FilOil 2012 - April 18 box scores

The box scores for AdU vs LPU, JRU vs EAC and SBC vs UST, under the cut

Updated to include ADMU vs UPHSD

FilOil Random Thoughts - Gameday April 18, 2012

In addition to this blog post, I also wrote the primer for GMA News Online. Give it a read why don't you? And then come back here.

LPU Pirates vs ADU Soaring Falcons

• Lyceum lost all seven of their games in last season's Fil-Oil, but rebounded nicely in the actual NCAA as a guest team. It will be interesting to see if head coach Bonnie Tan will be out to win or if he's going to be more focused on testing line-ups and working in their new players.
• Speaking of new players, Lyceum has two new centers, Daniel Garcia and Joseph Ambohot. Both though are ridiculously raw, based on what I saw of them in the Fr. Martin Cup. That said, it's unlikely Lyceum will be using them to score, and would rather they focus on rebounding. With Austin Manyara (6.0 rebs in 20.7 mins) and Eric Camson (7.6 rebs in 23.1 mins) standing across the court though, they may be in for a rough day.
• Adamson's point guard position has to worry fans of the Soaring Falcons, as they are going from Jerick Canada and Lester Alvarez to...Ryan Monteclaro. The team is also hoping that Jericho Cruz, who is more of a wingman, can be converted to play the position. 

UPHSD Altas vs ADMU Blue Eagles

• This should be the debut of new head coach Aric del Rosario for the Altas. It'll be interesting to see if he has done anything drastic to their playing style. 
• The Altas should have some added size in foreign center Femi Babayemi and former Junior Alta Eugene Canuza. Would those two be enough to stop the giants on Ateneo, especially Greg Slaughter? 
• I wasn't a big fan of the starting five Ateneo put out versus Letran - Slaughter, Golla, Sumalinog, Ravena, Tiongson. The offense took a while to get going, and it seems like Sumalinog still has not rediscovered his shot. Salva presumably was nursing a minor injury, logging just nine minutes, which is why he didn't start. 
• One thing Letran did that I presume the Altas will try, is to put a big guy with range on Slaughter, and then run plays on offense to free him up on the perimeter, daring Slaughter to chase him out to the arc. The Knights tried that with Junjun Alas, but he was unable to make Ateneo pay for leaving him open, missing all three of his triples. 
• I thought it was clever of acting head coach Sandy A. to pair Buenafe up in the second unit with JP Erram and Tonino Gonzaga. Though the former Finals MVP has lost a lot of weight, he's still not quite in peak condition, but that's negated by Erram and Gonzaga, who are two athletic help defenders who can compensate for Buenafe losing his man.

 JRU Heavy Bombers vs EAC Generals

• JRU relies on generating turnovers for turnover points for a large chunk of their offense. They got the tables turned on them in their debut against NU, as the Bulldogs forced 23 errors and scored 23 points off them. Meanwhile, the Bombers managed to force 16 turnovers, but could only score four points ,as the superior athleticism and speed of the Bulldogs allowed them to catch up and flash some impressive transition defense. 
• While everyone on JRU had a bad outing, of note is the poor performance of John Villarias. The sophomore put up some nice numbers in his rookie year (10.7 points, 4.5 rebs, 2.6 asts, 1.2 stls) but he was a miserable 1-for-8 from the field for just two points in his 19 minutes of play. 
• The EAC Generals might be even more of a perimeter-oriented team than last season, after losing their best post player, Claude Cubo (11.7 points, 7.3 rebounds), to graduation. Their remaining prospects at center don't exactly inspire confidence though. Rafael Sanchez (11.4 mins, 1.5 points, 2.4 rebs in NCAA S87) is the veteran, and they have two rookies in Jeff Mallari and Dominador Pillas, but their best bet might be foreign center Happi Noube, who had averages of 8.0 points and 7.7 rebounds in last year's FilOil tourney. 
• While rosters are still in flux, it's worth noting that EAC did not list two of their main contributors from last season's campaign, Milan Vargas (8.5 points, 4.2 rebs) and Fil-Am Joshua Torralba (10.4 points, 3.6 rebs). Even without them though, they still have the likes of Jan Jamon (13.7 points, led the team in scoring in the NCAA), Remy Morada (5.1 points) and Franz Chiong (4.5 points), shooters will who will benefit from more touches.

SBC Red Lions vs UST Growling Tigers 

• After conceding a 0-6 start to DLSU in their season opener, San Beda bounced right back scoring the first quarter's last 13 points, on route to a big lead, 49-34, headed into the final quarter. But they eased up on the gas a bit too early, allowing the Archers to claw back in the dying minutes, slicing the deficit to four, 67-63 with 16 seconds remaining. 
• The team's surprise package was undersized scorer Ryusei Koga, who poured in eight points in 10 minutes on 4-of-7 shooting. He also chipped in three boards and two assists in limited minutes and so it'd be interesting to see if he can pull off similar production again. 
• The Red Lions struggled on the perimeter, making just 4-of-11 from beyond the arc. Take away Anjo Caram's two late triples, and the rest of the team was a mere 2-of-9, with Julius Armon posting a 1-for-5 clip.
• The Tigers return a mostly intact line-up, but their one loss is a big one, power forward Chris Camus (7.27 points, 7.67 rebs, 1.47 asts, 1.13 stls, 1.53 blks), who was their best defender last season. Guys like Melo Afuang and Karim Abdul will have to do a better job on the boards to compensate for his absence. 
• The return of Clark Bautista and Aljon Mariano will definitely help a bench unit that averaged just 19.27 points last UAAP season. If Louie Vigil and Kim Lo continue to make strides as well, then UST will be a tougher team to tangle with.

PCCL 2011 - DLSU vs UST

Three Up

• So why was Joshua Webb benched last UAAP season? The most senior member of the Green Archers team, now that Simon Atkins and Maui Villanueva have graduated, finished with 16 points on 7 of 10 shooting, and has averaged 13.75 points in DLSU's four PCCL games so far. Webb can't quite create for himself, but he's lethal in transition, and when cutting baseline, so as long as the point guards are getting him involved, he's a legit threat.
• DLSU's offense in the PCCL and in the last UAAP is like comparing night and day. There's simply more fluidity and better ball movement, as seen in their 19-11 edge in assists. Their zone offense, the team's Achilles heel in Season 74, has improved by leaps and bounds, with more ball rotation and less standing around and then taking a contested jumper. 
• Kim Lo personified the hustle of UST that kept them in this game throughout the 40 minutes. Lo's adjustment from high school big man to college wing has been bumpy, but he put up 9 points on 3 of 5 shooting, 5 rebounds and 2 steals in this game in a 20 minute stint. Those are similar figures to what he produced the only time last season he was given more than 20 minutes of playing time.

