One Day Later: AU vs UPHSD, SSCR vs LPU

UPHSD 77 - AU 60
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Player of the Game : Justine Alano, the Altas' undersized center, has quietly been putting up solid numbers all season despite the lack of height. He fittingly capped off his season with a 16 point, six rebound, two block performance.

By the Numbers :

• The Altas were never a run and gun team, but they ambushed Arellano with a transition attack that earned them 21 points yesterday, a huge improvement from their 7.6 average. The Chiefs on the other hand, had just five in that category. 
• Arellano took nearly as many three's as two point shots, 27 to 30. They weren't particularly good at hitting either, converting just nine treys, and 12 two-pointers. They finished 21 of 57 from the field, for 37 percent. Perpetual Help meanwhile, shot 45 percent. 
• Neither side turned the ball over a lot. Arellano committed 12, while Perpetual made 11. The Altas were better at taking advantage of those miscues though, getting 17 points off them, compared to just two by the Chiefs. 

The Other Names :

• This was probably not the way Arellano's graduating players expected to go out. Andrian Celada, Gerald Lapuz and Ronnel Delo Rsario all started, but didn't play a minute of the second half. The trio combined for just five points, eight rebounds, and two assists, in 32 minutes. 
• Harold Sumera and Christopher Sison wrapped up their NCAA careers, but neither were particularly special in this game. Sumera tallied six points, two rebounds and two blocks, while Sison finished with two boards and an assist.

Boxed in - Calvin Abueva and Ian Sangalang teamed up to oust the Pirates (pic source)

SSCR 80 - LPU 68
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Player of the Game : Calvin Abueva turned around his 1 for 12 performance versus Letran by making 8 of his 13 shots for a game-high 18 points. He also added 12 rebounds, an assist and a block in 30 minutes of play.

By the Numbers :

• The Stags finished with an overwhelming advantage in terms of shooting, making more 54 percent of their shots (27 of 50), while allowing Lyceum to shoot just 29 percent (23 of 80). 
• San Sebastian left themselves vulnerable by committing 27 turnovers, giving Lyceum 23 free points. The Pirates made just 14 errors, leading to 11 turnover points for the Stags. 
• Lyceum missed more shots, naturally giving San Sebastian a huge edge in rebounding, 52 to 40. However, the Pirates still managed to haul down more offensive boards, 18 to 7. It's just that they couldn't convert on those shots, as both teams finished with six second chance points.

The Other Names :

• Once again Onofre Napia and Mark Francisco did the bulk of the damage for the Pirates, combining for 23 points and 14 rebounds. Lyceum's usual threats, Chris Cayabyab and Floricel Guevarra, were just 5 of 30 from the field for 13 points.
• Ian Sangalang dominated the interior to the tune of 15 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks. 
• Players not named Ian, Calvin or Ronald combined to go 10 of 14 from the field for the Stags for 21 points. 

NCAA Picking Record: 61-22-3

NCAA S87: AU vs UPHSD

History Lesson:
Coming close doesn't count for a lot in the NCAA, but the Altas did find themselves with a winnable game. Gerald Lapuz halved his charities to put the Chiefs up 71-62, but star player Jett Vidal countered with a triple, reducing the deficit to six, 1:34 left. Concentrated defense by the Altas drew two turnovers from the sloppy Chiefs, but the host school could not convert on the other end, with Vidal failing to repeat his make from downtown on two tries. They got close enough to make it 71-65, but by then, the clock had ran out, giving Arellano back to back wins for the first time in the season. (Recap here)


What's at Stake:

• There's nothing at stake but pride in this game, as the 6-11 Chiefs take on the 4-13 Altas.

AU Stat to Watch : We know that the Chiefs love to zone, and when they do, they're vulnerable to three-point shots if they don't rotate quickly enough to the open guy. They didn't do that in the first half of the season, giving up 34.98 percent shooting from downtown and 6.87 makes. Well they seem to have righted that ship in the latter part of the year as that percentage has dropped down to 26.28 percent and four treys. Given that the Altas take and make the most triples in the league, that defense will be tested in their final game of the season.
AU Player to Watch : Andrian Celada's numbers are down across the board from his Mythical Five selection season a year ago, but the graduating senior will likely look to leave with a bang before heading off to the PBA-DL, and perhaps, the PBA after that.

UPHSD Stat to Watch : The Altas bucked a 33 percent shooting clip to beat Letran from the line, going 21 of 26 from the stripe. That's 80.77 percent, their best for the entire season, believe it or not. Can they repeat that feat?
UPHSD Player to Watch : Jett Vidal out-dueled Kevin Alas in their upset of Letran, with Vidal scoring 18 on 5 of 13 field goal shooting, and more importantly, 7 of 8 from the line. If he can match the production of Celada, then the Altas will likely be in good shape.


Prediction: AU Chiefs

One Day Later: SBC vs CSB, MIT vs AU

A monstrous outing by Marcelo keys in the SBC win (pic source)

SBC 84 - CSB 75
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Player of the Game : Dave Marcelo could not be stopped by the "bigs" of CSB, dropping 18 and 11 on the likes of Jan Tan and Ian Dela Paz. On the other end, Marcelo also tallied two steals and four swats, as the man in the middle for San Beda could not be stopped.

By the Numbers :

• Simply put, the Red Lions plain shot better from the field, making 29 of 58 shots for 50 percent field goal shooting, compared to the 38 percent clip, 24 of 64, that the Blazers sported. 
• As a result of the lopsided shooting clips, San Beda got a 42-30 rebound advantage. Offensive rebounds though were nearly even, with Benilde even edging SBC, 15 to 14.
• San Beda also got more team plays, as seen in their 19 to 12 assist advantage.

The Other Names :

• Carlo Lastimosa notched 15 points in 19 minutes in his return to CSB, but once again, he could not lift his squad in the final minutes, this time on a technicality, a supposed NCAA "house rule" that prevents players from reentering the court for three minutes should he be made to sit and have a replacement shoot his freethrows. Because there was less than three minutes remaining when Lastimosa fell to the floor, he couldn't reenter the game, to the chagrin of coach Richard Del Rosario.
• Garvo Lanete went 8 of 17 for 25 points in this game to lead all scorers, with an additional six rebounds, two assists and two steals to his name.
• Jake Pascual played the point forward role to the hilt, accounting for seven of his team's 19 assists. He also had four points, seven rebounds, a steal and two blocks in yet another all-around performance.

40 minutes of Celada helped key in the upset win over MIT (pic source)

AU 73 - MIT 69
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Player of the Game :  Mark Doligon waxed hot from the field, scoring 17 points on 7 of 11 shooting, making all five of his two-point attempts, before fouling out. He typified the hot shooting of the Chiefs in today's outing.

