Speaking Up on the Japeth Aguilar Controversy

For those of you living under a rock and have heard nothing about the raging controversy about Japeth Aguilar, here's a quick recap of things. Aguilar returned to the country to play for the national team after training with Smart Gilas in the US. Upon his arrival, he participated in training with the all-pro Powerade Team Pilipinas preparing for the FIBA-Asia tournament in Tianjin. During that period, he also entered the PBA draft and was selected by Burger King first overall. He was selected to the Powerade team, and played sparingly in a disappointing campaign in Tianjin. Back in the Philippines, he rejected Burger King's contract offer and expressed desire to play exclusively for Smart Gilas instead.

Burger King team manager and PBA chairman Lito Alvarez threatened a lifetime ban on Aguilar, disallowing him to play in the PBA. There was a short ceasefire, with both sides apparently looking over the rules to see what moves were available to them.

But now, both sides are once again all over the news. Aguilar's representative, Ronnie Nathanielsz, has claimed that Aguilar had an epiphany in Tianjin, and that he realized he wanted to serve the country further by playing for Gilas. This was something they merely wanted to ensure because "the PBA’s rules state that a player cannot be loaned to the national team or anywhere when the season is in progress? Who are we to stop a young man from serving his country?"

Alvarez, meanwhile, has shifted the pressure from the Aguilar camp to the SBP. The professional league has threatened to revisit the rules to see what role they have in the formation of the national team. Apparently, as Fire Quinito pointed out in a recent post, the SBP by-laws authorizes the representatives of the professional sector (read: PBA) to handle the national team. In other words, if the PBA flexes its authority, there might not even be a Smart Gilas developmental team to speak of.

And the word war has even invaded the social networking site Twitter. Journalist Rey Joble reported: "After the Japeth Aguilar incident, the PBA is now ready to rock the boat of the SBP." SBP executive director Noli Eala, meanwhile, posted: "If Japeth had to leave PBA for an NBA contract say with the Lakers, do you think he’ll get the same flak? Why the big issue if it’s RP team?"

To which I reply: can't we all get along?

Look, everybody knows Aguilar made a mistake. Maybe if Powerade qualified for the Fiba World Championships, Aguilar would have been content with his stint on the national team. But with the limited exposure he received in Tianjin, can you blame him if he wants a larger role with Team Pilipinas? It's no secret that he returned to the country to play for the national team.

And that thing about entering the draft? Yes, it was wrong. I've been an advocate of him joining Smart Gilas from the very beginning. If that meant being left off the Powerade squad, so be it. Gilas was the team with the program and the direction, anyway. He never should have entered the draft if he knew that he had no plans of joining the team that drafted him. This was a professional team, a business, that was investing a huge asset - the first pick of the draft - on Aguilar. Whichever side of the fence you sit on, you have to admit, this move was a cruel.

But the way the PBA is dealing with it? They've been threatening a lifetime ban that does not even have basis on their own rule book. They want to rely on a board resolution to make the sanction official. And by board decision, that means they want to make the rules up as they go along. That stand has softened (probably because they realized how petty the PBA has looked with their threats) but they're now pressuring the SBP to make Japeth honor his commitment to the PBA.

But what commitment are they referring to? Did Japeth sign anything when he joined the draft that says anything about this situation? Bring it out and show it. Otherwise, there was never any commitment to speak of. That's where contracts come in, and Aguilar's refusal to sign one is what started this whole thing to begin with.

In the NBA, there's an easy answer to all this. It's called the rules. When a player, usually a Euro, refuses to sign with an NBA franchise, there are two options. The first is to let him stay in Europe for the rest of his career, because the franchise will always hold the rights to the player they drafted. The second is simply to trade the player. Don't want to waste your investment? Trade him to another team for equal parts. It would be difficult to get equal value, of course, when other teams know you HAVE to get rid of him. Still, it's better to get a couple of pieces back than to get nothing at all, right?

If Aguilar ever wants to play in the PBA, Burger King will always own his rights. That's leverage on their part. Or they can always ship him off to another team for spare parts and money like they did with Cyrus Baguio and Arwind Santos. I'm sure some other franchise will think he's worth the trouble.

Look, Japeth made a bad decision, but you have to admit that the way he's sticking to his guns is admirable. This is for the national team, after all. Burger King says they want to loan Japeth to Gilas anyway but it seems like Aguilar wants full, 100% commitment to flag and country. Alvarez doesn't understand why Aguilar would pass up a max rookie contract from BK on top of the contract he'll likely get from Gilas.

Simple answer: this isn't about money.

Nor is it about playing time. Yeng Guiao has taken to calling Japeth "superficial and shallow" in response to rumors that this is about Guiao benching him in Tianjin. But take a look at the situation that Aguilar wants: he wants to take less money to play for a team that already has the 6'11 CJ Giles. How much more playing time does Aguilar expect to get at Gilas that he wouldn't get from Burger King, where he will be backed up by Beau Belga and JR Quinahan?

He wants to sign exclusively with Gilas to ensure that BK practices will not get in the way of Gilas training sessions. He wants to make sure that if Gilas participates in the upcoming PBA conference, he won't be playing on the opposite side. He wants the full Toroman experience - and however way you look at that, it's good for Philippine basketball.

Philippine basketball is not the PBA. If Japeth was able to make it to the NBA, there is no benefit for the PBA. But that's good for Philippine basketball, too. No doubt, the PBA is the biggest stakeholder in Philippine basketball - but sometimes, you have to admit some things are bigger than just you or me.

I fully understand the PBA wanting to protect its interests. If they let Aguilar get away unscathed from this, what's to stop future draft picks from refusing to sign with team just to get themselves traded? But if they aren't happy with the rules, change them. Japeth might get away with the stunt but make sure no one else will in the future.

The NBA has learned to deal with this problem, without resorting to petty threats.

I'm sure there's a win-win way to solve this. Or at least a viable compromise that all parties can live with. Get Japeth in a Gilas uni, and give BK every right to him if he ever decides to turn pro. If the Whoppers can't live with that, have the Whoppers trade him. I'm sure San Miguel, with a loaded lineup, would love to trade say, Sam Eman or rookie JR Sena plus a boatload of cash for the rights to Aguilar.

Japeth admitted he made the mistake of realizing what team he wanted play for a couple weeks too late. But we all know two wrongs don't make a right. If the Aguilar camp found a loophole in the PBA rulebook, there is no reason not to accept it. Let's not try to destroy everything Philippine basketball has gained since the BAP was replaced, just so we can protect the interests of one party.

Mr Alvarez, let him walk and let him live his Team Pilipinas dream. If he ever decides to come back, he's still coming back to you and your franchise.

And don't we all share in that very same dream, anyway?

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UAAP in Advance: UE Red Warriors

I've been criticizing this team all season long because of UE coach Lawrence Chongson's so-called "free-flowing offense" which has been described as "allowing players to make decisions on the floor." The UAAP broadcasters have spoken often about this free-flowing system, but by Chongson's own definition, isn't it plainly and simply no system at all. Dressing it up wth pretty words and fancy titles doesn't change the fact that the players are having to carry the offense because no strong system is in place to help them get buckets.

Their offense for much of the year has been to get the ball to Paul Lee, who's bound to create something with his awesome penetration. He usually drives and drops off to either Pari Llagas or Elmer Espiritu. But as I've pointed out before, this strategy makes it so difficult for perimeter guys like Lee and Val Acuna, who have had to work hard for their shots. Both guys have proven over and over how they can torch defenses with their shooting, but they remain with horrible shooting percentages because for the most part, the defense forces them into bad shots or turnovers. Boy, wouldn't an offensive system built to make things easier for your key guys come in handy right about now?

Well, Chongson will be in no rush to create a system because apparently, the Red Warriors are talented enough to make a no-system offense work. They're one of only four elite offensive teams (coincidentally, the likely Final Four) that are well above the league average in Offensive Efficiency. They rank 4th in the league with a 93.78 mark, five points clear of the average, but also around 4-5 points behind top teams FEU and Ateneo.

The more immediate concern is their defense, where they are actually below the league average. Their 89.27 Defensive Efficiency is 5th in the UAAP, most comparable to UP's 89.62 (6th). And if you know anything about UAAP basketball, you know that being compared to the Fighting Maroons on the defensive end is not exactly a compliment. In fact, the Red Warriors are about equally as close to #7 NU as they are to #4 FEU on defense.

On offense, they rank pretty high on the list mainly because of their turnover rate. This team knows how to take care of the ball. Or rather, Lee knows how to take care of the ball. Like I said, a lot of their possessions involve him dumping the ball down low to a big guy. Not a lot of chances to take the ball away if there aren't a lot of passing. Lee averages 3.9 TOs a game, but with the amount of possessions that have his hand on it, that's probably not too bad a figure. On most other metrics, they've been fairly average.

On defense, they allow the 2nd lowest eFG% and TS% behind #1 Ateneo. However, they don't allow a percentage anywhere close to as low as the Blue Eagles do. They're bunched together with FEU, UP, DLSU and Adamson, separated by about a single percentage point. Ateneo holds eFG% down about 4 and a half percentage points less. The fact that the Red Warriors aren't particularly good at rebounding and preventing second chance opportunities only make things worse for them. However, their biggest problem is that they don't force enough turnovers. Those teams that allow a similar shooting percentage are all able to force mistakes at a significantly better rate than UE.

The UE offense has been getting by mostly on the talent of their players. I think that with the right offensive system, this team can get even better on offense. In fact, they might be the most talented offensive team in the league. If you saw that late game rally they had against Ateneo in their second round matchup, you'd have to agree. This team actually reminds me of the post-Ben Wallace, pre-Iverson Detroit Pistons team on the offensive end. Like the Pistons, they don't have a great back-to-the-basket scorer. Acuna is similar to Rip Hamilton, in that he can be a great shooter but he isn't great at creating his own shot. Rip benefits from a system that gives him a lot of screens to free him up for good shots. Acuna, or even Lee, could benefit from something like that. Espiritu is a lot like Rasheed Wallace in that he prefers midrange fadeaways (that are surprisingly effective - not to mention impossible to block) over post moves despite their size and athleticism. Llagas, too, is better when he gets the ball facing the basket rather than with his back to it. He's kind of like the Antonio McDyess of the team that he gets overlooked but is pretty effective and makes the team a lot better.