Three Down

• Kevin Ferrer carried the Tigers with 23 points on 7 of 16 shooting, but it was a tale of two halves. In the game's first 20 minutes, Ferrer was on fire: 16 points on 5 of 10 shooting. That dropped to 7 points on 2 of 6 attempts as DLSU began crowding him every time he touched the ball, taking away the open catch and shoot looks he was getting early on. One thing he definitely needs to start learning how to do is posting up smaller defenders. It's the reason why Ateneo can get away with sticking Kiefer Ravena on him, and in this game, guys like Luigi Dela Paz and Joseph Marata were able to frustrate him into going back out to the perimeter. 
• At one point, a frustrated UST head coach Pido Jarencio turned to his coaching staff and said, "Masyado atang nag-gigimick itong si Karim." Abdul was horribly off in this game: 5 points in 19 minutes on 1 of 7 shooting, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 turnovers, and multiple attempts being rejected by Papot Paredes and Norbert Torres. Most egregious was the way he got his fourth foul: needlessly overhedging on a screen with seconds remaining in the game while in the penalty, allowing Jarelan Tampus to hit two free throws and make their lead 10, going into the fourth quarter. 
• The Archers lose the services of sharpshooter Luigi Dela Paz after he fell hard on his right arm in the third quarter. Though it looked like he landed on his wrist, later examinations revealed it to be a fractured elbow that will keep him off the court until January. They'll need Marata, who only played his first game with the team yesterday due to PBA-DL commitments, to fill in the void. 

Random Notes

• Louie Vigil, still missing point-blank open layups. 
• Jovet Mendoza has three unsportsmanlike fouls in the Archers' four games (two in the first game, resulting in his ejection), but he easily could have gotten number four in this game, thanks to his errant elbows. 
• Unfortunately, the big man for DLSU who could most use more playing time to refine his game, Arnold Van Opstal, is out with a knee injury, explaining his presence in the audience, watching the games.

PCCL 2011 - DLSU vs UST

The Battles: ADMU vs UST S74 Final Four

source

The Center Battle

• UST's Karim Abdul  versus ADMU's Greg Slaughter, featuring a cameo by Frank Golla

Prior to this game, the storyline was all about how Karim Abdul had shut down Greg Slaughter in their regular season meetings, how Abdul would be fired up after sitting out their last regular season game due to suspension, how Slaughter seemed to force things versus the big men of Adamson, and so on. In the first quarter, Abdul did dominate, scoring 11 points on 5 of 7 shooting with three rebounds and a block. The difference was that Slaughter did not back down, scoring points as well, already beating his six point average in the game's first right minutes, scoring eight while going 4 for 4 from the field.

But the Eagles were not going to get anywhere swapping basket for basket with Abdul, thus, send in the reserves, as Frank "The Tank" Golla was given the defensive job of handling the Cameroonian. Guess what, the move turned out to be genius. Unlike Slaughter, who seemed to be too "gigil," leaping into the air everytime Abdul made the slightest twitch of his shoulders (if I was 7-feet tall and had his wing span, I don't think I'd even jump to try to block a shot), Golla played him straight up, and refused to bite on his fakes. Meanwhile, Ateneo head coach Norman Black must have been pointing out what Golla was doing to Slaughter, as when Golla sat back down, Slaughter had learned his lesson, shutting down Abdul for that quarter. All in all, Abdul was 0 for 6 from the field in that period, 1 of 4 for the rest of the game, as the fatigue clearly set in by around the third quarter.

Abdul wound up scoring five more points after the first quarter, finishing with a line of 16 points, 16 boards, two steals and two blocks. Slaughter had nine points after the first ten minutes of play, outscoring Abdul with 17 points, plus eight rebounds and three blocks, before cramping up late.


The Backcourt Battle

• ADMU's Kirk Long and Emman Monfort versus UST's Jeric Fortuna and Jeric Teng

In their final year as Blue Eagles, Long and Monfort have seen their scoring go down (currently averaging 8.3 and 7.1 points, after 9.6 and 8.9 a season ago) but it barely matters to them as that hasn't been their role. What they have been doing is locking down on the top two perimeter threats of the other team and running the show for the other players. It's a stark contrast to the two Jeric's of UST, who have had to do more work on the offensive end due to the absence of Clark Bautista (Fortuna jumped from 10.4 points a game to 13.6, while Teng went from 12.9 points to 14 a game).

Similar to their regular season encounters, Teng and Fortuna were controlled throughout the first three periods, combining for just nine points. When the chips were down though, the UST backcourt was able to make it a game in the final period, scoring 11 as an upset seemed like a distinct possibility. Unfortunately, Fortuna giveth (three assists) but he also taketh away (two turnovers), and he was unable to score on the overtime-forcing triple try on the last shot. It wasn't all glitter and gold for the Ateneo side either, as both Monfort and Long went scoreless in the final period, with Long in particular, missing three triple attempts, any one of which could have been dagger shots. In the end though, the Blue Eagle duo combined for nine assists and played praise-worthy defense, even in the face of a suddenly hot pair.

source

The Rookie Battle

• UST's Kevin Ferrer versus ADMU's Kiefer Ravena

Kiefer Ravena denies that it became a rematch of their Juniors Finals in the fourth quarter of this game, saying that it was always "Ateneo versus UST." It sure didn't seem like it though, as the regular season Juniors MVP took on the Finals Juniors MVP of Season 73, just like what happened nearly a year ago. In previous games, Ravena had flourished, taking on the assignment of guarding the taller Ferrer happily, stretching back to their encounter in the summer's Fil-Oil tournament. What made the assignment work, allowing Ateneo to leave Monfort and Long to handle the Jerics, was that despite the height advantage of Ferrer, the former Tiger Cub did not know how to use it, content to just throw up shots from the perimeter (1 of 12 in the regular season), and even those refused to connect.