By the Numbers :

• While the margin was not as bad as the San Beda - St. Benilde game, the Chiefs managed to shoot 51 percent from the field (29/57) compared to 43 percent by Mapua (24/56). That's the best shooting mark for the Chiefs all season long.
• Mapua managed to lose despite getting 14 more free throw attempts (making 10 more than Arellano) and tripling the amount of second chance points the Chiefs produced, 18 to 6, courtesy of a 22 to 5 offensive rebound advantage. 
• The Cardinals continue to shoot poorly from downtown, this time with a 2 for 13 clip from outside the arc. In the past three games, they're just 7 of 42 on three-pointers, or 17 percent. Arellano on the other hand, was 6 for 19, with five different players making triples.

The Other Names :

• Allan Mangahas did his best again to try to single-handedly carry his team, scoring 18 points, 13 in th ethird quarter, and pulling down 11 rebounds but it wasn't enough. 
• As mentioned, Andrian Celada played the entire game and turned in a game-high 21 points as a result. Mapua threw various defenders on him, ranging from Kenneth Ighalo, Andretti Stevens and Jumel Chien, but none were effective. In my opinion, they should have tried sticking Nimes onto him as they have similar builds and similar games.
• Yousef Taha had a miserable outing. On paper, 10 points and six rebounds is already pretty poor, considering he played a team-high 33 minutes and was up against smaller defenders, but he was just 2 for 8 from the field, with the remaining six points coming on a perfect stint at the line. Then he compounded matters by turning the ball over a team-high seven times as well. Clearly that's nothing like the dominant performance many figured he would have based on his preseason outings. 

NCAA Picking Record: 57-21-2

NCAA S87: MIT vs AU

History Lesson:
A back and forth duel between these two teams made for a tense fourth quarter, as both sides continued to exchange the lead late in the game. Off their last timeout, the Cardinals went to Yousef Taha who scored on a fade-away shot down low, tying things at 70-all. Using their last timeout, Arellano went to Vergel Zulueta who missed on his drive, giving the ball back to Mapua. Timely usage of their fouls to give forced MIT to inbound with seconds to go, but on the last deadball, the Cardinals inserted Allan Mangahas, who was unaffected by his long cooling period riding the pine in the fourth. "The Snake" caught the inbounds from Jonathan Banal and calmly launched a triple that connected, winning the game for his team, 73-70. (Recap here)

What's at Stake:

• Tied with the JRU Heavy Bombers as both teams sport 7-9 records, anything Mapua can get to build separation will be vital in the battle for the fourth seed in the standings. 
• The Arellano Chiefs are out of the running with a 5-11 record (mathematically they're alive, but the scenario they need requires everyone ahead of them losing), and so will have to be content with playing spoiler against a team that escaped on the last possession in their first round encounter.

MIT Stat to Watch : The Cardinals conceded 21 turnovers to the Arellano Chiefs, allowing them to score 29 turnover points, the most Mapua has given up this season. Those errors allowed Arellano to keep things close, and so Mapua needs to be more careful with the ball. They committed a season-low 10 versus EAC and as such, the coaching staff of the Cardinals will be hoping that trend continues.
MIT Player to Watch : Yousef Taha helped dominate the Arellano interior, to the tune of 17 points and 15 rebounds, but the big man turned it over a season-high nine times in the process. The Cardinals will likely turn to him once more, but better post positioning and entry passes from the MIT guards could go a long way to curing Taha's butter fingers.

AU Stat to Watch : The Chiefs found their big men rocked by the post play of Mapua. Starting center Prince Caperal fouled out, But Andrian Celada (four fouls), Christian Palma (four fouls) and Gerald Lapuz (three fouls) all drew copious whistles from the refs as well, leading to a 26-8 MIT advantage in charities. With Lapuz likely to not play again due to having been drafted in the PBA, that's one less interior player to throw at the Cardinal bigs.
AU Player to Watch : With Andrian Celada catching fire once again, Vergel Zulueta has taken a backseat in terms of scoring, failing to go over 10 points in two out of the last three games (Just six points versus JRU and two against San Beda). Obviously, having both of them making shots is the ideal, but he can also fill the role of decoy, what with his average of 2.6 assists.

Prediction: MIT Cardinals 

One Day Later: JRU vs UPHSD, AU vs SBC

JRU 64 - UPHSD 57
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Player of the Game : Rookie John Villarias continues to impress, this time sharing the top-scoring honors with captain Raycon Kabigting as both finished with 11 points. Villarias however, was able to hit a crucial three-pointer with a second left on the clock in the overtime period, shifting momentum onto the side of the Bombers. He also added eight rebounds, and a team-high five assists in just 26 minutes of play. 

The Numbers :

• It's a mystery to me why JRU seems to struggle versus Perpetual Help. The two sides combined to score just 18 points in the second quarter, giving us a 24-20 halftime score, numbers some teams put up in a quarter. 
• The biggest factor in JRU's four-game winning streak? It's been their ability to hit outside shots now, 6 of 20 from beyond the arc in this game. They shot just 19.13 percent in their first 12 games, a pretty pathetic figure, for an average of 2.67 triples per game. That's been jacked up to 36.41 percent during their win streak, doubling their triples to 6.25.
• Even with the overtime period, the Altas managed to set their second-lowest amount of field goals in a game this season with 18. They previously made just 14 versus Letran in the first round.

The Other Names :

• Jeckster Apinan didn't have the scoring in today's game, as he was just 3 of 4 from the field for seven points, but he provided the interior defense, pulling down 13 rebounds and swatting two shots.
• Scottie Thompson may be the one to watch in Perpetual Help's future. The rookie from Davao continues to excel for this squad, notching a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds, while adding two assists, two steals and three blocks.

SBC 84 - AU 60
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Player of the Game : Jake Pascual turned in another strong performance, destroying the Arellano frontline with 16 points on 8 of 10 shooting in 21 minutes. He also pulled down 10 rebounds, dished out six assists and made a block.

The Numbers :

• San Beda wanted to try playing a full-court defense to put pressure on their opponents, in preparation for Letran and San Sebastian. The results are...mixed. Though they tallied 18 fastbreak points and 16 turnover points, they only forced 14 turnovers on the Chiefs, while committing 24 miscues themselves. Arellano meanwhile finished with 10 fastbreak points and 15 turnover points, and could have had more if they had made a few more layups.
• Big surprise: Arellano went to the line more times than San Beda, 20 to 14. Of course, the Chiefs made just half of their charities, while the Red Lions missed just three freebies.
• The big number was still rebounding, as the Lions finished with a 54 to 25 edge, 14 to 7 on the offensive glass.

The Other Names :

• Why didn't Leo Isaac field in Gerald Lapuz?
• Reserve center Ralph Salcedo did the most damage for Arellano, playing 34 minutes and tallying 14 points, five rebounds, two assists and a block and a steal. 
• Garvo Lanete was on fire in this game, scoring 16 points in 18 minutes, including 11 in a brutal third quarter stretch that saw him hit all three of his triples.