I think this team is talented enough to be much better than they are on the offensive end. In fact, when they recently beat the favored FEU Tamaraws, they did it more by being a devastating force on offense (a 113.69 Offensive Efficiency on .579 EFG% and .647 TS%) rather than being decent on defense.

Right now, they're a clear #3 in the UAAP. Not quite at par with the Ateneos and FEUs but much better than rest of the field. This is probably the only team capable of crashing the Finals party by scoring an upset over the two favorites. But maybe, only if they get much much better on offense.

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UAAP in Advance: FEU Tamaraws

If there's one team that benefited the most out of the Smart Gilas program, it has to be the FEU Tamaraws. This team provided the most players to train (and compete with) the SBP-backed developmental team of coach Rajko Toroman over the offseason. Captain JR Cawaling, the explosive Andy Barroca and the ever-reliable Aldrech Ramos have all shown marked improvement in their games and act as the core of this very dangerous FEU squad. But the Smart Gilas boys only begin to tell the story for the Tams.

Sure, Barroca and Ramos have emerged as candidates for MVP (alongside Smart Gilas teammates Dylan Ababou of UST and Rabeh Al-Husseini of Ateneo) but the Tams don't even need big games from those two night-in, night-out. They have two of the most UAAP-ready rookies ever, in RR Garcia and Pipo Noundou, both of whom have contributed big from day one. They also have talented veteran holdovers from last year like Reil Cervantes and Paul Sanga. Those guys have been so good that they've relegated crafty vet Jens Knuttel to a garbage time role.

And the stats? They speak for themselves. An Offensive Rating of 98.01 that tops the whole league, and a respectable Defensive Efficiency of 86.78; good enough for 4th. The defense has tapered off a little after the 1st round of the season where they were ranked #2 behind DLSU, but the offense - man, that offense is humming.

If you're familiar with Dean Oliver's Four Factors of basketball success, then understand that you're dealing with a basketball team that's a Four Factors dream. On offense, this team is ranked 2nd in both eFG% and TS%, 2nd in turnover rate, 1st in offensive rebound rate and 1st in getting to the foul line. On defense, they allow the 3rd lowest eFG%, rank 3rd in forcing turnovers, 1st in defensive rebounding, and 2nd in keeping opponents off the charity stripe. This is a well-balanced team, factors-wise.

And really, 2nd best shooting team coupled with a #1 ranking on offensive rebounding and it's no surprise they're the best offensive team in the UAAP. I know points per game will tell you the UST Tigers scores 82.9 while FEU ranks 3rd with 74.5 per game. But points per game will not tell you that UST needs around 84 possessions per game to hit that 82.9 while the Tams get their number in only 76. It doesn't tell you that FEU shoots better, and cleans up their mistakes with second chances at a better rate as well. They take care of the ball better and get to the line at a better rate. It doesn't tell you that FEU, plain and simple, is better offensively. Period.

The key for the Tams has been their rebounding. They are the best offensive team because they get second chances. They are near the top of the defense list because they don't allow many second chances for their opponents. That's the bread and butter for this team, and as long as they maintain that advantage, they will be a very tough team to beat. With the way they rebound the ball, they'd have to shoot pretty damn shitty for them to be beat.

But it isn't impossible. UE did that a couple of days back. The Tams grabbed almost half of the rebounds available on the offensive end, an amazing thing to accomplish. However they shot a piss-poor 0.372 eFG% while allowing the Red Warriors to shoot a 0.579 eFG%.

However, no team in the league will bet on the Tams doing that again any time soon. This is undoubtedly the deepest team in the league, and one with the most weapons. This team doesn't even seem like it's playing on all cylinders yet. Barroca and Cawaling, in particular, seem to be holding back. If one can recall, Barroca was able to torch PBA teams (in some Smart Gilas tuneups) and Asian clubs (in a tourney Smart Gilas joined in Jakarta, Indonesia) on a regular basis. If the Finals roll along, and Barroca decides to carry the team on his shoulders, I can't really see any guy on any team in the UAAP who can stop him.

But theoretically, if there is a guy (or a defensive system) who can stop him? You know his team is there to clean it up with second opportunities. And there are enough weapons around him to drive opponents nuts.

The FEU Tamaraws can wear any team down, physically and mentally. The trick will be wearing the right team down at the right time. Like say, the Ateneo Blue Eagles in the UAAP Finals.

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UAAP in Advance: De La Salle Green Archers

Historically, Franz Pumaren and the DLSU Green Archers have been nothing short of legendary. Since they entered the league in 1986, they've had eight championships, 17 Finals appearances and 15 Final Fours in 15 seasons of basketball since the Final Four format was adopted. They've had to sit out one season (and return one championship) because of a recruitment incident, but these figures are nothing short of mind-blowing.

Since Franz Pumaren became head coach in 1998, they've won six championships (one returned), 9 Finals appearances and 10 Final Fours in 10 seasons. He's developed so many PBA players like Renren Ritualo, Mike Cortez, Macmac Cardona, Joseph Yeo, Willy Wilson, TY Tang and the just-drafted Rico Maierhofer. In 10 seasons, Pumaren has never allowed his team to lose three games in a row.

Again, simply mind-blowing.

But Pumaren's biggest contribution to basketball is perhaps the most daunting defensive scheme the Philippine college ranks have ever known. The phrase is enough to send shivers down any past UAAP point guard's spine: the "La Salle Press". This system has been good enough that its pieces have been interchangeable. The personnel does not matter, when DLSU brings out that full court press of Pumaren's, they are suddenly the most difficult team to score on in the UAAP.

This year has been tough on the La Salle faithful. Barring any miracles, the Green Archers look like they'll be missing the postseason for the first time. They've lost four in a row, breaking coach Franz's clean slate. Some basketball experts have said that this team looks lost on both ends of the floor.

And while I'm inclined to agree with that after dismal performances in the second round, I have to say this isn't a fair assessment of how the team's season has been. The defensive system? It's been there most of the season but people tend to miss out on some things when they simply look at general metrics like points allowed per game (where DLSU averaged 67.42 points allowed per game as compared to ADMU and FEU's identical 61.57 points allowed).

I mean this when I say that the DLSU Green Archers were far and away the best defensive team over the course of the 1st half of the season. They posted a Defensive Efficiency of 78.99, at least two full points over the closest competition and 8 points better than the league average. They allowed the 2nd lowest eFG% at 0.406 and forced a turnover on over 1/4 of their opponent's possessions, also good for 2nd in the league.

Their problem? This was a team that just couldn't shoot straight. DLSU was dead last in eFG% (0.372) and TS% (0.435). This was the first round where they didn't have a single guy who averaged double-digits in scoring. No reliable option who would show up offensively every single game. The 1st round DLSU was the 2nd worst offensive unit in the UAAP, managing only a 78.65 Offensive Rating.

But this was a team that was very much in the race for the Final Four.

In the second round, though, they've been a totally different team. They've found their scoring touch, with an Offensive Efficiency of 89.00 in three games. But they've lost that mean streak defensively, allowing an embarrassing 101.46 Defensive Efficiency. I don't really know what happened to the team, but they're now looking at their worst finish since they placed 6th in DLSU's first season in the league.

Maybe it's the players feeling the pressure of their low scoring averages, to the point that they focused on getting their scoring up even as they allowed things on the other end to fall apart. Peejay Barua was averaging 14.3 points in the second round. James Mangahas was scoring 10.3 and even Bader Malabes was effective offensively against UP, shooting 5 for 8 from the field.

This was a tale of two teams, a Jekyll and Hyde squad that could only play on one end of the floor at a time. The all-defense, no-offense squad was right in the thick of things but the transformation into an all-offense, no-defense team all but ended their campaign.

That only goes to show that if something aint broke, don't fix it. Change isn't always a good thing. Especially not when you have a winning tradition as awesome as La Salle's. In that case, change can really suck - as this season has illustrated so well.

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Butiki Bullets: Smart Gilas Edition

• Smart Gilas has been hogging the basketball headlines the past few days. Foremost of the issues, of course, is Japeth Aguilar's decision to sign with the Gilas team exclusively, and end negotiations with PBA team Burger King, who drafted Aguilar with the first pick in the draft.

• The reaction from PBA bigwigs has been curious. Burger King manager Lito Alvarez has suggested a lifetime ban on Aguilar, with support from PBA governors Buddy Encarnado (who was burned in a similar case by Alex Cabagnot), JB Baylon and Mamerto Mondragon. Aguilar's manager, Ronnie Nathanielsz, has questioned the basis of the ban, pointing out that the PBA already has rules in place regarding picks not signing with the team that drafts them. This sort of thing happens in the NBA all the time, usually with Euros crossing over to the US. The Minnesota Timberwolves might face the exact same thing with Ricky Rubio, and nobody's bringing up a silly thing like a lifetime ban.

• Lost in the Japeth shuffle is the controversy of whether naturalization candidate (but not yet naturalized) CJ Giles of Smart Gilas will be allowed to suit up in the next PBA conference. Smart Gilas has been allowed to participate in the PBA as a regular team, and not a guest team. That means they're eligible to win the championship and that has some coaches feeling threatened.

• Smart Gilas players and Letran Knights RJ Jazul and Rey Guevarra came through in a big way in the Letran-Arellano matchup last Friday. Both teams entered the game tied for fourth place in the NCAA and this one could very well decide which one goes on to the Final Four. It was close all the way, but the Knights iced it with 11 seconds to go in the game. With Letran up by just three points, Guevarra drove into the lane and found Jazul for an open three-pointer that put them out of reach. Both Jazul and Guevarra finished with 18 points in what may have been the Knights' most important game of the season.
  