In the fourth quarter, Ferrer finally seemed to take it personally, and began posting Ravena up, but you could see how uncomfortable and how alien the maneuver seemed to him, even committing an offensive foul once for elbowing Ravena out of the low post. Still, numbers-wise, Ferrer's eight points helped keep UST alive, and was the first time he scored double-digits versus the Eagles. Ravena on the other hand, had five in the fourth, but could have been better, shooting only 2 of 6 from the field, missing out on some of his fadeaways, and converting just 1 of 3 potentially huge free throws, after drawing Ferrer's fifth on a triple try.

source

 The Reserves Battle

• ADMU's Justin Chua, Tonino Gonzaga and Juami Tiongson versus UST's Robin Tan and Melo Afuang

In a do or die game, UST coach Pido Jarencio knew that he had to lean on his starters, as only reserve bigs Paolo Pe and Melo Afuang saw more than five minutes off the bench. Afuang of course, was a surprise, coming out of recovery from gallstone surgery early to play in this game, finishing with five points and six rebounds. Meanwhile, Robin Tan had never made a field goal in the regular season, going 0 for 9 overall, 0 for 5 from beyond the arc. But he finally hit a shot, a triple to boot, in the game's second period, to the delight of the UST side.

On the other side of the court, the result was the opposite. After being maligned for most of the regular season, Black actually gave key minutes to his reserves, and they rewarded his confidence in him with some big moments. It was Tonino Gonzaga and Juami Tiongson who helped create the separation between the two squads in the second quarter, scoring their combined 10 points in the first half. Then with Slaughter succumbing to cramps, Justin Chua ably filled in for the big man in the final period for five points, snagging a crucial offensive rebound of a Long miss that allowed him to hit a free throw to prop Ateneo up four with less than a minute.   

source

The Forwards Battle

• UST's Chris Camus versus ADMU's Nico Salva

The opposite of the Abdul-Slaughter match-up in the regular season, Salva has menaced Camus especially when isolated against him, beating him off the dribble, oftentimes in fantastic manner. A scoreless first quarter gave way to both players getting into a groove, though Camus was certainly hindered by foul trouble. And while Salva was able to add to his highlight reel with another fantastic play, getting the step on Camus for a nice layup, the former San Beda Team B player unleashed two big triples in the fourth quarter, going back to his days as a shooter, to two UST to good position. Unfortunately for him though, in the end, Salva was able to seal the game with two free throws, paving the way for his team to advance to the Finals. Camus will have to wait a year to get his revenge.



8 Things I Think

• Now that I've gotten confirmation that Melo Afuang and Chris Camus will indeed be back for next season (there was some notion that they would fall victim to the 7-years out of high school rule), I think that the Tigers are poised to return to the Final Four. Getting back guys like Clark Bautista, Aljon Mariano, and Eduardo Daquioag will give them more firepower and ease the pressure off Fortuna and Teng. 
• I don't think Ateneo's defense was horrible in the final period, it's just that it will always give up long-range shots because that's what it's designed to do, according to head coach Norman Black: deny the interior and make opponents beat them from the outside. Luckily for them, they had a big enough lead that UST could not complete the comeback.
• I think UST's end to the third quarter was a huge missed opportunity, as they tried to cut a 15-point lead down to single digits. Despite repeated trips to the line, Camus and Afuang finished just 3 of 8, making it 52-40 entering the final period.
• I think it surprised a lot of people that the Tigers didn't try to zone more often, insisting on matching up one on one with the Eagles. UST seemed intent on getting the rebounding advantage, something they would lose if they went zone, but it would have been a worthy gamble considering Ateneo was just 7 of 32 from the perimeter for 16 points. 
• I think Ateneo's recent inability to hit free throws is rather disturbing. They ended the season tops with a 72.83 clip, but are just 30 of 49 for 61.22 percent in their past two games.
• I think the person happiest to see Kirk Long finally graduate is Jeric Teng, though I'm sure Tigers fans in general are happy to see him go

source

• I think Pido Jarencio deserves to be head coach again for the Tigers next season.
• I think if UST decides to part ways with Jarencio, they need to strongly consider keeping assistant Chris Cantonjos as long as Abdul is with the team. 

UAAP S74: Final Four Presscons

ADMU vs UST:

FEU vs ADU:

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: NU vs UST, DLSU vs FEU

NU 73 - UST 49
Recap - - - Preview

Player of the Game : Bobby Ray Parks ended his campaign for the MVP award with a 22 point, eight rebound, six assist, one steal, three block performance. I liked how he was really trying to get other guys involved, especially Mbe early on, with his passing, and of course, the way he got his 21st and 22nd points was mind-blowingly lucky, but...you know what, I'll save my MVP rant for another time. Until then, here's video of that crazy shot.

NU Positives :

• The Bulldogs concentrated on getting the UST bigs in foul trouble, knowing that there wasn't a whole lot behind Chris Camus and Paolo Pe. Camus was taken care of by Jarencio himself, benching him after Camus was slapped with a technical foul, and never reinserting him back into the game, either to rest a nagging injury, or as a disciplinary action. Pe then was dispatched in the third quarter, getting tagged with his fifth on an offensive foul. That opened things up for NU down low in the fourth.
• Playing with a whopping five players in sick bay, NU was able to get big contributions from seldom-used Robin Rono, some nice drives from Ajeet Singh, and hot shooting from Jeoffrey Javillonar and Cedrick Labing-isa. That's the sort of team play they'll need to move forward next season.

NU Negatives :

• NU's offense was still maddeningly inconsistent, as they scored just six points in the second quarter, all within the game's first six minutes. They got a whopping zero points from Parks in that period, as he and the rest of the team, settled for jumpers, instead of attacking the rim. 

UST Positives :

•  Kim Lo provided some hustle and bench spark, scoring seven, five points on seven free throw attempts, six boards, and three steals.

UST Negatives :

• UST actually won their season-opener versus this NU squad with very little production from Abdul, even before the big man fouled out in regulation. So why couldn't UST get going in this game? The Tigers lacked interior scoring to go with their perimeter game, getting a season-low 12 points in the paint on 6 of 14 attempts, both figures also season-lows. While they did not have Abdul for post moves, it also meant they got very little drives at the rim.
• Horrible games overall from players like Jeric Fortuna (eight points on 3 of 12 shooting, no free throws, one assist), Paolo Pe (three rebounds in 19 minutes), and Kevin Ferrer especially, as the rookie was unable to build off his big game versus FEU (1 point in 30 minutes, 0/8 from the field, three rebounds).

FEU 66 - DLSU 57
Recap - - - Preview

Player of the Game : Aldrech Ramos was dominant as usual, posting 18 points in 28 minutes, on 5 of 8 shooting, 2 of 3 from downtown. The big guy also hauled down 11 rebounds, eight on the offensive end, and made two steals, while doing a good job frustrating some of La Salle's big men.