NCAA S87: AU vs SBC

History Lesson:
The defending NCAA champs found no real opposition from the Chiefs, as they turned a 21-17 first quarter deficit into a 44-35 lead at the break that only kept growing, until head coach Frankie Lim inserted his reserves in the fourth quarter. The game said volumes about San Beda's ability to execute, as they won 92-67, treating the Chiefs' zone defense like it was never really there. (Recap here)

What's at Stake: 

• The Chiefs are 5-10, just a game behind the 6-9 logjam for fourth place. A win here boosts their postseason chances, while further harming San Beda's chances at getting the twice to beat advantage inherent in the top two seeds.
• San Beda went back to its winning ways, improving to 11-2 after holding off the Cardinals, to stay a half-step behind the Letran Knights. A win here ties them with that team, necessary if the Red Lions want to snag a twice to beat advantage. 

AU Stat to Watch : Arellano's zone barely slowed San Beda down because the Red Lions were too speedy for the Chiefs, preventing them from getting back and setting it up. SBC scored 29 fast break points and 21 points off turnovers, as turnovers and poor transition defense burned AU. If they allow their opponent to get up and running again, another loss might be in order.
AU Player to Watch : Andrian Celada was barely a factor in their first encounter, scoring a mere eight points as the former Mythical Five selection struggled with a 3 of 14 shooting clip. He's been much improved since then though, having scored double-digits over the past 10 points, including coming off a 29-point career best versus Lyceum. That's the sort of effort he'll need to provide against a top-notch team like San Beda.

SBC Stat to Watch : The Red Lions notched 28 assists in this game, two shy of their season-high, as all that running and stealing turned out to be conducive to lots of forward passes to streaking open players. In their two losses, San Beda was held to under 20 assists, with 15 and 12 versus San Sebastian and JRU respectively. The team simply cannot take this game lightly and rely on individual play to win. 
SBC Player to Watch : Then a reserve, point guard Anjo Caram turned in his best performance of the season versus Arellano in the first round, with 15 points on perfect 6/6 shooting from the field plus five assists and no turnovers. Since then, Caram has assumed the starting job, and has shined as the team's floor general. If the perimeter defense is as bad now as it was back then, we could see some hot shooting coming from him again.

One Day Later: AU vs LPU, MIT vs SSCR

At the line - Arellano keeps their slim playoff shots alive (pic source)

AU 89 - LPU 77
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Player of the Game : Andrian Celada showed off the form that made him a Mythical Five selection last season, scoring 29 points on efficient 8 of 12 shooting from the field, 7 of 9 from the free throw line. Given the small nature of his opponents, Celada was also able to wreck havoc defensively, scoring two steals and two blocks.

AU Positives :

• The Chiefs kept chucking up three's, and they kept going in when they needed them the most, sinking 11 of 33 from beyond the arc to keep the Pirates out of the game. Most impressive was Celada's 6 for 8 clip, as all the rest of the players made just one of their numerous attempts each.
• Coming into this game, the Chiefs averaged 17.32 turnovers, but committed a season-low eight against the Pirates. They also came up with a season-high 11 steals, forcing 22 turnovers and scoring a whopping 32 turnover points from those mistakes, another best mark for the year.

AU Negatives :

• Foul trouble nearly hampered the Chiefs, as Vergel Zulueta and Mark Doligon both fouled out, with Gerald Lapuz and Ralph Salcedo candidates to graduate as well with four fouls each. Luckily, the Pirates were unable to press their advantage.

LPU Positives :

• It seems like a make it a point to mention the small size of the Pirates each game, but they still manage to dominate the boards, getting a 62-29 rebounding advantage, even though the Chiefs barely zoned in this game. Lyceum also tripled Arellano's offensive rebounds, getting 27 to just 9 by their opponents.  This strong interior play was highlighted by starting center Onofre Napiza, who turned in an 18-16 performance in 30 minutes of play.
• Bench scoring played a huge role in this game again as Shane Ko and Chris Cayabyab scored just 16 points. In their absence, Floricel Guevarra and Vence Laude filled in the void, with 18 points and 16 points respectively.

LPU Negatives :

• For all those offensive rebounds, Lyceum was only able to lead the second-chance points category by a slim margin, 10 to 7, being unable to convert on all those extra possessions.
• Lyceum entered this game as the best three-point shooting team, only to see themselves suffocated, and held to 1 of 12 shooting from beyond the arc. That's their second worst performance from outside, after a 1 for 22 game against EAC in round one.

Still standing - another last-second win propels SSCR to 15-0 (pic source)

SSCR 72 - MIT 69
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Player of the Game : Calvin Abueva, we meet again. "The Beast" dominated with 26 points and 16 rebounds, but his biggest contributions were his two triples, his only shots from beyond the arc that night as they kept San Sebastian's heads above water.

MIT Positives :

• Josaaaaaaaan Nimes! Nimes made-up for not scoring 20 points in their last game by exploding for 31, 21 points in the third quarter alone. He was also efficient in the way he scored, going 4 for 7 from outside, 6 of 9 from inside the arc, and 7 of 9 from the line. The problem? After being sat down to catch a breather at the end of the third, the MIT coaching staff then forgot about him, keeping him seated too long despite the close nature of the game. 

MIT Negatives :

• Mapua had opportunities to win this game, but Allan Mangahas wasn't aware enough of the time, forcing up a heave (that admittedly came this close to falling in, if you take away the bounce), and then on the last play, Nimes opting not to take the shot, passing the ball to an unprepared Yousef Taha. We thought the Cardinals had left their fourth-quarter woes behind with their improved second round play, but apparently, it still pops up every now and then.
• Outside of Nimes, Mapua saw some poor performances from their other players. Taha was 4 of 13 from the field and 2 of 11 from the line. The point guards Jonathan Banal and Allan Mangahas scored just seven points on 3 of 14 shooting. Save for Taha, no other big was active on the boards. While Nimes could probably carry the squad against lower-tier teams, they can't rely on him solely if they want to topple one of the teams ahead of them in the standings.

SSCR Positives :

• The Stags showed composure under fire again for the second straight close game, Ian Sangalang coming up with the big steal off Mark Sarangay, and then Ronald Pascual nailing two charities, after a big triple by Calvin Abueva a few plays earlier. That's the sort of late-game resolve they can bank on when they play Letran and San Beda down the line as their regular season schedule hits the twilight phase. 

SSCR Negatives :

• Sangalang was once again kept in check, this time finishing with just 11 points and seven rebounds, though as mentioned, he came up with the big steal late. With defenses keying in on the more "flamboyant" members of the Big Three, Sangalang ought to demand the ball more from double-teams, using his height and speed to draw mismatches, especially if the opposing team is in a zone, as he can hit that short-range jumper from the zone's gaps. 