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UAAP in Advance: Ateneo Blue Eagles

There's a common saying in basketball that offense wins games but its defense that wins championships. This, of course, is not true. It's very rare for a team that plays on only one end of the floor to win any championship. There are exceptions, of course. The 2003-04 Detroit Pistons won it all despite being 18th in Offensive Efficiency at just 102.0 while the 2000-01 Los Angeles Lakers ranked 21st in Defensive Efficiency at 104.8 but still came through with the crown. Most NBA champions, particularly in recent years, have been top 10 teams (or at least 11th) in both Offensive and Defensive ratings. You need offense AND defense to become champions and this is true for the NBA, the UAAP and any basketball league anywhere, really.

This year's Ateneo Blue Eagles? No such concerns. They rank 2nd in Offensive Efficiency with a 97.55 and 1st in Defensive Efficiency at 83.29 (the league averages are at 89.00). The high rating on defense comes as a surprise to no one since they are tops at allowing points per game (63.18) and have an elite guys in blocks (Nonoy Baclao) and steals (Eric Salamat). However, this team is underrated on offense because of the their snail-like pace, which doesn't really allow for a lot of points scored.

Ateneo only scores 74 points a game, good for 4th in the league. But the Blue Eagles are 8.5 points clear of the league average in Offensive Efficincy, and that says a lot about how good an offensive unit these guys are. They lead the UAAP in shooting with an eFG% clip of 0.476 (0.551 TS%). They aren't a great offensive rebounding team, but when you have good reason to believe that every shot your team takes is going in, you can understand when crashing the boards offensively isn't a priority.

On defense, these guys play you straight up. The team is disciplined enough not to take chances on risky plays, except maybe for Salamat, and simply force opponents into taking difficult shots with time running out. That's why they're also tops in opponent's eFG% at 0.377 (0.445 TS%). That's far and away the lowest percentage allowed - UE is closest at 0.421 eFG% (0.475 TS%). That's also enough to make them the best defensive team despite being dead last at forcing turnovers.

Like I said, discipline is key for this team. They shoot a high percentage because they are patient at running their offense. Coach Norman Black has instilled enough of it on his wards that they don't take many bad shots. The way they look for the best possible option - in most cases, Rabeh Al-Husseini - is very impressive. Talented guys like Salamat and Ryan Buenafe routinely pass up shots to get the ball to the big fella. Same with their defense. The Blue Eagles know better than to take risks on defense and that has produced outstanding results for this team.

This is a very dangerous team. They've already stayed on top of the standings for most of the season despite a dismal year for promising sophomore Buenafe. But with him breaking out for a career-high 23 points against NU in their latest game, and Al-Husseini regaining last year's MVP form of late, this team might only be starting to peak in the coming games. Baclao, too, is recovering from a hand injury (if you've seen him the past few games, he gives the term 'single-handedly' new meaning). If he can recover in time for the Final Four, this team is going to keep improving as the season rolls along.

Championship aspirations? Deservedly so. This team has all the tools to retain the status quo of being the best team in UAAP basketball.

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Butiki Bullets: Friday August 28

• What are they feeding these guys at JRU? Last year, former JRU Light Bomber Keith Agovida scored a record-high 82 points in the juniors division. Earlier this season, current Light Bomber Joshua Saret broke that with a mind-blowing 89-point performance. In the seniors division, Heavy Bomber John Wilson just scored a season-high 48 points, only seven points off of the NCAA record. Man, these guys can score.

• Who likes short shorts? Apparently, DLSU assistant coach Tonichi Yturri.
  

• Ginebra coach Jong Uichico says Mark Caguioa is ready to play. Ginebra is coming off a conference where they made the Finals against sister team San Miguel and will be adding one of the more potent offensive weapons in the league. Caguioa will be joining newly-minted MVP Jayjay Helterbrand in the Ginebra backcourt. The rest of the PBA better take notice. (via ngets)
  

• 3 quarters of domination, plus a Ryan Buenafe sighting. The Ateneo-NU game ended with a final score of 75-54, a blowout by any standard. But that doesn't even begin to tell the story of how completely dominated the Bulldogs were in this game. After opening things up with a Kokoy Hermosisima triple, NU was on the wrong end of an ungodly 28-0 run that bridged the 1st and 2nd quarters, not to mention the 1st and 2nd units of the Blue Eagles. The half ended at 42-10. With 1:36 left in the third, sophomore Ryan Buenafe made a putback to up his total to 21 points, matching the output of the entire NU squad. That quarter ended NU 23, Buenafe 21. Buenafe hit more three-pointers in the first half than he had all season and finished with a career-high 23 points. Nonoy Baclao sat with 2 minutes left in the 1st quarter, and never got back up again. Ateneo coach Norman Black played his third-stringers for most of the 4th, while NU coach Manny Dandan left his best players til the final buzzer. The Bulldogs cut the lead down to a (relatively) respectable 21 point margin, but this was not as close as the final score indicates. Funny thing to say, seeing as the final score doesn't even indicate as close.
  

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Report: Japeth Aguilar not signing with Burger King

Rick Olivares of Bleachers Brew reports that talks between PBA #1 pick Japeth Aguilar and Burger King have fallen apart. Aguilar's managers, broadcaster Ronnie Nathanielsz and father Peter Aguilar, are said to prefer him playing for the Smart Gilas Developmental Team.

Burger King is not going to like this, pretty much wasting the top pick in the draft on a player they won't see in their jersey for at least a few years, if ever.

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NCAA UAAP Power Rankings: Week 7

Biggest jumps: JRU, UE, CSJL (1 spot); Biggest drop: FEU (2 spots); New entries: ADU Falcons; Dropped out: DLSU Green Archers

1 SSC-R Stags (Last week: 1; NCAA; 11-0)

The Stags are going to stay firmly entrenched in this spot until they lose a game. The level of dominance they had early in the season may be slowly diminishing – they’ve had several close calls in the past weeks, particularly against Letran and Mapua. Even relative pushovers like AUF and UPHSD have stayed within striking distance longer than they should have against the Stags. But this team has proven that it shows up in big games, something San Beda and JRU were not able to do against the Stags. MVP candidate Jimbo Aquino, meanwhile, is sharpening other aspects of his game, averaging 9 rebounds and 60% three-point shooting in his last two games, to go with 17 points per.

2 ADMU Blue Eagles (Last week: 2; UAAP; 9-1)

The Blue Eagles moved up to solo first place in the UAAP after FEU dropped a game to UE last Sunday. Ateneo has an easy stretch of schedule ahead of them. Having blitzed through the Final Four contenders, they have NU, Adamson and a chance at revenge for their only loss of the season against UP coming next before a last day of the season showdown against the Tams. They’ll probably have a top-two slot sewn up by next week, and the inside track for #1. Eric Salamat, Nonoy Baclao and Nico Salva have all provided adequate support to the now in-form Rabeh Al-Husseini. The only question that remains for this team going in to the final stretch is: where is the real Ryan Buenafe? The reigning rookie of the year has averaged 4.5 points on 32% shooting after norming 7.6 points on 41% last year.

3 SBC Red Lions (Last week: 3; NCAA; 9-1)

After a long 11-day break without a game scheduled, San Beda came out a little rusty against a very resilient Mapua Cardinals squad. That wasn’t enough to keep the Red Lions from extending their winning streak to 8 games. Garvo Lanete and Jake Pascual lead the team in scoring, making up for an underwhelming performance by Sudan Daniel on the offensive end. I’m certain the San Beda feels it’s the best team in the league, but they’ll have to wait until October for a rematch against the #1 ranked Stags. In the meantime, they’ll have plenty of blowout wins to look forward to until then.

4 JRU Heavy Bombers (Last week: 5; NCAA; 8-2)

Usually the team with no games in the week drops down a few places because the other top teams show how impressive they are. This week, the Heavy Bombers luck out and move up despite not playing a single game. Because FEU dropped a very important game against UE last Sunday, JRU takes the fourth spot. Not that they aren’t deserving. The Bombers are one small step behind San Sebastian and San Beda, and with head-to-head matchups still scheduled for all three teams, the NCAA top spot is still anybody’s race.

5 UE Red Warriors (Last week: 6; UAAP; 6-4)

The Red Warriors pick up a huge breakthrough win after crushing the favored FEU Tamaraws, 87-72. It isn’t likely that UE can still catch the Tams for one of the top two spots in the standings, and the twice-to-beat advantage that goes with it. But this win increases the likelihood of them being the #2 vs #3 matchup in the Final Four, and you can bet UE will be happy to face a team they know they can beat. Elmer Espiritu has been a beast since the second round began. He’s averaging 23.3 points, 8.6 boards and 4.6 blocks in the last three games. No doubt he’s been the MVP of the second round, and if he keeps playing like this, there’s no telling what the Red Warriors can do.

6 FEU Tamaraws (Last week: 4; UAAP; 8-2)

The Tams still have a stranglehold on #2 in the UAAP, and definitely still in the race for the top spot, but there’s no way we’re ranking them higher than UE, not after they were manhandled by the Red Warriors. FEU couldn’t find their range in that game, with Paul Sanga shooting 1 for 11 from the three-point line, and RR Garcia and Andy Barroca combining to shoot 0 for 9 from that range. They showed an uncharacteristic lack of discipline when it came to chucking up long bombs, and that has to be addressed if they want to win it all this year.

7/8 -tie- AU Chiefs (Last week: 7; NCAA; 7-4) and CSJL Knights (Last week: 8; NCAA; 7-4)

The Knights and Chiefs know when they’re in a war, and both have stepped up their games to match the other. Letran crushed EAC by 26 points before sneaking off with a close win over Mapua. AU, meanwhile, put a pair of double-digit wins against CSB and AUF on the board. Rey Guevarra seems to have turned a corner for the Knights, averaging 19.5 points in his last two games. Gio Ciriacruz posted one of the season’s best stat lines with a 31-point, 16-rebound performance against CSB and followed it up with a respectable 23 and 7 over AUF. The race for the last spot is on, and both of these teams know it.