DLSU Positives :

• Simon Atkins was able to close his collegiate career gracefully, scoring 16 points on 50 percent shooting, along with three rebounds and three assists. 
• Joshua Webb gets a half-mention for his 11 points in 19 minutes, providing a nice spark in the second quarter that got DLSU rolling. Unfortunately, his rejected dunk to close out the game prevents us from fully mentioning him in the plus-column.

DLSU Negatives :

• Save for Atkins, the La Salle guards were absent, even with Ping Exciminiano leaving the game in the first quarter. LA Revilla, Almond Vosotros, Sam Marata, Jarelan Tampus and Luigi Dela Paz accounted for a whopping four points on 3 of 16 shooting, despite the fact that Terrence Romeo and RR Garcia aren't exactly what one would call, top-notch defenders.
• The rebounding game of the big men wasn't exactly hot stuff either. For a change, Jovet Mendoza and La Salle's other exiting player, Maui Villanueva, flashed back to last season and combined for 11 boards. Meanwhile the big men reinforcements La Salle was so happy to finally see action, Arnold Van Opstal, Papot Paredes and Norbert Torres, grabbed only seven boards. In all, DLSU had just 35 rebounds, 11 on the offensive end, compared to 51 boards by FEU, 32 in the second half, 21 on their side of the court.

FEU Positives :

• It was good to see the other big men of FEU step up, led by Russel Escoto's 11 boards. Mark Bringas also contributed eight caroms, while both sides accounted for four blocks. That's the kind of rebounding FEU will need moving forward without their foreign big men. 
• Terrence Romeo actually had a pretty good game, a few bouts of selfishness aside. After a 1 of 6 line in the first half, Romeo went 4 of 9 in the fourth, scoring 10 of his team's 18, and finishing with seven rebounds and four dimes.

FEU Negatives :

• The Tamaraws were outshot (45.2 percent to 30.8), outrebounded (21 to 18), and out-assisted (9 to 4) in the first half, with only an 8 of 11 clip at the foul line keeping them in the game, 33-27. Luckily, a halftime "motivational speech" seemed to clear things up for the squad, allowing them to take control in the second half.

UAAP Picking Record: 42-14

UAAP S74: NU vs UST

History Lesson: 
"Welcome to the UAAP, Bobby Ray Parks." Held to just 5 of 20 shooting for 16 points, Parks found himself shutdown by former rookie of the year Jeric Teng, who spent the game shadowing his much-hyped defensive assignment. As a result, Parks had to give up the ball when he had a chance to win the game in regulation, but former Tiger Cub Cedrick Labing-isa's attempt was off the mark. Then at the end of the extra five minutes, Teng absorbed the contact from Parks' drive, forcing the Bulldog to alter his shot and miss, giving UST the 73-72 win.
(Recap here)


What's at Stake:

• At 5-8, the NU Bulldogs are out of contention for a Final Four spot, but have resolved to end the season on a positive note, to establish momentum heading into next season.
• 8-5 FEU

NU Stat to Watch : Versus the DLSU Green Archers, NU was able to get their best defensive effort, holding their opponents to just 24.62 percent field goal shooting, a season-best for the Bulldogs. They were also able to prevent the other team from getting to the line, conceding single-digit free throws for the fourth time in five outings. If they can bring that sort of play to the table versus UST then they should be competitive again.
NU Player to Watch : Parks carried the scoring load against La Salle, but the question is if he can do it again against the guy who shut him down in round one. In that first round meeting, Parks drew only eight trips to the line, as he mostly settled for outside shots. If he starts taking it to the rim or gets out in transition, Teng will have a hard time keeping up with him, especially if he gets tagged with a few fouls.

UST Stat to Watch : After three straight games of giving up single-digit fastbreak attempts, the Tigers conceded 13 to FEU, a team not known for running, and it nearly killed them, as the Tams scored 20 points. Despite some great athletes, NU is actually not much of a running team, averaging 8.31 transition points a game, but if the coaching staff decides to let the dogs run wild, UST better look out.
UST Player to Watch : In his UAAP debut, Karim Abdul was a bit of a disappointment, tallying five points and three rebounds in 21 minutes before fouling out. Since then though, Abdul has become a huge factor in the UST game, and is perhaps the big reason for their success this season. With him out, after getting hit with a one-game suspension for accumulating two unsportsmanlike fouls, that leaves a big hole in the Tigers interior, especially with Melo Afuang sidelined while recovering from surgery.

Prediction: NU Bulldogs

One Day Later: DLSU vs NU, FEU vs UST

One-man wrecking crew: Parks provided the offense while NU shut down DLSU (pic source)

 
NU 56 - DLSU 40
Recap - - - Preview

Player of the Game : Unburdened by the fouls that plagued him in their first encounter, Bobby Ray Parks smashed through the Archers pretty good, to the tune of 25 points (including a 10 of 12 freethrow clip), nine rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block. 12 of his points came in the fourth quarter, when NU took control for good, combining with Emmanuel Mbe to put the La Salle in foul trouble early, and then hitting a clutch triple that knotted the game, turning control over to the Bulldogs.

DLSU Positives :

• Almond Vosotros turned in a 15 point first half performance on 5 of 8 shooting, single-handedly keeping the Green and White in the thick of things. After getting the short end of the minutes stick in the first four games, Vosotros has come up huge enough times to show whoever the head coach of La Salle next season that he ought to be considered as one of the prominent scoring options the team has.

DLSU Negatives :

• La Salle had no offense beyond Vosotros, shooting 2 for 20 from downtown, 16 for 65 from the field, and tallying just nine trips to the line.The Archers also notched 24 turnovers, matching their season worst. 
• The Archer big men looked downright horrible, missing layups, making bad passes, having the ball stolen immediately after the pass to the interior was made, and so on. 
• Scoring just 40 points in a must-win game has to be a slap in the face of DLSU faithful. The team seemed to lack any sort of urgency until late in the fourth when they panicked and began throwing up triple after triple.

NU Positives :

• NU did a good job of preventing the Archers from getting hustle points, limiting their transition, turnover and second-chance scoring. With all three avenues for easy points essentially kept in check, La Salle was forced into the halfcourt, where their execution was horrible. 
• Despite having just Emmanuel Mbe and Kyle Neypes up front, the Bulldogs were able to contend and limit the various big men La Salle was throwing out. Swarming, pesky double-teaming from the NU guards often did the trick, as the DLSU big men rarely got easy post-ups.