NCAA Picking Record: 51-18-1

NCAA S87: AU vs LPU

History Lesson:
In a "probationary member" versus "guest team" battle, the Lyceum Pirates got out ahead early to a 22-13 lead, but a persistent Arellano team kept launch comeback after comeback, at one point in the third quarter, getting to within a point, 47-46, after an 8-0 Chiefs blitz. That was as close as they would get though, as the Pirates banked on firepower off the bench from Floricel Guevarra and Gian Mallari to break the zone and keep the lead all the way to the final buzzer, 84-74. (Recap here)

What's at Stake:

• At 4-10, the Arellano Chiefs are all but out of it, meaning they'll be going into this game with a spoiler's mentality, looking to take down other teams straddling the line between "having a chance" and "having no chance." 
• The slipping Lyceum Pirates used to have the number four seed locked up, until suspensions, both internal and by the league, sent them spiraling downwards. At 5-8, they still have a chance at getting back to where they were, but it's an uphill climb for this team.

AU Stat to Watch : Since the latter part of the first round, the Chiefs have gone to great lengths to solve their bench scoring woes, shuffling their personnel around and giving more minutes to guys like Mark Doligon and Ronnel Del Rosario. As a result, they've gone from a league-worst 15.11 bench points to 25.4 points from the reserves. However, head coach Leo Isaac still ought to consider giving more minutes to Chris Okpe to defend the paint, especially when you consider the lack of size of Lyceum.
AU Player to Watch : Vergel Zulueta came out on top in the scoring duel versus Chris Cayabyab, with 23 points to Cayabyab's 20, on some insane numbers: 9/10 from inside the arc, 10/12 from the line, five rebounds and five assists. After scoring just six markers versus JRU, expect Zulueta to look to bounce back.

LPU Stat to Watch : Lyceum used to be a decent shooting team, ranked in the middle at 39.63 percent after round one. But with all the upheaval this team has faced since then, plus the fact that teams have seen enough to scout this guest squad, the Pirates have gone all the way down to the bottom of the sea, just 34.11 percent shooting in round two, worst in the league. Over the length of the whole season, they're about third-worst, at 37.97 percent.
LPU Player to Watch : With Allan Santos reportedly out of Lyceum (and spotted at the Adamson game to boot, cheering on his old team!), it's up to Onofre Napiza to man the middle for the Pirates. Napiza came up with a 10-point, six rebound game in their last outing, helped by the Arellano zone, and so if the Chiefs keep on trotting out that defense, smart boxing out may lead to easy second-chance points.


Prediction: LPU Pirates

UAAP/NCAA Power Rankings: Week 9 of 2011

The unified UAAP/NCAA Power Rankings throws everything into a blender, hits the button, and ducks as it first mashes up, and then sorts out all 18 teams of both leagues. Among other factors, the panel of one takes into consideration: the quality of opponents played in the past week, how the team fared against those opponents, whether or not a team is on a roll, be it an uphill or downhill, and other factors like injuries or internal disarray.

In the second to the last Power Rankings for 2011 (it's hard to do them four teams in the UAAP are ON VACATION), we see just one remaining undefeated squad take the top spot, and some minor jostling around as the NCAA teams can see the halfway point of the second round from over here. We spend some time talking about the offseason already with the booted UAAP teams, as the mid-section of the NCAA starts to settle as teams drop out of the race for the fourth seed, one by one.

One Day Later: AU vs JRU, EAC vs UPHSD

JRU 79 - AU 69
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Player of the Game : I've always felt like Jeckster Apinan has been underused this season, so it's good to see him cut loose especially in a game like this. Apinan stuffed the stat sheet to the tune of 15 points on 5 of 8 shooting, 10 rebounds, seven assists, a steal, two blocks, and just a single turnover. If he can keep this up, Apinan ought to see more minutes down the final stretch of the season.

AU Positives :

• Andrian Celada led his team with 19 points on 8 of 16 shooting, including a nice dunk in transition in the first quarter, when he exploded for 10 markers.
• Instead of falling to JRU's press, it was the Bombers who found themselves committing a ton of turnovers, 27 to be precise, allowing Arellano to exploit those mistakes to the tune of 25 points, more than a third of their production today. It must be noted though that a large chunk of those errors happened near the end of the game when things were safely out of reahc..

AU Negatives :

•  The Chiefs got to the line nine more times than JRU, 25 to 16, but converted just 16 charities. All those misses could have put Arellano in a different position, especially when they threatened early in the final period. 

JRU Positives :

• The Bombers got scoring from multiple sources, as five players finished with at least 10 points. That's the sort of balanced scoring they missed, as previous wins usually boiled down to a playe or two catching fire.
• JRU was simply on fire, finishing with a 58 percent clip from the field. Arellano on the other hand, was held to just 43 percent shooting, resulting in a 37-23 advantage by the Bombers on the boards.

JRU Negatives :

• JRU's point guards were terrible, with starter Alex Almario turning it over seven times, while reserve Philip Paniamogan gave it up half the time in his 10 minute stint. The only floor general who took care of the ball, Romnick Mendoza, played just six sminutes.

EAC 77 - UPHSD 71
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Player of the Game : Franz Chiong went from starting point guard during the summer to after thought in the rotation once the NCAA proper began. Based on this game though, Chiong might just take that starting spot back, leading the Generals with 19 points on 6 of 12 shooting.

EAC Positives :

• Perseverance in the face of adversity saw the Generals keep calm when the Altas sliced their lead to just three points late in the final period. Without the benefit of a timeout, Milan Vargas attracted the Perpetual Help defenders, leaving Russell Yaya wide open at the baseline for a drop pass and an easy layup, to punctuate the win for EAC.
• Jolas Paguia flashed his amazing skillset once again with a 14-11 double-double, making four triples, and blocking two shots. 
• 58 rebounds is a season-high for this team, after getting 49 versus Lyceum in round one. Sure, Paguia hauled down 11 boards, but more importantly, the guards did their part as well, as Jan Jamon had the most with 12, while Milan Vargas added another 11.

EAC Negatives :

•  After Jett Vidal missed a triple with the score at 73-65 with a little over a minute left, Harold Arboleda grabbed the miss and got fouled, making both free throws with 1:08 remaining.  Scottie Thompson stole the inbounds and got an and one, making it 73-69 as he missed the charity. And had George Allen not pushed off, thus getting a whistle and giving possession to the Generals, Perpetual Help could have cut the lead down even further, maybe even getting the lead.

UPHSD Positives :

• The Altas got blown out in round one by this team, 71-58. Losing by just single digits is a big improvement, sort of. 

UPHSD Negatives :

• While the Altas committed only 10 turnovers, to the 19 of the Generals, Perpetual Help could only score two more turnover points, 14 to 12, despite having nine more opportunities. 
• Perpetual Help left a lot of points on the table, making just 16 of 32 free throws, the same number of conversions that EAC had on 24 attempts. The Altas also kept throwing up triples, looking for a quick way to regain the lead, especially in the third period, finishing 5 for 25 from beyond the arc, led by Jett Vidal's 3 of 13 stat. 
• After getting eight transition points in the first half, the Altas scored just five fastbreak points in the remaining three periods.