9 UST Growling Tigers (Last week: 9; UAAP; 5-5)

UST knows it has a good chance of holding onto the last Final Four spot in the UAAP. With DLSU dropping games to Adamson and UP, the Growling Tigers probably only need to win 2 of their last 4 assignments to sneak into the postseason. If UST can beat NU and Adamson, closest pursuer DLSU will be forced to get an unlikely upset win over UE or FEU to tie the Tigers record. As long as the Tigers take care of business, they’ll be fine. Of course, a win over the Green Archers in their head-to-head on September 3 will probably all but ice it.

10 ADU Falcons (New entry; UAAP; 3-7)

The heartbreak kids of the UAAP make a rare appearance in college basketball’s top ten. The Falcons went 1-6 in the first round but that is no indication of how tough an out they’ve been this season. Many of their losses have been close; they’ve lost 6 games by an average of just 3.8 points. But the Falcons have won two of their last three, including a win over Final Four contender DLSU and a runaway 29-point win over the NU Bulldogs. They might not have enough to make it to the Final Four, but this season had plenty of positives, if you know where to look.

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Why I'm happy Team Pilipinas plays in FIBA-Asia and not FIBA-Americas

Think James Yap or Japeth Aguilar have enough toughness for a game like this?

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Butiki Bullets: Tuesday August 25

• Firequinito asks: who had the best moustache among the 1989 SMB Grand Slam team?

• The SM Group of Companies, rumored to be interested in acquiring a PBA franchise, is not ready to join the pro leagues at the moment. They are currently content with developing the NU Bulldogs in the UAAP.

• Tony L. Atayde of inboundpass puts in his two bits about the DLSU "check out our backs" incident.

• Former PBA MVP Kelly Williams has just played his first game for the Sta Lucia Realtors since he was sidelined with a blood disorder over the All-Star break four months ago. The Realtors played the Purefoods Giants in an exhibition game in Roxas City.
  

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Debunking Manolo Inigo

I've been following columnist Manolo Inigo in the Inquirer for quite some time, and for the most part I don't mind what he writes. He's obviously an informed sports insider in specific sports and definitely capable of contributing something to sports journalism in the country.

But on some specific topics, like, say Philippine involvement in international basketball, Inigo should really just keep mum. Because if once upon a time, he ever knew basketball - I must be too young to ever have seen it. Simply put, he does not know the sport. Not today's game anyway.

Inigo has been campaigning against any development in basketball in the country. He has pushed for the support given to basketball to be given to other sports like football - although that specific point, I actually agree with. We don't support our other sports enough. But the thing that gets me most about Inigo's articles is that it always revolves around the same issue: height.

He insists that the country is not suited for basketball because it is a "tall man's game". Every single column will talk about Filipinos not having the height for the sport and that we have no chance of success in the international field. He points to the previous FIBA-Asia finishes we've had and simply stating, basketball is not our sport.

I call bull.

Sure, height is an important element in basketball. But it is not the end all be all of the sport. If it were, 7'6 Yao Ming would be the perennial MVP in the NBA and 7'7 centers Manute Bol and Gheorge Muresan would be the greatest players to ever play the game.

It just isn't true. Because basketball is dominated by guys like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, who all stand between 6'6 and 6'8, about 12 inches shorter than those big galoots listed above. They are not the best players because they're bigger than their competition. They do it because they play the best basketball.

Basketball isn't played on paper. It's not a matter of simply having the tallest team. Heck, it isn't even a matter of fielding the most talented players, as Team USA had to learn the hard way. Basketball is played 5-on-5 on the court where things like preparation, chemistry, hustle and heart - aspects of the game that are near impossible to measure - all come into play.

Inigo goes on further to criticize the Smart Gilas program and Rajko Toroman in particular, for having the confidence to state the team "will be even more competitive than the Powerade-RP team."

Toroman knows what he's saying because he knows the international game. While Inigo has been looking at final results and making judgements about the past versions of Team Pilipinas, Toroman has been busy running the Iran program to overtake China as Asia's best. Inigo has been limited by his blinders, seeing only the lack of height. Toroman has seen the severe lack of preparation; a series of talented teams formed at the last minute expected to take down long-running, well-oiled programs of other Asian countries.

Hey, while Inigo has been criticizing, he hasn't even realized that Toroman's Smart-Gilas team already addressed that one point about size that he's been trying to make over and over like a broken record. Toroman's recruits include 6'11 naturalization candidate CJ Giles and 6'11 raw talent Greg Slaughter, 6'10 beanpoles Japeth Aguilar and Junmar Fajardo, 6'8 Aldrech Ramos and 6'7 Rabeh Al-Husseini. Consider the fact that NBA players make their height measurements in shoes, then you can add about an inch-and-a-half to the Pinoys to see how they compare to NBA guys.

And he's got a program, too. He's the mastermind behind the rise of Iran in the Asian basketball scene. And Iran basketball officials had stated that they're only continuing the program that Toroman left behind. Say what you want about Iran's physical capabilities, where were they before Toroman?

He can do the same here, or at least something similar. But only if we let him. Toroman has been under fire from many parties since he got here. But these parties have mostly been trying to protect their own interests and not the nation's.

Toroman has proven he knows what he's doing. Inigo, not so much. Inigo gathers support from disillusioned "basketball diehards" who claim that "I have repeatedly watched Philippine campaigns in international tournaments... Basketball is truly not the sport for Filipinos in international level competitions" and urge sports officials "not to put too much emphasis on basketball because the sport is basically a tall man's game."

Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra has expressed support for Toroman's national team program. "It doesn’t always end up that the tallest will be the best. It’s about coming together at the right time," he said. “You have to develop the young players in the country and learn how to play together as a team and work on a common goal."

My apologies to Inigo and his sources, "Rene Antonio of Meycauayan, Bulacan" and "Dan Penafiel, a habitue of Country Style coffee shop at SM Marilao" but they don't exactly have the credibility of FIBA Asia champion coach Toroman and NBA head coach Spoelstra.

I love every player on the Powerade Team Pilipinas squad, but to be honest, it was just another slap-em-up team put together at the last minute to compete against the best of Asia. Team USA learned you couldn't do it that way so they formed the "Redeem Team" to match up against the Spains and Argentinas of the world scene.

We've got our own redemption to chase. Whether it's called Powerade or Smart Gilas, it will always say Team Pilipinas on the jerseys. How about let's all get behind Team Pilipinas and chase redemption together?

One country. One goal.

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Midseason UAAP-NCAA All-Star Game Picks

The UAAP and NCAA usually play their Bantay Bata 163 Charity All-Star Games after the season ends, but in the spirit of the NBA where All-Star weekend falls midseason, here are the Patay Ang Butiki midseason picks. Plus a bonus game: the NBA plays a rookie vs sophomore game over All-Star weekend as well, and if we ever get to play a similar one - here's what I got. I placed some rules for picks. In the UAAP, every team needed to have one representative. In the NCAA, seeing as there were 10 teams as compared to the UAAP's 8, I just required myself to pick one from 8 different teams and went free-for-all on the others.

All-Star Game

UAAP All-Stars

Coaches: Norman Black (head); Glenn Capacio, Franz Pumaren

C Rabeh Al-Hussaini (ADMU)
F Aldrech Ramos (FEU)
F Dylan Ababou (UST)
G Paul Lee (UE)
G Mark Barroca (FEU)

Bench: Lester Alvarez (ADU); Nonoy Baclao, Eric Salamat (ADMU); James Mangahas (DLSU); JR Cawaling (FEU); Kokoy Hermosisima (NU); Elmer Espiritu, Pari Llagas (UE); Woody Co (UP); Khasim Mirza (UST)

Scouting Report: The starting lineup is simply an impressive lineup that can do it all. All 5 guys are Smart Gilas recruits that will be bannering the RP team in years to come. It has good size, which will help in defending and rebounding. Ramos and Al-Hussaini are very big presences on the boards. Lee and Barroca can send any offense scrambling with their pressure. And man, can this five flat-out score. Ababou and Al-Hussaini can put up shots from anywhere on the floor and really, who can stop a Lee, Barroca and Ababou fastbreak?

Off the bench, they bring a pair of elite shotblockers in Espiritu and Baclao, making life very difficult for opponents underneath. Salamat will make sure the second unit will run and will fit in seamlessly in Lee's place with the starters. Llagas will be reliable on both ends of the floor. Cawaling, Mirza, and Co bring plenty of size and scoring. Alvarez, Mangahas and Hermosisima will be good shock troopers for the UAAP team, particulalrly on the offensive end.

Good balance on offense and defense, but it's the talent of the starting unit that will make the difference for this squad. It's very difficult to see any team of non-pros hang with the all-Smart Gilas five the UAAP All-Stars have.

NCAA All-Stars

Coach: Ato Agustin (head); Frankie Lim, Ariel Vanguardia

C Sudan Daniel (SBC)
F JR Sena (JRU)
F Jimbo Aquino (SSC-R)
G John Wilson (JRU)
G RJ Jazul (CSJL)

Bench: Gio Ciriacruz (AU); Jeff Morial (CSB); Rey Guevarra (CSJL); Argel Mendoza (EAC); Marvin Hayes (JRU); Allan Mangahas (MIT); Garvo Lanete, Jake Pascual (SBC); Calvin Abueva (SSC-R); Chrisper Elopre (UPHSD)

Scouting Report: The NCAA All-Stars have a very balanced squad that can hurt you inside (Daniel, Sena) and out (Aquino, Wilson and Jazul). Daniel is a defensive beast that can be a one-man wrecking crew on defense and off the boards, allowing the backcourt to look to run at every opportunity. Getting scoring will be the least of this team's concerns because of the talent they have, particularly at the wings.