NU Negatives :

• With Joseph Terso nursing a broken arm, Gelo Alolino and Cedrick Labing-isa got the keys to the car, and despite four dimes from Alolino, the point guards often just puttered around, as the forwards did a much better job fighting the La Salle press. 
• The low scoring nature of the game hides the fact that outside of Parks and his 25 markers, this squad still struggles to put points on the board, especially as Mbe stewed with foul trouble. Kyle Neypes deserves a shout-out in this regard, as only Neypes took it aggressively against the DLSU interior, scoring all five of his points in the final quarter.

Monster in the middle - Karim Abdul brought UST to the Final Four (pic source)

UST 77 - FEU 73
Recap - - - Preview

Player of the Game : Hello Kevin Ferrer, so nice of you to reappear when your team really needed you. After a string of horrible shooting games, both from the field and the foul line, the Ferrer that rocked the season's first two games came back, tying his season-high of 19 points, to go with 12 rebounds, an assist, and a block. FEU's three-guard line-up always meant he was being covered by someone smaller (RR Garcia, great scorer, horrible defender), allowing him to simply shoot over his man, and his fourth quarter triple was the nail in the Tamaraws' coffin.

FEU Positives :

• Needing a legit 3-man, head coach Bert Flores inserted Roger Pogoy into the mix, and the Cebu-native delivered. Playing in just 16 minutes, Pogoy scored 14 points, hauled down six boards and made two steals, contributing eight points in the huge third quarter rally that saw FEU take the UST lead down to just two markers. 
• UST's weakness is that it can't stop they can't stop the run, giving up the most fastbreak opportunities and points of all the UAAP teams. FEU used that fact to great advantage, scoring a 21 to 10 third quarter based on 10 transition points and eight turnover points.

FEU Negatives :

• The Tamaraws' slow start made it too difficult for them to properly seize a lead in the fourth quarter. Down 23-11 after the first quarter, only their "Big Three" of Garcia, Romeo and Ramos scored in those first 10 minutes, as the supporting cast gave them nothing in the face of the UST blitz. 
• Injuries have been the story of the FEU season, and it's a story that continued in this game, as Russel Escoto was limited to just eight minutes of play because of his sprained wrist, though he did manage to make an impact by hitting a huge triple. 

UST Positives :

• The Tigers shot 51.6 percent from the field in the first half, quickly establishing a huge lead that turned out to be too huge for FEU to overcome.
• Against a lack of quality big men on the Tamaraws, Karim Abdul romped through their interior, finishing with 20 points, 13 rebounds, two steals and two blocks. 

UST Negatives :

• The second unsportsmanlike foul on Karim Abdul may turn out to be a huge blow to the Tigers hopes of winning their last assignment, should he be suspended. With Carmelo Afuang already out, UST does not have the frontcourt depth to match up against Emmanuel Mbe and may draw an unfavorable seed in the stepladder format.

UAAP Picking Record: 40-12

UAAP S74: UST vs FEU

History Lesson:
UST had its moment on defense, holding FEU to just five points in the second quarter, but the Tams couldn't be kept down for long, getting a two-point lead late thanks to a run out by RR Garcia after Karim Abdul got blocked, and a swipe of the inbounds and the layup by Ping Exciminiano, 59-57, 37 seconds left in the game. On the next UST possession, Abdul made up for his denied shot by getting a jump ball to Jeric Fortuna, who tied things up with a clutch jumper. Calling timeout, FEU ran a play with Garcia as decoy, driving into the heart of the defense and causing UST to collapse into the shaded lane. That allowed last season's MVP to kick it out to an open Cris Tolomia, who drained the game-winning triple, allowing Far Eastern to escape, 62-59. (Recap here)

What's at Stake:

• The 7-5 UST Growling Tigers have two shots to get one more win, which is all they need to eliminate the DLSU Green Archers from contention (though it may not matter if DLSU loses to NU in the undercard game). Even if La Salle is out of it though, the seedings from #2 to #4 are still wildly in flux, and so every win counts.
• At 8-5, a win would put FEU just a half-game behind idle Adamson, in prime position to force a playoff for the twice-to-beat advantage, or even usurp the position entirely. A loss though, ties them with UST at 8-5. 

UST Stat to Watch : UST got beaten on the boards in the first meeting between these two teams, 42-37, with a 19-15 deficit in offensive rebounds. It was the worst rebounding effort by the Tigers this season, as they actually lead the league in both rebound and offensive rebounds right now. They may have an easier time in this game with Christian Sentcheu out and Russel Escoto possibly missing this game as well with a wrist sprain, though they ought to take special care to box out Ping Exciminiano, who pulled down nine rebounds, matching Aldrech Ramos' number.
UST Player to Watch : Karim Abdul couldn't bring his scoring punch to the mix, at least for this game, as the bull-strong center managed just three points on 1 of 7 shooting from the field, 1 of 4 from the stripe. He's averaged 14.6 points in the second round, with just one single-digit scoring game, a nine-point effort versus DLSU, and so odds are good he'll be able to battle down low with Aldrech Ramos and Mark Bringas.

FEU Stat to Watch : More of an odd stat than anything else, but after holding opponents to 34.98 percent field goal shooting in the second round games prior to UE, the Tams turned around and conceded a season-worst 50 percent clip to the Red Warriors, as well as an equally bad 38.45 percent three-point shooting stint. Hopefully, that game was just a fluke, because if UST gets those kinds of numbers, there's no way the Tams will be able to match.
FEU Player to Watch : Terrence Romeo's numbers have been on an upswing as of the past three games, and he even managed to go the last outing without a boneheaded turnover. He dropped 21 points on 8 of 15 shooting versus UE, providing some much-needed punch to compliment the veterans Garcia and Ramos. They'll need him on both ends, offensively to counter the possibility of a rain of three-pointers, and defensively, preventing Jeric Fortuna from going off. We'll see if he can pull it off.

Prediction: UST Growling Tigers

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.

One Day Later: NU vs ADMU, ADU vs UST

High five - NU couldn't score on the Ateneo quintet, dropping out of Final Four contention (pic source)

ADMU 61 - NU 39
Recap - - - Preview

Player of the Game : The flashy part of this yeoman like defensive extravaganza? Nico Salva, tallying 14 points on 6o f 10 shooting, plus seven boards, two assists and a block. Of course, two of those points came on that showtime-esque slam from Kiefer Ravena's over the head pass, and his registered block was a huge rejection of Bobby Ray Parks.