NCAA Picking Record: 49-16-1 

NCAA S87: AU vs JRU

History Lesson:
Alex Almario came up slightly short at the end of regulation. Nailing a triple with 21.1 seconds left, the JRU floor general gave his squad a 70-68 lead. Vergel Zulueta could not tie the game on the other side, and so the Arellano Chiefs were forced to foul Almario again. He could not seal the game though, getting just a split at the line. Then with time running down, Gerald Lapuz was able to force an extra five minutes, banking in a triple at the buzzer, and also stealing the momentum of the game, as Rocky Acidre and Prince Caperal were able to carry the probationary team to the victory, 79-75.  (Recap here)

What's at Stake:

• With the Chiefs at 4-9 and the Bombers at 3-9, it's highly unlikely that either will still make the Final Four, barring any disastrous collapses by the teams on top. With that said, this becomes a battle for pride, as both squads try to regain their form from seasons past.

AU Stat to Watch : The Chiefs chose this game to shorten their rotation to just eight players, an extremely risky situation, given the pressing defense of JRU and the overtime situation. As a result, it gave the Chiefs the worst bench scoring average, just 17.77 points a game. They've taken steps to remedy that though, expanding their rotation once again to include guys like Mark Doligon and Ronnel Del Rosario, and when head coach Leo Isaac was in the US, his assistant Junjie Ablan was able to incorporate Chris Okpe into the mix. We'll see if the additional support will increase AU's chances in this game.
AU Player to Watch : Okpe had played spot minutes in the three games he was fielded in, prior to the second round Benilde game, but he delivered in the 15 minutes, scoring just two points, but hauling down five rebounds and blocking five shots. He could be a nice match-up for JRU's centers like John Montemayor and Jeckster Apinan.

JRU Stat to Watch : The Bombers for whatever reason, have struggled to score in the second round, scoring just 60 points on average, as they possess the worst three-point game and are abysmal at the free throw line. With Arellano possessing multiple gunners, led by Andrian Celada, who can go off at anytime, if the JRU defense can't hold, their offense may not be enough to get them back in the game.
JRU Player to Watch : After averaging 12.33 points in 28.17 minutes in the first six games, Ronnel Carampil has suddenly been stapled to the bench, norming just 14 minutes in the back six games, including playing a mere five minutes in their loss to San Sebastian. He's also gone scoreless twice in that stretch and hasn't put up more than six points, let alone double-figures.

Prediction: Arellano Chiefs

UAAP/NCAA Power Rankings: Week 8 of 2011

The unified UAAP/NCAA Power Rankings throws everything into a blender, hits the button, and ducks as it first mashes up, and then sorts out all 18 teams of both leagues. Among other factors, the panel of one takes into consideration: the quality of opponents played in the past week, how the team fared against those opponents, whether or not a team is on a roll, be it an uphill or downhill, and other factors like injuries or internal disarray.

As the UAAP winds down, teams begin to shuffle all over the place as the Final Four picture starts to crystallize. There's a ton of movement in the NCAA as well, as squads continue to jockey too for the fourth seed. More importantly, the committee of one has saved the last two spots for two "special" teams who showed spectacular inability this past week in either defense or offense, as anyone who watched either of those games got to catch a bit of basketball history.

NCAA S87: CSB vs AU

History Lesson:
The Arellano Chiefs had the element of surprise on their side, going with a revamped starting five and ambushing the St. Benilde Blazers with an 11-0 start to the game. Still, the game was a close affair, as Mark Romero was able to make the dish to Jonathan Grey to cut the lead to just two points, 62-60, but on the ensuing Arellano possession, the Chiefs were able to kill clock before the Blazers were forced to foul sending Andrian Celada to the line where he converted two charities to clinch the 64-60 win. Celada, Gerald Lapuz and Rocky Acidre all scored in double-digits, overshadowing the one-two rookie punch of Paolo Taha and Jonathan Grey for the Blazers. (Recap here)

What's at Stake:

• With the 4-7 Blazers at sixth place and the 4-8 Chiefs at seventh, beating the other team at this point will greatly help boost the winner's campaign to wrest away the final playoff seed. A loss could essentially mean a need to sweep the remaining games, given how there's only about six or seven remaining on tap. 

CSB Stat to Watch : What to point at as the source for CSB's recent slump? Benilde has not been able to score as efficiently from inside the arc, going 45.75 percent in round two, after finishing round one at a 50.51 percent clip. Though Jonathan Grey and Paolo Taha have been getting to the rim, they're not getting a whole lot from guys like Ian Dela Paz and Jan Tan. Those shooty big men have to find their range to compliment what their guards are doing.
CSB Player to Watch : Carlo Lastimosa found himself shut down against the Chiefs in their first encounter, scoring just four points on 1 of 6 shooting, while turning the ball over foul times. No doubt, he'll be looking to assert himself versus this team, but in the face of a 2-3 zone, Lastimosa has to be avoid falling into the temptation of chucking up triple after triple and instead, drive into the lane and kick out to open players if necessary.

AU Stat to Watch : Arellano had some good rebounding games, leading up to their massacre at the hands of the Golden Stags. Prior to that game, they were averaging 40.33 boards, 13.67 of which were on the offensive end, in a three-game span. Those numbers dropped to 29 and 10 respectively versus San Sebastian, but CSB is a horrible rebounding team, so guys like Gerald Lapuz and Ronnel Del Rosario ought to rule the boards in this encounter.
AU Player to Watch : Andrian Celada has been up and down all season for the Chiefs, as his marksmanship has not always been there for this squad. In fact, in the second round, he's shooting a mere 33 percent from the field. What's saved him though is against Letran and EAC, he managed to get to the line 17 times, missing just one charity. Against San Sebastian though, he only saw the stripe twice, knocking them both down. If Celada begins attacking the interior, especially since CSB doesn't have a single shot blocker, he could put his team in position to win once again.

Prediction: Arellano Chiefs

One Day Later: AU vs SSCR, CSJL vs JRU

SSCR 97 - AU 70
Recap - - - Preview

Player of the Game : The San Sebastian Stags took advantage of the Arellano Chiefs starting small by making sure center Ian Sangalang got the most touches on the team, allowing him to post 24 points on 18 shot attempts. Sangalang got multiple looks, being defended by Gerald Lapuz, Ronnel Del Rosario and Christian Palma, but none of them were able to contain the big guy, as he also hauled down nine rebounds.

AU Positives :

• -After three games of averaging just 40.03 percent from inside the arc, the Chiefs were able to hit 49 percent of their inside shots against the Stags (a bit of a reach, but hey, think positive)

AU Negatives :

• The Chiefs could not get anything going on the boards, pulling down just 29 to 48 by the Stags.
• After swapping the lead back and forth early in the first quarter, the Stags seized the lead and never let go of it. As a result, the Chiefs were in perpetual catch-up mode, as this game never became close again.