This team's real strength, though, is in their bench. They have a rotation that can go 15-deep without much loss in production. Ciriacruz, Morial, Mendoza, Mangahas and Elopre know what it's like to carry a team on their shoulders. Guevarra and Lanete will be threats to get plenty of buckets off the bench. Hayes, Pascual and Abueva, meanwhile, will be there to do the dirty work very very effectively - picking up loose balls and getting second chance points.

The NCAA selection will get production from every guy on this lineup. They have a spectacular offensive-minded unit that will be hard to stop. If their defensive guys can do enough on their end of the floor, the offense has the potential to blow any team right out of the building.

Game outlook: Like I mentioned earlier, I don't see a team outside of the pros that can hang with the UAAP starters. But if I had to pick one, the NCAA guys wouldn't be a bad choice.

The depth on the NCAA team is scary, and I think they have a chance to jump on the UAAP and build a lead while their best guys are resting. The NCAA has a lot of athletes and if they can keep it physical, they can eventually wear the UAAP players down. Guys like Hayes and Abueva will make the lean UAAP forwards like Mirza and Cawaling remember them. Black will be forced to play his bench for a lot of minutes, which isn't really the best option for the UAAP team.

The UAAP, though, have some very good players that can neutralize the NCAA's best down low. Ramos, Baclao and Espiritu are long, athletic and smart and can keep the very raw Daniel and Sena from getting in position where they can be effective. If they do that, they can force the NCAA into taking some very tough, low-percentage shots. Also, a lot of the NCAA guards are prone to turnovers, like Wilson, Mendoza and Jazul. Lee, Barroca and Salamat are all very good at converting TOs into easy baskets on the other end.

I think the NCAA won't have enough defense to stop Ababou and Al-Husseini if they stick with their best scorers, but won't have enough scoring if they bring in their better defenders. Jazul and Wilson will struggle to keep up with the daredevil drives of Lee, who is a master of getting his bigs easy shots off of drop-offs. Daniel will have to choose whether to challenge Lee or to stay with his man, Al-Hussaini or Ramos, both very good finishers.

However, if they can build a good cushion in the second and third periods, where their bench can do a lot of damage, they can send the UAAP squad scrambling to catch up in the fourth, which can be quite difficult. The outcome is hard to predict, but I'm giving the UAAP squad a very slight edge simply because that 5-man Smart Gilas squad looks so tough. Remember, some of them have played tuneup games for Gilas against PBA teams. Barroca torched the pros for 37 points in one game. Al-Husseini had consistent scoring in the mid-teens. Lee placed in the Mythical 5 in the last PBL Conference. These guys have proven themselves at very high levels and that is hard to come by.

Rookie-Sophomore Game

UAAP-NCAA Sophomores

C Jake Pascual (SBC)
F Nico Salva (ADMU)
F Ryan Buenafe (ADMU)
G John Nchouto Njei (JRU)
G Allan Mangahas (MIT)

Bench: Jam Cortez (CSJL); Joshua Webb (DLSU); Raymund Maconocido (SSC-R); Robin Rono (UPHSD); Clark Bautista (UST)

UAAP-NCAA Rookies

C Sudan Daniel (SBC)
F Pipo Noundou (FEU)
F Calvin Abueva (SSC-R)
G Jeric Teng (UST)
G RR Garcia (FEU)

Bench: Kevin Alas (CSJL); Arvie Bringas (DLSU); Ian Sangalang (SSC-R); Alvin Padilla, Mikee Reyes (UP)

Game outlook: The Sophomores are going to be looking like freshmen in this game with the physicality that the rooks are going to be able to bring. Daniel, Noundou and Abueva are going to pound on the undersized Sophomore frontline. Njei will bring a bit of toughness for that side, but it won't be enough.

The Sophomore bench has a couple of weapons but not a lot that can really create for themselves. The Rookies bench looks more ready with guys like Alas and Padilla who can make things happen for their team.

The Rookies, so far this season, have been more steady than their counterparts, but the Sophomores certainly have the ability to hang with the Rookie squad. Buenafe and Mangahas have had to weather sophomore slumps at certain parts of their season, but Pascual, Salva and Webb have all shown big strides in their games.

I'm picking the rooks in this game, though, mainly because of Daniel, who is too much for anyone on the Soph side. Add the steady, veteran-like play of Teng and Garcia and I think they've got this game in the bag.

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PBA-SBP relationship crucial to national success

There was a tense period there, right after the Powerade team was bounced off the FIBA-Asia event, when things seemed ready to blow up. The SBP and the PBA always maintained a healthy relationship, especially considering that the SBP made the abolishing of the much-maligned (and deservingly so) BAP possible and the fact that the PBA's support pretty much all but assured the SBP of being granted legitimacy as the governing body of basketball in the country. But in the days following the Powerade Team Pilipinas loss to Korea, things didn't seem so rosy.

In fact, it was beginning to get downright ugly. Yeng Guiao was pretty much saying the SBP-backed national team had no chance at competing on this level, and only the PBA has the talent to do so. And despite a previous agreement wherein the SBP's Smart Gilas Developmental Team would take over after Tianjin (or if the all-PBA squad qualified, the World Championships in Turkey), Guiao pushed for another stint for the PBA. He received support from PBA commissioner Sonny Barrios and Sta Lucia governor Buddy Encarnado.

The SBP, meanwhile, refused to allow their authority to be undermined with SBP executive director Noli Eala calling the Tianjin stint "disappointing" and stating: "It’s also strange that the PBA wants to continue the long term program when they could have done that with the 2007 program rather than come up with a brand new team again and brand new coaching staff."

Trouble in paradise?

Well for someone who would root for any player proud to brandish the name "Pilipinas" on his or her chest, this was the worst thing that could happen. An SBP-PBA power struggle would only cause harm to our national team campaigns, no matter which team is playing.

It's looking like things are sorting itself out, though. The SBP has received public support from PBA governors Ricky Vargas of Talk N Text and Joaqui Trillo of Alaska. Ginebra head coach Jong Uichico and team manager Allan Caidic, members of the Northern Consolidated-backed national team in the 80s that was built similarly to the Smart Gilas squad, have also openly stated support for the SBP program.

And when Smart Gilas coach Rajko Toroman released his 'wish list' of PBA players in Japeth Aguilar (Burger King), Jared Dillinger (TNT) and Gabe Norwood (Rain or Shine), Burger King team manager Lito Alvarez expressed willingness in lending Aguilar and confidence that both TNT and Rain or Shine would do the same.

The Tropang Texters, of course, would pretty much be a sure thing with SBP president Manny V Pangilinan being the owner of franchise. MVP is also part-owner of Burger King. Pending a board resolution from the PBA that would make the loaning of players official, the Smart Gilas team is looking more dangerous by the day.

The Gilas squad has a talented pool that would include Aguilar, Norwood, Dillinger, American reinforcement CJ Giles, Filipino-American Chris Lutz, Chris Tiu, Jvee Casio, Dylan Ababou, Rabeh Al-Hussaini, Junmar Fajardo, Andy Barroca, Aldrech Ramos, JR Cawaling, Mac Baracael, RJ Jazul, Rey Guevarra, Jason Ballesteros, Paul Lee, Ryan Buenafe and Greg Slaughter.

The final roster could have more size than the all-pro team. Giles and Slaughter are 6'11, Aguilar and Fajardo are 6'10, Ramos is 6'8 and Al-Husseini is 6'7. They have a lot of pure shooters in Lutz, Casio, Jazul and Tiu. They have a lot athleticism in Norwood, Dillinger and Guevarra. They have fearless drive and dish games in Barroca and Lee. Versatility in Ababou and Baracael. Name it, and this team, when properly trained, will have it.

But even if the Powerade Team Pilipinas is more talented, Smart Gilas will be boasting of something Powerade never had: seasoning. Aside from playing as a guest team in the PBA this October, Smart Gilas will be entering tournaments in Amsterdam and in Dubai, as well as scheduling several freindly matches against other countries like Toroman's home country Serbia and Australia.

If the SBP team is able to get the players they requested, and push through with these tournaments, it's difficult to see them not achieving at least the same result as the Powerade Team. And if this team is successful, and kept together for four, five years - who knows what it can do?

It never hurts to dream. And this particular dream will take the support of both the SBP and the PBA to achieve it. It's a good thing the relationship, after some shaky moments there, seems like its ready to bloom again.

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Butiki Bullets: Thursday August 20

• Some extra color on the ADMU-DLSU rivalry. When the Ateneo gallery was singing their school hymn after the Blue Eagles' victory last Sunday, the Green Archers turned their backs on the blue side. Christian Soler of inboundpass shares his thoughts: "While I am not one to speculate on whether this is scripted, ordered by the powers-that-be or what not, the act itself is utterly distasteful, especially considering the fact that the Green Archer gallery applauds at the beginning of 'A Song for Mary.' Whoever is (or are) responsible for such unpalatable actions must behave in a sportsmanlike manner in order to be considered a sportsman (or sportsmen)."

• PBA blockbuster trade rumor. Jaemark Tordecilla of Fire Quinito has been watching PBA chief statistician Fidel Mangonon's Twitter account and this is what he tweeted a few hours ago: “btw, ther's anothr big trade dats going 2 happen. 2 sister tms involvd bt d big-named Fil-for in ds trade is frm a tm dat wil b d 3rd party.”

• Japeth Aguilar is now a rich man.

• The Letran Knights suddenly faces some stiff competition for the last Final Four spot in the NCAA. Arellano University has rattled off four wins in a row and have settled into a tie with the Knights. Both Letran and Arellano scored easy victories last Wednesday over EAC and St Benilde. Both teams got big contributions from their top players. RJ Jazul had 21 points, 13 assists, 5 rebounds and 4 steals for Letran. The Chiefs banked on a 31-point, 16-rebound performance from Gio Ciriacruz, with 14 points coming in the 4th quarter.