NU Positives :

• NU's 2-3 zone confused Ateneo. For about a quarter, a quarter and a half at most. 

NU Negatives :

• The Bulldogs' offense only looks explosive when they're up against UE and UP, it seems. It ran into a brick wall versus Ateneo, as they were held to a pathetic 39 markers, a record it seems, for as much as people can remember in the UAAP. NU missed all seven of their triples, and made a paltry 16 field goals. 
• NU didn't do themselves any favors by turning the ball over 25 times, five from Parks, and four each from Robby Celiz and Glenn Khobuntin. Khobuntin's stint stands out particularly, as according to the official stat sheet, he only played six minutes.
• Parks' failed attempt to dunk on the last possession. Not only did he miss, he came down limping, asking to be subbed out. That's probably why you don't play your best players late into blowouts.

ADMU Positives :

• Despite just a day between this and a surprisingly tight (early on, that is) second Battle of Katipunan, Ateneo managed to show off their defense to the hilt, posting a little piece of history to boot. 
• The Eagles broke the zone the way they know how, by forcing turnovers and scoring before the opponents set up. That led to 13 fastbreak points and 23 turnover points for the defending champs, compared to just six and eight respectively for NU. 
• It was a team effort once again, as four different Blue Eagle starters finished in double-digits. And though Emman Monfort was the odd man out, with just two points, he did get six rebounds, six assists and four steals.

ADMU Negatives :

• 3 of 20 three-point shooting is pretty bad, but about par for course for Ateneo's shooters. Two came from Kiefer Ravena, proving that he can shoot from long-range (though he'll need seven tries), but surprisingly, Tonino Gonzaga went 0 for 3 in this game, despite ample opportunity.
• In the overwhelming win, Ateneo piled on the points despite not making less free throws (6 to 7, with both teams shooting nine) and getting out-rebounded 42-40, and 11-9 on offensive rebounds. 

A hand in your face - Adamson jumpers could not connect in the second half (pic source)

UST 74 - ADU 58
Recap - - - Preview

Player of the Game : Jeric Teng was 0/4 from the field, 1/4 from the foul line in a dismal first half, but the former rookie of the year bounced back in a big way in the second half, finishing with 19 points on 7 of 12 shooting, to help ignite a UST comeback along with backcourt-mate Jeric Fortuna. Teng also added eight boards and six assists, while his defense picked up a notch or two in the second half, contributing to the woes of Adamson's shooters.

ADU Positives :

• The Falcons were able to get one of their signature hot starts, but this is the second time this season that they were unable to sustain it (the first being the NU loss in round one)
• As mentioned above, Jeric Teng was shadowed pretty well in the first half, missing everything including free throws. Where that defense went to in the second half, I have no idea.
• Adamson reverted to its style of play from last season, getting nine steals in the first half, and converting those into 20 turnover points. Unfortunately, once those easy baskets dried up, so too did Adamson.

ADU Negatives :

• Head coach Leo Austria mentioned after the UP win that his boys played lazy basketball because they were looking for a big game. Apparently, they didn't seem to think this counted as one, being content with a first half lead, only to see it vanish in the fourth period. 
• When panic settled in and head coach Leo Austria burned his last timeout in the fourth, the Falcons looked like headless chickens running around. Instead of running pick and rolls, screen, or anything that would get them a high percentage shot, the Falcons jacked up nine triple attempts. This was despite the fact that the lead was just 10 and they had about five minutes to go. Of course, once UST got the ball, they started nailing treys, and things blew up in the faces of the Adamson team.
• Adamson took a whopping three attempts in the paint in the second half. THREE.

UST Positives :

• Head coach Pido Jarencio wanted his team to not give up in the second half, perhaps having seen before how this Adamson team can go from hot to not in a span of a quarter. His players redoubled their efforts, and it paid off, as they were able to overhaul the lead in the second half. 
• UST took much better care of the ball in the second half and the result was a mere six points in transition, zero off turnovers, cutting off the Falcons' source of easy points in the first half.
• Aside from Teng, three other Tigers, Abdul, Fortuna and Camus, scored in double figures. That's the sort of team play UST will need going forward.

UST Negatives :

• UST's flat start nearly left Coach Jarencio apoplectic. Versus FEU, the Tigers cannot expect that they can simply make comebacks when they want to, and should instead come out competitive from the opening tip.
• Adamson was actually in a good position at the start of the third, with three fouls each on Chris Camus and Karim Abdul, unfortunately, their reliance on jump shots prevented them from exploiting the foul trouble, keeping Camus and Abdul on the court where they hurt the Falcons. Any other team would have tried to fish for those fouls. Camus in particular, seemed to go after every shot, seemingly fishing for whistles. Smarter teams will exploit that weakness and send him to the bench early.  

UAAP Picking Record: 36-12

UAAP S74: ADU vs UST

History Lesson:
The Adamson blitz came early, as the Falcons burst out to a 16-2 start that saw the Tigers scramble to bite into the deficit for the rest of the game. That got multiple chances, first, getting it to nine points on an and-one play by Kevin Ferrer in the third, and then to eight twice in the same period, but the Falcons responded each time with scoring runs to keep UST at arm's length. With time winding down in the fourth, a banker by Jeric Teng made it nine, keeping the door slightly ajar for a UST comeback, but a triple by Eric Camson ended that notion, allowing Adamson to hold on for the 81-71 win. Janus Lozada led the Falcons with a career-high 21 markers, while UST got 15 from Jeric Teng. (Recap here)


What's at Stake:

• Things are still precarious for the Adamson University Falcons, even at 9-3. With two games left to play, losses may pull them into a tie with FEU, currently at number three. Lose both and not only could FEU overtake you, UST might be able to vault ahead as well.
• At 6-5, the UST Growling Tigers must win two of their last three games to prevent a tie with either DLSU or NU and keep their fourth seed secure.

ADU Stat to Watch : After the shorter UE squad managed to be down by just a rebound after twenty minutes of play, 27 to 26, the Falcons took control of the glass in the second half, 54 to 38. They'll need to be more consistent pulling down loose balls in this game though, as UST is currently on top of the league when it comes to offensive rebounds (19.36 a game) and total rebounds (49.18 a game).
ADU Player to Watch : The Adamson Falcons saved Austin Manyara for this game, so hopefully, he'll have a strong showing. Manyara's always been more of a defensive presence than an offensive threat, but the Kenyan was fired up versus UP, getting his first double-double in the UAAP. If he can neutralize Abdul's presence in the paint, that will already be good enough. Any points he can score will be gravy.