SSCR Positives :

• The Stags won via the fundamentals, getting good shooting (35 percent from three, 51 percent overall), lots of rebounds (48 to 29 edge, 17 to 10 on the offensive glass), and plenty of team play (22 to 15 assists).
• After norming 22 turnovers in their first eight games, the Stags have been able to calm down and not make careless mistakes. That number has dropped to just 17.33 in their last three outings, with them achieving their fewest turnovers of the season in this game, with 16.
• San Sebastian got some great hustle play, outscoring the Chiefs 25 to 10 in transition, and 24 to 14 on turnover points, with the latter being significant as they both finished with 16 miscues.
• Big game for the bench as Michael Miranda and Jovit Dela Cruz combined for 17 points.

SSCR Negatives :

• Of the team's 16 turnovers, nine came from Ronald Pascual, four came from Calvin Abueva.

CSJL 75 - JRU 56
Recap - - - Preview

Player of the Game : Kevin Alas started slow, before turning it up in a critical, game-winning fourth quarter stretch where he dropped nine points of a crucial 11-2 run, sealing the deal for the Knights. All in all, Alas finished with 17 points on 7 of 16 shooting, six rebounds, five assists and three steals.


CSJL Positives :

• Second-half execution was much improved for the Knights, as they went from 11 turnovers, 14 fouls and nine made field goals to four errors, 10 fouls and 18 converted shots. JRU on the other hand, continued with their sloppy play, thus keying in the win for Letran.
• Jam Cortes outplayed his JRU counterpart, scoring 11 points, hauling down seven boards, and blocking two shots. More importantly, Cortes had no turnovers and just two fouls, allowing him to stay on the court longer.
• Kevin Racal got the party started in the fourth quarter with Kevin Alas on the bench, scoring six points to start the backpedaling of JRU.

CSJL Negatives :

• Raymond Almazan was held in check again, this time with foul trouble, as the 6'7" center compiled just seven points and nine rebounds, though he did have two steals and three blocks.

JRU Positives :

• The Heavy Bombers were clearly out to win this game, and in the first half, their effort definitely showed, as they managed to tie the game at the break, 31-all, after Letran let loose with a big run. They also managed to get the rebounding edge after 20 minutes and tied them at the end of the game, a big deal when you consider that Letran is the number one rebounding team in the NCAA.

JRU Negatives :

• I'm not sure why Jeckster Apinan gets stapled to the bench in games like these. His combination of height and athleticism makes him a good match for any of Letran's bigs, but he only got seven minutes of play, as Ralph Monserat and John Montemayor saw the lion's share of minutes.
• The missing piece was John Lopez, who despite playing 31 minutes with four fouls, only contributed two points and four rebounds. Lopez has been on a slide since Nate Matute came back, but as the go-to guy for JRU in the post, he has to be more assertive and demand the ball when he establishes good position in the block.
• Instead of Lopez, the Bombers tried in vain to get Nate Matute going, and though he top-scored for the team with 15 points, he needed 21 shot attempts to get there, a far from efficient performance.
• 1 of 6 shooting from downtown, 29 turnovers, 30 fouls, the story of JRU. 

NCAA Picking Record: 41-14-1

NCAA S87: AU vs SSCR

History Lesson: 
It took awhile, but when the San Sebastian Stags finally put their foot down on the necks of the Arellano Chiefs, the result was a brilliant, high-scoring affair that saw big performances from the main guys of last season's runners-up. The Stags started the game 22-12 after the first quarter, shrugging off some comeback tries to get to 47-34 in the third period. However, Andrian Celada capped off an Arellano rally with a triple that got them to 49-43 with four minutes to go in the quarter. Then with 31 seconds left, Rocky Acidre scored to make it 57-54. That was a close as they got though, as the Stags unleashed their full transition game, scoring on outlet passes directly from the rebounder, to arrive at the final score, 92-79. The highlight of the Stags was Calvin Abueva's triple-double: 18 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists, the first and so far only triple-double this season. (Recap here)

What's at Stake:

• The 4-7 Arellano Chiefs are just a game and a half behind the 5-5 Lyceum Pirates who currently hold the number four seed. A win against the best team not only gives them upward movement in the standings, the morale boost would be extraordinary, as will opening the door to other teams believing they can take down the top two teams, causing a possible large shift in the standings. It is also important to note that this is the first of two games that head coach Leo Isaac will miss as he is currently in the U.S. on a scouting trip.
• At 10-0, the Stags would like to stay perfect, and after a long break, ought to be in game mode right from the opening tip.

AU Stat to Watch : After a three-game stretch (MIT, SSCR, CSB) that saw them norm just 11.33 trips to the foul line per game, the Chiefs have been attacking the rim with renewed vigor, getting to the line 30 times since the final game of the first round versus Perpetual Help. If they can get any of the big three in foul trouble, that will go along way to getting a win.
AU Player to Watch : Mark Doligon had his breakout game against the Stags, playing double digit minutes for the first time all season, rewarding his coach's belief in him with a team-high 17 points. Since then he's been a consistent contributor to the squad, both as a starter and as a reserve. It would be a nice case of symmetry if he can come up big against San Sebastian once more.

SSCR Stat to Watch : Though the Stags take the fewest triples in the league, just 13.1 a game, they're adept at getting out and running (14.4 fastbreak points, second in the league) and scoring off turnovers (14.9, fourth in the NCAA). That means it won't just be Arellano's 2-3 zone that will be important, it'll be their transition defense as well, cutting off easy layups from the likes of Abueva and Ronald Pascual.
SSCR Player to Watch : Reserve guard Lyle Antipuesto is the Stags' best three-point shooter, making 8 of his 15 long-range shots so far this season. Antipuesto had a cameo role, just four minutes, in the first round meeting between these two teams but with head coach Topex Robinson looking to give his reserves more minutes to build their confidence, he could get the nod against the zone.


Prediction: SSCR Stags

UAAP/NCAA Power Rankings: Week 7 of 2011

The unified UAAP/NCAA Power Rankings throws everything into a blender, hits the button, and ducks as it first mashes up, and then sorts out all 18 teams of both leagues. Among other factors, the panel of one takes into consideration: the quality of opponents played in the past week, how the team fared against those opponents, whether or not a team is on a roll, be it an uphill or downhill, and other factors like injuries or internal disarray.

The middle of the rankings have changed dramatically, as in the UAAP, one team lands the number four spot and looks to solidify their hold on it as the post-season looms, while over in the NCAA, former cellar-dwellers begin to find new life in the second round, with an eye to toppling Lyceum from the fourth seed. Also in there, a shift in the top spot again!

