of rookies, transferees and holdovers in years. A lot of attention has been given to Kiefer Ravena and Greg Slaughter but analysts actually highlight the fact that the trio of Salva, Long and Monfort has been as formidable as any Big Three in the league - averaging 12-10-8 ppg respectively. In this particular game, all five starters had double figure scoring - with the 17-year old Ravena top scoring for the game with 15 points.

Yes, Ateneo definitely showed that its a class of its own - weathering the Diliman explosion early in the game. Ateneo showed a lot of discipline in playing defense and being organized on offense. Screens, decoys, re-posts - they did it almost mechanically.

But had the game been against top caliber team, Ateneo would have had a hard time winning. Why? Because for one, the bench hasn't been performing - even choking at times. Whenever Coach Norman cleared the starters off the floor, it takes a lot of time for Ateneo's 2nd stringers to settle in as a line up. Erram/Chua + Oping + Bacon + Gonzaga + Tiongson - not bad huh? And two, Kiefer and Greg still need to improve. They have not shown their true potential as of yet.

The Blue Eagles have yet to show their Championship form.

2. The UP Fighting Maroons isn't all about Mike Silungan

You guys might think that this is a knock on Mike - whose potential UP is banking on. This guy shot the lights out when he played in the summer leagues a year ago. But now, the team has a solid point guard in former Eaglet Mike Gamboa, Super Soph Jett Manuel and transferee Jelo Montecastro. Combine this with Mbah's presence inside and the leadership of Captain Miggy Maniego (who's actually a former classmate back in Ateneo Grade School), and we've got ourselves a solid team.

I'm not saying that his team is contending for a Final Four slot. I hate to say it but the Fighting Maroons need to mature under a system. It sounds like a oft-used excuse - considering the fact that the Woody Co-Martin Reyes-Migs De Asis era ended with a 0-14 season. But then again, they had 3 or 4 coaches in a span of 5 seasons.

This is why these Maroons need to buy into Ricky Dandan's system and flourish as a team. What I see is they're having a hard time executing plays and end up playing isolation. A lot of forced shots and mishandled possessions.

I'm projecting a late season run for these Diliman boys. A 4-10 record is pretty much possible. UP fight!

3. Greg is like pre-championship Pau Gasol

Tall. Skillful. but very SOFT.

I'm saying this because I don't want him to end up like EJ Feihl - who was more known for dominating just because of his height. Greg has a lot of upside but if there is one thing that he needs to improve on - its on toughness. Even if he scored 14 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, he didn't dominate. He freakin' shoots like a lady. He was even blocked by Mbah during the first quarter.

On the defensive end, he was blocking and changing shots here and there but he wasn't as active. He was letting small guys blow by him for easy fastbreak layups. Again, he didn't really dominate per se.

Now I know why he didn't end up on the final roster of Smart Gilas despite his size.

Good thing is he's buying into Norman Black's system - where the team concept is heavily preached. It's not like the team dumps the ball to Greg then let's see what happens. You'll see how he looks for the right time to post up, shoot, pass or even dribble.

I'm just waiting for this guy to peak. Wait for him to run up and down the floor just like Rabeh. He finishes well. There's a reason why other teams envy how Ateneo develops their big men.

4. The effects of two 0-14 seasons in 4 years is just bad for any team

I like the fact that the Maroons have been playing their hearts out every single game. I see the effort and determination. One thing is that when the team is pounded by a superior squad, sometimes you can see some signs of discouragement.

What's worse is that fans have tagged the team as perennial bottom-dwellers. When UP led the game early on, people were jumping up and down as if the team has won. Some fans even took pictures of the scoreboard - because they all thought it would not happen after a long time and Ateneo will catch up sooner or later.

It's just sad but true. I'm hoping that the Fighting Maroons break out of this slump - similar to how NU is now tagged as the league's darkhorse.

5. There's a lot of respect between UP and Ateneo

There's a reason why games between these two schools is called the Battle of Katipunan. Despite the obvious gap in basketball, their games are always easy to market and well-attended. For one, there's that age-old rivalry in terms of academics. Yeah, you can always debate which school is better and all that. Most of them will say it's UP but I'd beg to disagree as both schools are pretty much top-caliber and has their own strengths and weaknesses.

Just in case you didn't notice, a lot of Eaglets have ended up playing for the Maroons. Mike Gamboa used to rule the Juniors division with Bacon Austria. Paolo Romero used to shine along side Kiefer and Von Pessumal. Martin Pascual, I heard, came from the AHS Prada team. Mikee Reyes and Miggy Maniego used to strut it out for the AGS basketball teams. *got these facts straightened out from http://hoopnut.blogspot.com/2011/07/games-that-play-us-first-five.html *

For some reason, UP and Ateneo games are always interesting. Best of luck to both teams!

One Big Fight! UP Fight!

Setting expectations for the Blue Eagles

This season will serve as a banner year for the Ateneo Blue Eagles. Coming in as 3-peat champions, there is no doubt in my mind that this team is expected once again to contend. More than that, the team boasts of perhaps the most sought after class of rookies. Make no mistake about it, the team is coming back with TONS of expectations from the school, the rest of the league and even the whole basketball community but do keep in mind that despite all these HYPE, there are things that everyone should consider coming into this season:

1. With so many new players and technically only Eric Salamat and Jumbo Escueta leaving the team, incorporating these new players into Coach Norman's system may take time. Only Greg and Kiefer have played significant minutes in the summer leagues among the 5 newcomers. Expect Coach Norman to seldom use the Tallo + Capacio + Pessumal triumverate this year.

2. Between Greg and Kiefer, the phenom seems to have already found his role smoothly. Greg is just HUGE but right now there seems to be some uneasiness with him in the fold - especially on offense. Versus DLSU, Greg overwhelmed 6'8 Van Opstal on the boards and on defense but the Ateneo offense couldn't get its flow when he was down under. Expect him to dominate on the boards and on defense this year. Other than that, don't expect him scoring 30+ points per game just because he's a 7-footer.

3. Seems like Finals MVP Ryan Buenafe and Beda Boy Art Dela Cruz won't be seeing action at all this season. Or maybe never. That's a statement I'd rather not speculate on because of the rumors but yeah, expect these two guys not to appear on this year's roster and that gives us a big hole at the 3 position. Captain Bacon Austria is expected to be on the floor more often and Nico Salva just might spend more time at the three position.

4. Ryan Buenafe was Ateneo's "finisher" last year. Who'll clean the Blue Eagles mess or basically bail them out whenever necessary? Who's going to be Dirk? HAHA! Expect Nico Salva and Kiefer to fill in for this. That pick-and-roll between them will be deadly and unpredictable.

5. Lastly, despite all these "Ateneo domination" proclamations, expect this year's season to be even more competitive than last season. Expect UP to steal some games versus top-caliber teams. Expect NU to make the final four. Finally, expect FEU to top the eliminations with Ateneo following - just like last year. Let me know if this doesn't happen.

So here we are again. It's June and we're a month away from UAAP's opening day. Coming from the blue side, yeah, I see Ateneo as my own sentimental favorites. But wait, I see FEU dominating the year once again.

Predictions

Final Team Standings

1) FEU

2) Ateneo

3) NU

4) Adamson

5) DLSU

6) UST

7) UP

8) UE

Final Four

FEU in 2.

Ateneo in 1.

Finals

Ateneo in 3.

I'm no expert but this is the way I see it.

One big fight!!!