UST Stat to Watch : UST's weakness has been their inability to stop the fastbreak, as they boast the poorest transition offense with teams getting 10.27 attempts for 13.08 points. Luckily for them, the Falcons are the worst fastbreak team in the league, with just 5 attempts for 6 points. Regardless, they ought to be prepared for the Falcons to try running at them, just to see if the Tigers are as shaky as the stats say.
UST Player to Watch : Melo Afuang has had an up and down season for the Tigers, but he had his best game of the season against Adamson, scoring a season-high 14 points on perfect 6 for 6 field goal shooting. We'll see if he can replicate his performance when they play again.

Prediction: Adamson Falcons

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: UST vs UE, ADMU vs DLSU

UST 54 - UE 45
Recap - - - Preview

Player of the Game : Just like Ateneo won on the back of Greg Slaughter, so too did the UST Growling Tigers win on the back of Karim Abdul, as their 6'5" big man dominated the UE frontline to the tune of 16 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks. On both sides of the court, Abdul gave the Red Warriors headaches as they had no one who could match-up with him, and that allowed his teammates to get open looks at the rim.

UST Positives :

• Chris Camus excels in this sort of back and forth, freewheeling affair, tallying six points, 10 rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block. His combination of speed, height and length bothered a lot of the jump-shooting UE bigs, preventing them from getting off clean looks. 
• Tight defense by the Growling Tigers allowed them to hold the Red Warriors to just half of their first half output, allowing just 15 points over the third and fourth quarters, as UE shot a measly 5 of 31. 

UST Negatives :

• Louie Vigil's inability to make a layup had head coach Pido Jarencio nearly falling to the floor in disbelief. Guarded on a fastbreak, Vigil understandably missed the first, but he got his own miss when his UE defender flew by him, giving him a wide open look. He missed that too, to the groans of the UST crowd.
• Coming into the game as the number one rebounding team in the league, the Tigers found themselves outmatched on the boards in the first half, conceding eight more boards. They managed to rally in the second half though, knotting the number of boards at 49 each. 

UE Positives :

• The Red Warriors got a huge lift from bench players BJ Zosa (seven points, six rebounds, two assists in 10 minutes) and RR De Leon (five points, six rebounds in 14 minutes) as the two players carried UE in the second quarter to a 30-24 lead at the break.

UE Negatives :

• Everyone has to miss sometime, and that's certainly what happened in this game. After providing some sweet shooting versus La Salle and Ateneo, both Paul Zamar and JM Noble regressed to the mean, shooting 2/5 and 1/9 respectively, as they couldn't provide the offensive spark the Red Warriors needed desperately.
• UST is not a team know for forcing turnovers, so that means the Red Warriors somehow committed 16 first half turnovers on their own volition, before finishing with 25. That led to 19 turnover points by the Tigers, a huge advantage in such a low-scoring game.
• Related to that, UE had just five turnover points, compared to the 19 of UST. Similarly, they also finished with a whopping zero fastbreak points, while the Growling Tigers tallied 17. It was just the second time this season a team finished with nothing in that category (ADU was the first, versus DLSU in the second round)
• UE drew just six trips to the free throw line, all coming in the second half as the Tigers had no need to foul the jump-shot happy team.

Sunday Salva-tion - with all the focus on Greg Slaughter, Nico Salva made La Salle pay (pic source)

ADMU 79 - DLSU 62
Recap - - - Preview

Player of the Game : Tonino Gonzaga came off the bench and gave the Blue Eagles a huge shot in the arm. Defensively, Gonzaga smothered a host of DLSU guards, from Jarelan Tampus to Almond Vosotros, LA Revilla, and Luigi Dela Paz, preventing them from mounting a comeback attempt. Offensively, Gonzaga was an inside-outside threat, knocking down two triples and slashing to the rim in transition. The fourth year super sub tallied 12 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals overall, and was one of four Eagles who finished in double-digit scoring.

ADMU Positives :

• The Blue Eagles showed off their depth by staying out ahead even without Greg Slaughter, who went down with foul trouble four minutes into the first period, and then sat out the rest of the first half. At halftime, they were up 31-26, and the lead only grew from that point onwards, with Slaughter's return.
• Ateneo simply outclassed La Salle, beating them out in a variety of categories. The only stats that had La Salle ahead were two-point percentage (48.15 percent for Ateneo versus 50 percent for La Salle) and perimeter points (15 for ADMU and 16 for DLSU).
• Nico Salva bounced back from a horrible encounter versus UE to lead the Eagles with 19 points on 9 of 18 shooting, just one of four Ateneans that finished in double-digits scoring.

ADMU Negatives :

• We didn't get another Gwynne Capacio versus La Salle moment. 

DLSU Positives :

• Taking advantage of Greg Slaughter's reluctance to foul, Arnold Van Opstal led the Archers with 13 points on 6 of 10 shooting.
• Well the Archers played well in the first half with Slaughter out, down just five points. 

DLSU Negatives :

• The rotation of head coach Dindo Pumaren continues to frustrate green shirts everywhere, as he pulls his best scorers from the floor, moments after they've begun to heat up, while his constant shuffling prevents those already on the floor from finding a rhythm. In particular, Jarelan Tampus and Almond Vosotros should have had more time on the floor, but he instead gave guys like Simon Atkins and Joseph Marata the nod despite their obvious struggles. 
• La Salle tried many different variations of the press, throwing out the 2-2-1 zone that UE used on them two defeats ago. Ateneo easily broke them all though, sometimes even just driving into the heart of the press and shrugging it off, as guys like Bacon Austria, Emman Monfort and Kirk Long had an easy time getting the ball across the halfcourt line.
• Once again free throws were a huge problem for La Salle. Both teams had 22 charities, but Ateneo converted 18 of them, while La Salle hit just 10. 
• La Salle continues to cannibalize their more veteran players, as they simply could not produce anything. Maui Villanueva, Joshua Webb, Simon Atkins and Jovet Mendoza, DLSU's oldest tenured players, managed just 12 points between them. 