One Day Later: AU vs EAC, MIT vs UPHSD

AU 78 - EAC 70
Recap - - - Preview

Player of the Game : It's one of those times when I have to give this to someone on the losing team. Remy Morada basically kept the EAC Generals from losing by 20+ points (exaggeration, but still) with his out of nowhere 28 point explosion, 17 coming in the third quarter, when EAC briefly harbored comeback aspirations. He shot 11 of 16 from the field, 5 of 7 from downtown, and added five rebounds, three assists and two steals in the process, to just two turnovers, while playing 35 minutes. Without Milan Vargas and Joshua Torralba, the Generals were lucky to find another talent on their bench to keep them competitive.

AU Positives :

• Head coach Leo Isaac expanded his rotation to include 10 players, and the move allowed him to keep his guys fresh (with the exception of Andrian Celada, who played 38 minutes). The reserves were led once again by Mark Doligon, whose hot shooting led to 14 markers, as well as four boards, two assists and two blocks. 
• The Chiefs outhustled the Generals in fastbreak points, 13 to 8, and in turnover points, 18 to 10. They also tallied a whopping 20 to 8 advantage in assists.
• Seeing the depleted Generals line-up before them, the Chiefs decided to attack, attack, attack. EAC as a result, had one guy foul out and three players tagged with four fouls. With an already shortened line-up, that forced head coach Gerry Esplana's hand, putting third-stringers on the court. Another consequence was that Arellano got 40 looks at the foul stripe, of which they converted 28.

AU Negatives :

• Arellano managed just 35 percent shooting, despite playing an already poor defensive team stripped of some of their more athletic players.

EAC Positives :

• EAC was at least able to go down swinging despite their numbers. They also managed to shoot well (when they took care of the ball), leading to 43 percent shooting on the balance, 24 of 56 from the field, and a scorching 8 of 17 stint from beyond the arc.

EAC Negatives :

• The Generals still couldn't take care of the ball, resulting in 21 turnovers that the Chiefs pounced on. Six of those came from Claude Cubo, and five were from Jan Jamon, their two most veteran players.
• After a slow start, the Generals forgot about Jolas Paguia for awhile, only to realize he created mismatches with the Arellano bigs, using him to break their fourth quarter dry spell by getting him into the post. In truth, they should have gone to the post more often with him and Cubo, instead of hanging around throwing up jumpers, regardless of how good their shooting percentage wound up being. It could have still been higher. 
• Only eight assists again for this team. Even without Torralba, this squad still succumbed to one on one play.

MIT 65  - UPHSD 62
Recap - - - Preview

Player of the Game : Josan Nimes is becoming the face of the Mapua Cardinals. Nimes sparked Mapua's second quarter comeback, and then helped seal the game with six in the fourth quarter and the huge assist to Yousef Taha for a critical score late. He finished with 21 markers on 7 of 13 shooting, 4 of 7 from beyond the arc, three rebounds and three assists. Nimes also shows great awareness, mixing up his long-range bombs with drives to the basket to keep the defense honest.

MIT Positives :

• The Cardinals have been winning games late, a far cry from their early season collapses. Now if they can just start posting big leads early...

MIT Negatives :

• Despite a three-big man line-up to start the game, the Cardinals still found themselves being out-rebounded by 10 at the end of the first half. This despite the lack of height on the Perpetual side. Thankfully, they managed to control the boards late, especially in the second to the last possession where they kept getting the missed free throws for return trips to the line.
• Despite getting 28 free throws, the Cardinals made just 13 for 46 percent shooting from the line. They've been insanely inconsistent from that area, averaging around 60 percent.

UPHSD Positives :

• Once again the Altas came out looking to out-work their opponents, and it worked early on until their shots stopped falling. They can take some pride in the fact that they managed to out-rebound Mapua by 10 after twenty minutes though. 
• Jett Vidal had an extremely efficient game, getting all 15 of his points from beyond the arc, while shooting fifty percent, 5 of 10.

UPHSD Negatives :

• On the last play of the game, the Altas couldn't get the ball into Jett Vidal's hands, and were forced to settle for a Chris Elopre triple. I would have still forced it to Vidal due to his hot shooting, and the fact that they had enough time to try to bump off Jumel Chien, his defender, by running him through a screen or something similar. 
• Despite their lack of height, the Altas did not even get a single fastbreak attempt for easy points. They also were unable to take advantage of Mapua's 18 turnovers, getting a mere five points off those miscues.

NCAA Picking Record: 39-14-1 (I forgot to pick between MIT and UPHSD)

NCAA S87: AU vs EAC

History Lesson:
Jolas Paguia made a big splash in his NCAA debut, keying in a huge 19-2 fourth quarter run that upended the Arellano Chiefs in the final period, part of a 34-18 final period that pulled the EAC Generals back from the brink to start off their season with a win, 84-77. Paguia, a former FEU-FERN Baby Tam, scored 22 points and was 9 of 14 from the field with nine rebounds, as his ability to stretch the floor, combined with his size, gave the Arellano zone fits. Rocky Acidre led the Chiefs with 21 markers, but they simply could not sustain the lead. (Recap here) 

What's at Stake:

• Both these teams are tied at 3-7, albeit headed in different directions. The Generals started out hot with wins against the Chiefs and Lyceum, but they've floundered after that with the offense becoming increasingly stagnant. On the other hand, the Chiefs were able to come back from a sluggish start to the season, notching victories against St. Benilde and Perpetual Help in the latter part of the first round. A win here ties the victor with idle CSB at 4-7, while the loser falls to 3-8, making any prospective battle for the fourth seed a dim affair.

AU Stat to Watch : A renewed focus on defense has given the Chiefs a 2-1 record in their last three games. After allowing opponents to make nearly 50 percent of their field goals in their first seven games, the Chiefs have held their foes to an average of 37.97 percent shooting. After giving up 51 percent when they first played EAC, that's the sort of thing that might result in a win.
AU Player to Watch : Against a team that puts no defensive pressure on the point guard, Rocky Acidre posted his best game of the season, 21 points on on 7 of 11 shooting, three rebounds, two assists, and most importantly, zero turnovers. He hasn't been as efficient shooting the ball or taking care of it, so maybe another match with EAC will revitalize the embattled point guard.

EAC Stat to Watch : In this game versus Arellano, the Generals tallied 22 assists, but since then, they haven't even broke 15, as they've succumbed to plenty of isolation and one on one plays. The EAC coaching staff ought to do themselves a favor and replay the game film of this encounter to see how they were able to share the ball so effectively and where the heck it went.
EAC Player to Watch : Speaking of guards who had great first games and then disappeared into the aether, Milan Vargas showed no problems coming back from a knee injury over the summer, kick-starting the season with 18 points on 67 percent shooting and five assists, number he hasn't come close to replicating since. Here's hoping he regains his groove against the Chiefs again.


Prediction: Arellano Chiefs

One Day Later: CSJL vs AU, MIT vs CSB

Team play - Kevin Alas and the rest of the Letran Knights easily dispatched the Arellano Chiefs (pic source)

CSJL 75 - AU 59
Recap - - - Preview

Player of the Game : A last-minute addition to the line-up due to a lingering fever, Kevin Alas still managed to impress, dropping 17 points on eight attempts, plus chipping in seven rebounds, four assists and a steal. The efficient shooting performance was what impressed me the most, but he only had two turnovers as well, handling the ball exceptionally well in 36 minutes.