• Manny Pacquiao was slated to play in yesterday's Liga Pilipinas Conference III action. I haven't seen any reports if Pacman showed up, but here's a clip of him playing for his GenSan MP Warriors earlier this year.

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NCAA UAAP Power Rankings: Week 6

Biggest jump: AU (3 spots); Biggest drop: DLSU (4 spots); New entries: None; Dropped out: None

1 SSC-R Stags (Last week: 2; NCAA; 10-0)

It only gets harder from here for the Stags. The whole league will be gunning for the #1 team in the NCAA in the second round. That comes with being the best, you have to take everyone else’s best shot. San Sebastian hammered out a close decision against Letran to sweep the first round, before opening the second round with another double-digit win over AUF. #1 is a tough spot to be at, but Baste looks every inch up to it. NCAA leading scorer Jimbo Aquino is also in a dogfight with SBC’s Sudan Daniel and darkhorse conteder John Wilson of JRU.

2 ADMU Blue Eagles (Last week: 4; UAAP; 8-1)

The Blue Eagles flashed deadly form in their two victories last week. They went up by around 20 points in games against Final Four contenders UE and DLSU. UE went on a torrid shooting streak as they’re known to do (like during the 1st round encounter against ADMU where they took a 17 point advantage early in the 2nd quarter), but the Eagles did enough to close it out. No such luck for DLSU, who were outclassed by an Ateneo squad that looked focused all game long. Reigning MVP Rabeh Al-Hussaini has broken out of his slump and has averaged 28 pts, 7.5 rebs and 2.5 blks in the past week.

3 SBC Red Lions (Last week: 1; NCAA; 8-1)

The Red Lions will be a victim of the schedule – they’ve had no games to play this past week. San Beda opens their second round campaign riding the momentum of a seven game winning streak and a double-digit win over fellow contender JRU. Sudan Daniel has been good consistently all season, but he’s taken his game up a notch of late. He’s averaged 24 points on 78% shooting from the field and an eye-popping 7.5 blocks in his last two games. Can he win MVP as a rookie like Gabby Espinas and Sam Ekwe of years past? He’s definitely in the conversation, but if the Stags sweep San Beda and the rest of the NCAA, it’s difficult to see the MVP trophy not going to Jimbo Aquino.

4 FEU Tamaraws (Last week: 3; UAAP; 7-1)

The Tams repeat over the Growling Tigers this week with another impressive victory despite not having Reil Cervantes available due to a suspension. FEU hardly missed their big man with Pipo Noundou and Aldrech Ramos holding the fort down low with a combined 19 points, 24 rebounds and 5 assists. FEU and Ateneo look like they won’t even be challenged for the twice-to-beat incentive as UE, UST and DLSU all dropped games to either ADMU or FEU to widen the gap between the UAAP’s top contenders and the rest of the field.

5 JRU Heavy Bombers (Last week: 5; NCAA; 8-2)

The Bombers’ campaign took another hit this week when they found out their 6’7 center Etame Joe, who has not played in a single game this season, will be sidelined for 3 more weeks due to bone spurs. Unlikely reinforcements, though, came in the form of Jay Agas, who torched the UPHSD Altas for 27 points on an afternoon where the heavy guns of JRU (John Wilson, JR Sena) fell silent. They’ve struggled with depth concerns this season, and if Agas can become a steady contributor, that only bodes well for JRU looking forward.

6 UE Red Warriors (Last week: 7; UAAP; 5-4)

The Red Warriors placed themselves in good position to nab one of the Final Fours spots by being the only one of the middle contenders (UST, DLSU) to win a game this past week. There were some positives in the loss to Ateneo, particularly the fact that they can compete with the Blue Eagles even without big man Pari Llagas. Of course, that’s if by ‘compete’, you mean go down 20 before hoping for an amazing 4th quarter run where every possession ends in a 3-pointer or an and one. That’s a bad habit coach Lawrence Chongson will have to warn his wards about, but he’ll be happy with the bounce back win over Adamson which puts them slightly ahead in the race for the 3rd and 4th spots.

7 AU Chiefs (Last week: 10; NCAA; 5-4)

The AU Chiefs are making a big push for the last Final Four spot, winning three in a row to tie Letran at 5-4. They’ve gotten contributions from a lot of players during this run, but none bigger than from the Ciriacruz brothers. Gio Ciriacruz is averaging 19.75 points in the last four while little brother Isiah has put up 16 in the last two games. Leading scorer Adrian Celada is averaging 17 points in his last four, though that included a disappointing 4 point stinker against the AUF Great Danes. ‘Little Chief’ Bimbot Anquilo scored 20 to make up for Celada’s subpar showing in that game. The important date on their schedule will be the August 28 matchup against the Knights, a game that may decide who sneaks into the Final Four.

8 CSJL Knights (Last week: 8; NCAA; 5-4)

When the Letran Knights slipped in an early season game against the AU Chiefs, few people predicted it would have Final Four repercussions. That loss may come back to haunt them if they finish with an identical record with Arellano. The Knights pushed the SSC-R Stags to their limit in a 77-74 thriller, but the loss is still a loss and it drops them down to a tie with the surging Chiefs. They have the whole second round to make up for their miscue, but finishing outside of the Final Four will have to be considered a big disappointment for this Letran squad.

9 UST Growling Tigers (Last week: 9; UAAP; 4-4)

The Tigers dropped a 75-67 game to the FEU Tamaraws. Their ‘Big Three’ was reduced to a ‘Big One and a Half’ as both Jeric Teng and Khasim Mirza failed to score in double digits. Mirza, in particular, went missing as he was held to 2-for-8 shooting and had 4 turnovers. They have to find their form quick as they have two tough matchups against UP and Ateneo this week. UST dropped a game but pretty much kept in stride with the other Final Four contenders. If they can beat UP on Thursday and close out games against the other weak teams (Adamson and NU), the Tigers will be in good position to make a push for the playoffs.

10 DLSU Green Archers (Last week: 6; UAAP; 4-5)

The blowout loss to archrivals Ateneo is the one that hurts the fans, but it’s the loss to Adamson that really hurts the team’s campaign. The Blue Eagles and Tamaraws are tough outs this season, so losses to them are expected, but dropping games to non-contenders like the Falcons can kill their Final Four chances. There’s little room for error now; they practically have to sweep their games (except maybe their FEU matchup) to make it into the Final Four. No easy task considering they’re still groping for form on the offensive end. Arvie Bringas averaged only 2.5 points in the past week after putting up 15.5 in the previous one. But at least Peejay Barua seems to be finding his touch. He normed 12.5 points and has hit 6 three-pointers in the past two games.

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Butiki Bullets: Wednesday August 19

• A little dated but still interesting. FHM with their list of the PBA's second round draft steals. San Miguel guards Olsen Racela and Ato Agustin leads the picks.

• Smart Gilas coach Rajko Toroman with his wish list from the Powerade Team: Japeth Aguilar, Gabe Norwood and Jared Dillinger. Too bad Ryan Reyes wasn't healthy for the FIBA Asia tilt. Maybe he could have made the cut, too?

• Cameroonians strutting their wares in the Philippines. It seems a lot of college teams are looking at Cameroon for recruitment. FEU has the very effective rookie Pipo Noundou. JRU has 2nd year player John Nchotu Njei and the 6'7 behemoth Etame Joe, expected back from an injury in three weeks. And Rick Olivares of Bleachers Brew says the NU Bulldogs have two guys who are establishing residency and will be playing in the coming years. Njei and Noundou are both physical and athletic players who can play bigger than they actually are, especially on the boards. If Joe and the new Bulldogs are anything like Njei and Noundou, these guys are going to be worth a good long look.
  

• And speaking of FEU, Baby Tamaraw and UAAP juniors MVP favorite Terrence Romeo scored 83 points in a 104-55 FEU win over the UP Junior Maroons. Romeo was already the leading the MVP race with a runaway 100.4 Statistical Points at the end of the first round, with his closest rival Kyle Neypes (UST) posting just 80.6. I think this all but wraps up the award for Romeo, breaking Paolo Mendoza's 15-year UAAP record of 69. What is it with the youth today? That's the third time since last year that a single game scoring record has been broken, and the second this season by scoring more than 80 points.

• A PBA-Liga Pilipinas merger in the works? Rey Joble of Manila Stadard Today (via NGETS) reports that the PBA is considering a proposal of turning Liga Pilipinas into something like the NBA D-League. I think it's a good idea, since players are already using Liga as a stepping stone for the PBA, particularly the Fil-Fors. Jared Dillinger played there before coming to the PBA. A lot of former collegiate stars and ex-pros playing there as well, including San Beda's Sam Ekwe, DLSU's Jerwin Gaco and FEU's Leo Avenido.
  

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Butiki Bullets: Tuesday August 18

• The PBA has released the lineup of the selection that will face NBA legends Robert Horry and company on Sept 11.

• You think the Ateneo-La Salle rivalry has been exciting in the seniors division? Check out what's been happening in the juniors. La Salle is tops at 7-1. Their lone loss? Last Saturday to Ateneo. The Blue Eaglets are riding high on a 6 game winning streak and are breathing down the DLSZ's necks at 6-2. One of those losses were an opening day beatdown by La Salle.

• Chris Bolado is on Survivor Philippines.

• Rabeh Al-Hussaini has put himself back in the conversation for MVP. After a string of subpar performances, he's averaged 28 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks in two games to nab his second UAAP Press Corps Player of the Week award.
  

• SBP Executive Director Noli Eala bites back at Powerade Team Pilipinas coach Yeng Guiao. Abac Cordero of the Philippine Star quotes Eala: "Yeng's statement that we will not be at peak in three years is unfair and uncalled for. He doesn't even know our program. This is not the time to criticize any program."
  

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Butiki Bullets: Saturday August 15

• Chris Tiu and JC Intal star in a "cheesy" pizza ad. Cameos include current Blue Eagles Nico Salva, Kirk Long and Vince Burke.

• Jaemark of Firequinito on Ato Agustin's stellar coaching in the NCAA tourney so far: "I did not see this coming at all. Neither did you, and if you say you did, you’re lying. I’m not talking about Ato Agustin’s thinning hairline, or the disappearance of his killer stache, although those are weird too. I’m talking about the Ato Agustin taking over the coaching reins of the San Sebastian Stags and turning them into the best team in Philippine college basketball, highlighted by their sweep of the first round of the NCAA capped by a victory over arch-rival Letran." I've been similarly surprised and impressed with the Stags, but more with Agustin himself, who has turned a season where they were expected to become weaker into what may end up a championship season.

• Fresh off the defeat against Jordan yesterday, Gabe Norwood already wants a third tour of duty with the national team.

• Fine decision-making by UP coach Aboy Castro in their game against NU this afternoon. Up by 3 with 2 seconds to go, Castro instructs Moriah Gingerich to foul the ballhandler instead of giving up a three point shot. NU was deprived of a game-tying triple like UE's Val Acuna did to these same UP Fighting Maroons in the first round, or like DLSU's Hyram Bagatsing to arch rival Ateneo last Sunday.
  

• Talk N Text guard Mac Cardona is set to practice with the DLSU Green Archers. A little extra push for the Ateneo La Salle rematch this weekend?
  

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Putting flag and country where your mouth is

So Powerade Team Pilipinas loses their quarterfinal matchup with Jordan, 81-70, dashing the hopes of qualifying outright for the 2010 World Basketball Championships in Turkey. And while the PBA selection can still find a way to qualify for a wild card tournament with spots in Turkey up for grabs, well, let's just say it's no easy task.

So what's next for this gutsy group of pros? This, talent-wise, was the best team we could have sent. Again, it falls short. Well, Powerade Coach Yeng Guiao has an excellent suggestion in calling for further commitment in the part of the PBA. He believes the country's best players should be sent out to more international competitions to stay in touch with the level of play in the international scene. He is against what he calls 'inbreeding', that is the way we keep playing only each other so we aren't pushed further than we already are.

And while this proposal does not lack merit, how about considering the fact that there's already a well-prepared national team program in place? The Smart Gilas Developmental Team helmed by Coach Rajko Toroman is in high gear. They have a long-term plan that goes until 2012. They have a proven coach that is more than familiar with the international game. And they have an aggressive recruitment strategy that has netted most of college basketball's top players as well as some US-based talent as well.

Guiao is well-aware of Toroman and his Smart Gilas squad. Guiao was at the forefront of the opposition against Toroman's signing by the SBP. Yeng claimed it was unfair to local coaches for this opportunity to be handed to a foreigner. But really, what have our local coaches proven in the international game? A lot of our local coaches, even in the PBA, have become complacent in their learning. When Filipino-American Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra hosted a clinic for the best local coaches in the country, it exposed just how far away our PBA coaches are from the highest levels. The 39-year old Spoelstra made them all look like little children, marvelling at how his system defended the pick and roll.

But that's not a knock against our local coaches. It's simply to say that there are better coaches out there. And we have one in Toroman.

Guiao also took shots at the young players saying the team would have a hard time competing two years from now.

And if there's any part of Guiao's argument that makes the most sense, it's that the PBA has all the best talent. I agree fully with that.

But really, if something is blocking the Smart Gilas team from having the best talent available, it's the PBA and Yeng Guiao themselves.

If one will recall, it was the SBP that formalized the return of Japeth Aguilar with the intention of allowing him to play for Smart Gilas, and possibly the Powerade Team as well. In good faith, Smart Gilas let Guiao had full reins of the youngster as the Powerade Team neared their campaign.

Around that time, Burger King, which held the #1 pick in the draft, started making public statements about wanting Japeth to turn pro instead of to remain with the national team. Slowly, Aguilar's dream of playing for the national team turned into a dream of going #1 in the PBA draft. And no doubt Powerade coach (and is it any coincidence?)/Burger King coach Yeng Guiao no doubt had something to do with that.

Well, Japeth Aguilar turned ineligible for the Smart Gilas team when he officially entered the PBA draft. He got to fulfill his national team duty, all right, in spectacular minutes at the tuneup William Jones Cup and in riding the bench at Tianjin.

Aguilar would definitely had been more qualified to represent the country two years from now with the Gilas team. But now, it looks like his campaign for Team Pilipinas is coming to an abrupt end.

It's a waste of talent that can easily be rectified with a simple decision: allow PBA players on the Smart Gilas roster. The PBA has stood pat on its refusal to let a non-PBA coach handle PBA players. They have stated outright that they have no commitment or obligation to lend any PBA player to the Smart Gilas team, even ones who were not part of the Powerade selection. Their only obligation was to send a PBA team to represent the country in the Asian Championships in Tianjin.

And that's a shame because they are depriving the country of seeing the best possible team we can have. The Smart Gilas core of prospects is solid. They have size in the soon-to-be naturalized CJ Giles, the lanky Aldrech Ramos and the Visayan giants Junmar Fajardo and Greg Slaughter. They have the smarts and the shooting of former rivals Chris Tiu and Jayvee Casio. They have the raw talents of Rabeh Al-Hussaini, Dylan Ababou, Mark Andy Barroca and Paul Lee, one of which will likely be the UAAP MVP this year. They have some Filipino-American recruits like the 6'4 pure shooter Chris Lutz backing the team.

Reinforce that core with some of the younger Powerade Team Pilipinas players like Gabe Norwood, Ryan Reyes, James Yap, Arwind Santos and Aguilar; and that's a team that can compete not just two years from now but 5 or 6 years into the future.

Those young Smart Gilas players are committed for 3 years but will all likely face the same dilemma Aguilar did. The PBA will come knocking, and they either answer the call or choose to renew ties with the national team program. The money will be big if they go to the PBA and in these times, you can't blame them if they decide to go for what's best for their families over what's best for their country.

But what if the PBA threw away their rule and just let the players play for flag and country? Players want to do that, especially if you come from a nation that has plenty to prove to your neighbors.

Look at the Redeem Team. Team USA decided to go with a college coach, Duke's Mike Krzyzewski. No objections from the NBA. In fact, stars like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade enlisted right away. NBA coaches Mike D'Antoni and Nate McMillan served as assistants. And while NBA owners like Mark Cuban want to protect their most valuable assets, they knew better than to deprive their players the chance to represent their countries. They resorted mainly to compromise.

Why should the PBA deprive our athletes of the same opportunity? If the NBA can humble themselves for the sake of nationalism and patriotism, why can't the PBA do the same?

Guiao says it makes no difference to him if he's in charge of the next PBA national team. He says he has his political plans as current Vice-Governor of Pampanga, after all. But if Guiao or the PBA really mean what they say about wanting the country to return to relevance in the international basketball scene, I offer this simple challenge. Put your commitment to flag and country where your mouth is.

Throw your full support behind the SBP and the Smart Gilas Developmental Team.

Take away your rule of no PBA players on the Gilas team. Let your coaches serve as assistants under Toroman. Do what's best for the country and not just what's best for your organization.

Or at least hold off your plans of another PBA national team until after Smart Gilas gets a chance to prove itself. It's a guest team in the next PBA conference, and you can see for yourself just how good this program can be for the country - especially if you lend support to the cause.

It's for flag and country, after all. If that really means anything to you.

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Butiki Bullets: Thursday August 13

• Powerade Team Pilipinas plays Jordan at 2pm in a quarterfinals matchup. This is the one we can’t afford to lose if we want one of those three outright berths to the World Championships. A win here would put us in the semis, assured of at least a playoff for the third qualifying spot.

• Adamson coach Leo Austria did a exceptional job preparing his Falcons for the DLSU Green Archers. I was impressed with the Falcons almost all game long. In the fourth quarter, though, up by 14 with 6 minutes to go, they made one common mistake. The Falcons decided to run out the clock with every possession they had and take the latest possible shot. Coaches love doing this but really, this strategy is the simplest way to kill whatever semblance of an offensive rhythm a team has. So, DLSU slowly crept back into it and the Falcons couldn’t buy a bucket. How could they? The running out of the clock left them so cold, they looked lost on the offensive end. They managed to pull through with the W, but this was a mistake that so nearly cost them.

• Can a player from a guest team win MVP in the NCAA tournament? EAC’s prolific guard Argel Mendoza is averaging 19.8 points (2nd in the NCAA), including an unreal 27.3 points in his last three games. Mendoza also leads the league in assists (5.8) and steals (2.0). Although, the NCAA does have a rule in place that says the MVP must come from a Final Four team and that’s not likely to happen for the EAC Generals. Not this year, at least.

• Rick Olivarez of Bleachers Brew just published a feature on latest Smart Gilas recruit Chris Lutz, who seems to be getting along with his teammates. “’Playing with the Gilas team is fun and as a basketball junkie, you appreciate that they are smart and knowledgeable about the game,’ (Lutz) glowed about this exciting new chapter in his life. He was particularly impressed with its team captain Chris Tiu, shooting guard Jayvee Casio, and forward Marnel Baracael who he described as fearless.”

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NCAA UAAP Power Rankings: Week 5

Biggest jumps: FEU, UE (2 spots); Biggest drops: SSC, ADMU, JRU, CSJL, UST (1 spot); New entries: AU Chiefs; Dropped out: CSB Blazers

1 SBC Red Lions (Last week: 2; NCAA; 8-1)

San Beda had a magnificent week, crushing the AUF Great Danes by 33 and followed it up with a 15-point conquest of the JRU Heavy Bombers. ‘Superman’ Sudan Daniel has been living up to his name, lighting JRU up for 31 points. The Red Lions are just studs on the point differential meter, blowing away San Sebastian’s +15.7 by 4 whole points per game, that indicates them playing at a higher level than the NCAA’s current #1 though they remain half a game behind in the standings. In a week where the Stags looked vulnerable against a much weaker Mapua squad, SBC’s strong performance is enough to take #1 in our power rankings.