CSJL Positives :

• Jam Cortes dominated the interior as usual, getting 16 points on 7 of 8 shooting, and hauling down nine rebounds. He did commit six turnovers, as the swarming Chiefs defense targeted him from the onset. 
• Letran dominated the rebounding 49-39, 21-15 on the offensive glass, resulting in an 18 to 4 edge in second chance points, as Arellano's zone did them in once again. That said, this was actually a bit of a letdown, with Raymond Almazan getting less than double-digit rebounds.

CSJL Negatives :

• The Knights entered the game norming 18 turnover points, but Arellano was able to hold them to just 14, despite committing 25 errors.

AU Positives :

•  Arellano's zone defense was able to sucker the Knights into taking 19 triple attempts, of which they made just 2 conversions.

AU Negatives :

• The Chiefs were shutdown inside, getting 15 offensive rebounds, but only managing four second chance points.
• Arellano was ridiculously careless with the ball, as Gerald Lapuz, Andrian Celada and Vergel Zulueta all tallied four turnovers. Point guard Rocky Acidre had it worse with five. 
• After getting to within five points, 38-33, early in the third quarter, the Chiefs simply rolled over and died, allowing Letran to double their output from that point on.

Gone for long? Coupled with the overtime loss, an injured Carlo Lastimosa puts the Blazers' future in doubt (pic source)

MIT 94 - CSB 90
Recap - - - Preview

Player of the Game : Allan Mangahas took control of the overtime period, scoring seven and making a key assist to Mark Sarangay to put the game away for good as the Cardinals survived late rallies by the Blazers. Mangahas finished 10 of 24 from the field, and added eight rebounds and six assists to the cause.


MIT Positives :

• After flopping in the fourth quarter numerous times in the first round, the Cardinals stayed steady in this one, catching up to the Blazers through volume shooting by Josan Nimes (14 of his 25 points in the fourth period) and two huge triples by Jason Pascual. Mangahas then followed it up as previously mentioned in the overtime.
• Mapua rode hot shooting all the way to the end, finishing with a 39 of 80 clip, just one made field goal shy of 50 percent shooting.
• Though the Cardinals relied more on their athleticism instead of their height, through whatever manner, they were able to secure the rebounding edge, getting 53 to Benilde's 43.

MIT Negatives :

• Playing against the tiny Blazers, Mapua went ahead and decided to play the opponent's style of ball, going small with four guards and Mark Sarangay late. While they were able to win, I think it's a waste of the talent on their roster, especially in the case of Yousef Taha who is 6'7" and yet, rarely got a chance to post up properly to take advantage of the smaller CSB defenders. 
• For all the fortitude the Cardinals displayed, they still allowed the Blazers to hang around late. Anton Altamirano's steal and pass to Carlo Lastimosa shouldn't have been possible had they taken better control of the ball, and Jonathan Grey's repeated trips to the line in overtime could have been negated had they learned how to just box out their man (or you know, not gone with four guards and a big). 
• Entering the game shooting 63.92 percent from the free throw line, Mapua had it worse in this game, making just 9 of 21 charities for 43 percent. A few more made freebies would have gone a long way to preventing OT.

CSB Positives :

• The Blazers managed to keep pace in a high-scoring game, getting 23 points from Carlo Lastimosa, 21 from Jonathan Grey and 19 from Paolo Taha. In particular, the Cardinals had a difficult time stopping Grey and Taha from getting to the rim, owning to their freakish athleticism.

CSB Negatives :

• After dropping five triples in the first quarter, the guns of CSB fell silent, making just four more triples thereafter. 
• Had Tim McCoy gotten both charities after Rodel Ranises made that foul going for a steal, the game would not have been sent into overtime.
• The ankle injury of Carlo Lastimosa looks extremely serious. If he has to miss a significant amount of games, the Blazers maybe sunk, given how bunched up everyone is in the standings.

NCAA Picking Record: 37-12

NCAA S87: CSJL vs AU

History Lesson:
The Letran Knights used a 24-8 second quarter to jump ahead of the Arellano Chiefs for good, accounting for the game's one and only lead change, taking control from that point forward and earning an 88-70 win. Five Knights scored in double-figures, led by Jam Cortes who had 16. Solid fundamentals helped the Knights earn the victory, as they tallied a 49 to 33 rebounding advantage, and posted 20 assists. It was more than enough to handle last season's Mythical Five selection Andrian Celada, who finished with 22 points. (Recap here)

What's at Stake:

• The goal for the 7-2 Letran Knights in the second round is two-fold: keep in step with San Sebastian and San Beda, and when the time comes, beat them to move on up. In order to do that though, they can't be caught unawares by lesser teams like Arellano, which could use a nice upset win to vault up the standings.
• Knotted at 3-6 with the Mapua Cardinals and the JRU Heavy Bombers, the Arellano Chiefs want big wins against the teams ahead, especially those up there in the standings, but getting them won't be so easy, as the previously 3-6 EAC showed, when they were beaten down by the San Sebastian Stags.

CSJL Stat to Watch : The Knights lead the league in offensive rebounds and second-chance points in such a big way that it's probably not even funny. They're the only team with offensive rebounds in the 20's range with 25.11, with they use with good effect to get 12.67 second-chance points. As we know, Arellano relies heavily on a zone, and teams have a tendency to give up offensive rebounds while in a zone. That means, second, third, even fourth chances on single possessions would not be out of the ordinary in this game.

CSJL Player to Watch : The player behind all these offensive rebounds happens to be number three right now in the MVP race, 6'7" center Raymond Almazan. Letran's starting center averages 10.8 rebounds a game, 5.8 on the offensive end, often the source for his 8.4 points a game. He also happens to swat 3.4 shots a game. Unless the Chiefs decide to keep a guy on him at all times, expect Almazan to be the beneficiary of Arellano's 2-3 zone.

AU Stat to Watch : In recent games, the Chiefs have worked to balance out their scoring between the starters and the bench, moving Mark Doligon to the starting line-up and bumping Vergel Zulueta and Gerald Lapuz to the reserves, among other moves. So far it's worked, going from a 62-11 split in the first seven games, to a 39.5-28 mix. That at least means there will always be some scoring pressure on the floor, without Coach Isaac exhausting his starters.

AU Player to Watch : Prince Caperal's numbers have been in flux all season, despite keeping a solid hold on the starting center job. He's had highs of 17 points and 10 rebounds, as well as lows of 0 points and three boards, making him difficult to figure out. Caperal is the best player they can put on Almazan, and they'll need his height to fight for rebounds. If he pulls another disappearing act though, the Chiefs will be sunk.

Prediction: CSJL Knights