2 SSC-R Stags (Last week: 1; NCAA; 8-0)

The Stags are the only unbeaten team left in either of the two big college leagues. Jimbo Aquino was stellar in their only game of the week but Baste is getting contributions from everywhere, including rookie Calvin Abueva who has been averaging close to a double-double. They came out with a win this week to run their streak up to 8 in a row, but this last win was concerning. MIT played them big to match up with the tall, athletic Stags - who couldn’t get comfortable. The other top teams will undoubtedly attempt something similar, so coach Ato Agustin better come up with an adjustment to make opponents pay for doing such.

3 FEU Tamaraws (Last week: 5; UAAP; 6-1)

6 wins in a row, including a blowout and a squeaker over Final Four contenders UST and UE this week. The Tams haven’t dropped a game since opening weekend. They’ve toiled in the shadow of the Ateneo Blue Eagles for much of the season, but briefly took solo first place before Ateneo put their rivals away a couple of hours after FEU became the first UAAP team to 6 wins. FEU is such a deep team, they have four guys averaging in double figures - Andy Barroca (13.1), RR Garcia (11), Aldrech Ramos (11) and Pipo Noundou (10.3) – and two more who are one field goal away in JR Cawaling (9.5) and Reil Cervantes (8). They now stand atop the UAAP standing in a tie for first, but maintain a superior point differential (+11.6 to ADMU’s +9.6) over the Eagles.

4 ADMU Blue Eagles (Last week: 3; UAAP; 6-1)

The Eagles have regained their fiery form in wins against Adamson and NU last week, and a hard-fought win against their archrivals La Salle last Sunday. Rabeh Al-Hussaini, though, is officially in a slump. He’s averaged only 9.6 points in the last 3 games, and only 15 for the season. Ryan Buenafe, too, has been underwhelming this season. The rookie of the year is averaging only 5.6 points this year as compared to 7.6 in his rookie campaign. Good thing fellow sophomore Nico Salva is picking up some of the slack. He scored 13 in the win over DLSU and is averaging 7 points and 4 rebounds off the bench for Ateneo.

5 JRU Heavy Bombers (Last week: 4; NCAA; 7-2)

JRU’s frontcourt just looked undersized in their losses to SSC and San Beda. Good thing for the Mandaluyong-based squad that 6’7 Cameroonian recruit Etame Joe is nearing a return from his injury. They have a lot of time to work him into the rotation before the Final Four, and they’ll match up much better if they can play Joe and slide JR Sena and Marvin Hayes one position down in their rematches against the Stags and Red Lions. More of a concern is leading scorer John Wilson’s disappearing acts in big games. The explosive scorer doesn’t suffer the same size problem as Sena and Hayes, and yet he struggled heavily to contribute against both teams.

6 DLSU Green Archers (Last week: 6; UAAP; 4-3)

The Archers may have dropped their only assignment this week, but considering they pushed this year’s title favorites to a close overtime game, then they deserve to stand pat at this spot this week. They seem to have found their game, after struggling for form early in the season. Their young guys (Joshua Webb, Arvie Bringas) have emerged as better options than their vets. The real test, though, is if they can keep things rolling in the second round, particularly in their games against fellow Final Four contenders UST and UE.

7 UE Red Warriors (Last week: 9; UAAP; 4-3)

The Red Warriors had a pretty successful week, picking up a win over UP and proving they can compete with top team FEU. This a team with a lot of weapons, but has had to rely mostly on talent alone. They need an offensive system that can make things easier for guys like Paul Lee and Val Acuna (who have both shot horribly from the field this season) to get better shots off. Unfortunately, coach Lawrence Chongson decided before the season to make things “simple” and “fun” for the players by installing a “freewheeling” offense - which basically means they can do what they want on the floor. Sometimes, “simple” and “fun” will get in the way of “winning” as UE might have to learn the hard way this season.

8 CSJL Knights (Last week: 7; NCAA; 5-3)

The Knights look like they already have a stranglehold on the last Final Four slot in the NCAA. This is the only team that competes regularly with the top three teams and probably the only team capable of pulling off an upset in the playoffs. Rookie Kevin Alas has provided adequate support to mainstays RJ Jazul and Rey Guevarra and this will be a dangerous darkhorse contender come the Final Four.

9 UST Growling Tigers (Last week: 8; UAAP; 4-3)

The Tigers are locked in a three-way tie with DLSU and UE, where only two will advance to Final Four. They have as good a shot as any. The three teams were basically rock-paper-scissors in their head-to-heads (DLSU beat UST, UST beat UE, UE beat DLSU). Now that Jeric Teng seems firmly entrenched as a third option, UST will be a very dangerous in the 2nd round. Right now though, they have the worst point differential among the three teams, with UST’s -3.2 trailing UE’s +3.1 and DLSU’s +0.4.

10 AU Chiefs (Re-entry; NCAA; 3-4)

Near the middle to the bottom of the NCAA standing, wins have become very hard to come by. But the Arellano University Chiefs made the most of their first win in five games by turning it into a beating of the UPHSD Altas. They led by as many as 26 points in the 2nd quarter and finished ahead by 15. Gio Ciriacruz and Adrian Celada led the way with 20 and 19, respectively, one game after the triple-overtime heartbreaker of a loss to CSB where Ciriacruz and Celada each scored 29.

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On generic names

You know how when your high school teacher requires you to write a short story or play and so you're forced to come up with names for your characters? The common strategy is to come up with a generic first name, then pair it up with a generic last name and you come up with such random names like Carlo Gomez, Mark Lopez, Martin Reyes or Alvin Padilla.

Well, those guys aren't exactly fictional people. Ladies and Gentlemen, those are your 2009 UP Fighting Maroons.

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Butiki Bullets: Ateneo La Salle Edition

• Reigning MVP Rabeh Al-Hussaini suffered an injury (ankle) in the Blue Eagles' 76-72 overtime win, but his team hardly missed him in this one. After a huge first quarter, the Rabeh-lation disappeared, visibly frustrated by the length of DLSU rookie Yutien Andrada. He was blocked by Andrada twice, started missing easy looks and was even called for an unsportsmanlike foul after being physical with the young Green Archer. Backup Nico Salva played great, sticking in a couple of key baskets, including one in the final 15 seconds of the game. Salva has made big strides in his game, and he'll make the defending champs all the more dangerous.

• As the pregame show said, rivalries bring out the best and worst in us. Nobody that exemplified that better than La Salle sophomore Joshua Webb. He came out with a mission, and spelled 17 points on Ateneo in the first half. Webb finished with a career-best 26 points and looked every bit a star on both ends of the floor. His antics, though, which includes a swift kick to Bacon Austria's rib and several counts of taunting, added a lot of color to a game that didn't need it.

• Where have all the vets gone? James Mangahas, Peejay Barua and Bader Malabes combined for 3 of 23 shooting from the field for 8 points.
  

• Blue and Green aside, Yellow was indeed the prevalent color in the game. Jaemark of Fire Quinito says: "Apart from the amazing basketball, it was also heartening to watch the game with a sea of yellow surrounding the play – apparently, most of the fans that came to the game overcame the douchebaggery of certain people who even campaigned against wearing yellow. So from this UP fan with no love lost for both teams, I’d like to congratulate Ateneo and La Salle for the awesome game and for the gesture for Cory Aquino, showing that a yellow shirt doesn’t make your hearts beat less blue or green."

• Buzzer beater. Overtime. A kick to the rib. Unlikely heroics from unlikely heroes. A beautiful tribute to one of the country's true heroes. School spirit. Desire to win. This one had everything an Ateneo La Salle game should have and more. What could have made it any better? How about the chance we'll be doing it again next Sunday? We haven't confirmed the schedule yet, but rumor has it that the next Ateneo La Salle match is scheduled for next Sunday. That would be insane.
  

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Some thoughts on the Xavier players in the UAAP

Caught the UST-UP game this afternoon. In an earlier post, I mentioned how impressed I was with the Xavier High School players currently playing in the UAAP. This was right after a playing date where UP's Woody Co and UST's Jeric Teng both set career-highs in points as they led their respective teams in scoring in similar losing efforts. Today, their teams were matched up against each other in the main event of the Saturday double-header.

And both Co and Teng were at it again. The two former Stallions engaged each other in a virtual duel through the first three quarters. Teng had compiled 22 points and 8 rebounds by the end of the third, while Co matched him with 20 of his own. Teng scored in a variety of ways, taking contact on drives, confusing defenders with double-clutches and even scored a rare four-point play. Co, meanwhile, had the more difficult job of having to carry a team that has stretches where it is just plain bad. Co established himself as his team's best finisher in the post on top of his sweet shooting touch as he scored 8 of his team's 12 points in a very difficult 3rd quarter for the Maroons.

Unfortunately, neither made much of an impact in the fourth as Teng gave way to Dylan Ababou and Khasim Mirza, who dominated the touches for UST, and Co was visibly gassed in the final canto after having to strap his team on his back for three periods.

Teng bested his career-high by finishing with 22 and Co matched his own recently-set high by ending up with 23 markers. That's back-to-back games for Co where he put up a career performance, and the third in a row for Teng, who is averaging 20.0 points in his last three games.

Like I said, Xavier doesn't put a lot of players into the UAAP, but the few that they do have all been special. Joseph Yeo and TY Tang have both gone on to successful young careers in the PBA while Chris Tiu is serving a stint in the Smart Gilas Developmental Team. Co was rookie of the year in 2005 and Teng is in good position to do the same this season.

Very impressive results for the school's basketball program in recent years. They're certainly one school colleges should scout extensively. There is plenty of talent there.

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