UAAP Picking Record: 33-11

UAAP S74: UST vs UE

History Lesson:
Nursing a 60-39 lead at the end of three periods, UST thought they could shift into cruise control in the final quarter against a seemingly defeated UE squad. Big mistake. The Red Warriors came roaring back, cutting the Tigers' lead all the way down to 65-59 with 2:07 left, but two bungled attempts to score by Roi Sumang and Adrian Santos ruined their momentum, allowing the Growling Tigers to hang on to the win, 70-63, as a 24-10 fourth period nearly did them in. Kevin Ferrer led all scorers with 19 points, but none came in the final quarter. On the other side of the court, Paul Zamar and Roi Sumang combined for 32 markers, but it wasn't enough to get the early season upset. (Recap here) 

What's at Stake:

• Now at 5-5, the UST Growling Tigers get solo fourth after beating La Salle, thus, obviously the last thing they need now is for La Salle to tie them again, or heaven forbid, overtake them after a monumental collapse. Thus, it's imperative that they don't fall into the upset trap here by taking care of business with UE.
• UE (2-9) may finish the season content with (potentially) knocking down the domino that sent DLSU into rebuilding mode, but they'd also be okay with making things extra difficult with UST. A loss here could lead to a need to win more games late for the Tigers, possibly forcing them into a tie with other teams for the last Final Four spot. 

UST Stat to Watch : This game will likely be won on the boards again, what with UST emerging as the best rebounding team in the second round (56 a game, 24.33 offensive boards) and UE as the worst (36.67 rebounds). If the Tigers lean on their bigs again like they did versus DLSU, this should be an easy win.
UST Player to Watch : Ateneo beat UE by going down to the post again and again. While Karim Abdul does not have the height, he certainly has some post moves and has shown patience down low in faking off his defenders. His 14 point, 14 rebound, 2.7 assist average in the second round is certainly nothing to sneeze at, now if only he can be more consistent at the line...

UE Stat to Watch : The Red Warriors were hot from the field against the Blue Eagles, breaking the 40 percent barrier for just the second time this season with a 43.28 percent performance. While I doubt they can replicate such things as Erwin Duran's four straight jump shots, or their 7 for 16 three-point shooting, if they can get their players in a position to find open jumpers, they should as opposed to some of the forced shots they threw up in previous losses.
UE Player to Watch : JM Noble produced a great line against the Tigers in the first round: nine points, two rebounds, two assists, two blocks in just 19 minutes. He's had back to back hot scoring performances, and no doubt, he'll want to add to that and make it three in a row.

Prediction: UST Growling Tigers

One Day Later: ADMU vs UE, DLSU vs UST

The man in the middle - Ateneo leaned on Greg Slaughter, and the big guy delivered (pic source)

ADMU 74 - UE 70
Recap - - - Preview

Player of the Game : After games of Slaughter being a complimentary piece to the squad and not the main focus, ADMU coach Norman Black decided that he needed to go to the well and pound the ball into the big man, exploiting his height advantage over the tiny UE Red Warriors squad. The tactic worked, as Slaughter produced possibly his best game of the season so far, finishing with 19 points on 8/9 shooting, 10 rebounds, two assists, two blocks and just two turnovers.

ADMU Positives :

• It was all about the fundamentals again for Ateneo, as the Eagles went back to the basics of basketball to win this game, getting ahead in the following categories: rebounds (43-34), assists (22-16) and free throws (25-9). 
• The guards of Ateneo had no problem breaking the 2-2-1 press employed by the Red Warriors, and easily forced turnovers on the UE backcourt. Emman Monfort, Kiefer Ravena and Kirk Long combined for 32 points, 14 assists and seven steals in yesterday's game. 
• Ateneo's bench was actually pretty productive as it has been for the past couple of games. Tonino Gonzaga and Justin Chua were the headliners, combining for 13 points, but Bacon Austria and Frank Golla provided some hustle to go with a handful of points.

ADMU Negatives :

• After back to back amazing performances to start the second round, Nico Salva seemed to have used up his mojo, going 1 for 12 from the field, missing a lot of shots he normally makes.
• The Eagles simply could not create enough separation against UE, failing to erect a double-digit lead for just the second time this season (first versus Adamson in the season opener)
• Ateneo posted their worst performance at the line today, shooting 16 of 25 from the field for 64 percent. Their previous low was 64.52 percent, in their second round match with FEU, both far from their average of 74.07 percent.

UE Positives :

• The Red Warriors seemingly could not miss from the floor, hitting 10 of 20 perimeter field goals in the first half before settling back to the norm, though they did wind up with a 7 for 16 clip from downtown. How on fire was UE? They entered the game shooting 14.76 percent from long-range and 35.46 percent from the field, but shot 40-plus percent in this game.
• John Noble posted even better numbers versus Ateneo than he did versus La Salle, dropping 21 points on 9 of 19 shooting, including a 3 for 6 stretch from beyond the arc. Paul Zamar was also en fuego, scoring 15 points, including three triples as well, plus dishing out six assists and getting two swipes. 

UE Negatives :

• Lord Casajeros, you mother flopper.

In your face - tight UST defense contributed to DLSU's downfall (pic source)

UST 60 - DLSU 52

Recap - - - Preview

Player of the Game : While the focus will be on Jeric Teng, and rightfully so, it was Karim Abdul who set the tone for this game, dominating the interior and acting like a demon on the glass. In 30 minutes, Abdul hauled down 12 rebounds, half of them on the offensive end, while also making three assists and no turnovers. Plus he also scored nine points on 4 of 7 shooting, with the only quibble being his 1 for 6 performance from the stripe.

DLSU Positives :

• They didn't have a 2-point second quarter.

DLSU Negatives :

•  Despite it being a must-win game, the Archers still came out flat from the opening whistle, looking like it was a summer preseason game. Only Joseph Marata finished with double-digit scoring, and barely, chipping in 11.
• It sure looked like DLSU was in for another two-point quarter, drawing things out to the 1:49 mark of the period before scoring their second field goal. As usual, too much jump shooting characterized DLSU's woes, making just 1 of 12 perimeter shots, and three shots in the paint, before connecting on the inbounds play by Tampus and the dunk by Van Opstal.
• After starting the season hitting 67.95 percent from the line, the Archers have gone back to the horrid form they displayed in the summer. In this game, they were a miserable 12 for 26 from the stripe, failing to connect late on big free throws. 
• The Tigers held La Salle to just 20 points in the paint, a season-low for DLSU, after averaging 37.33 points, entering this game.
• Everyone knows this by now, but damn is head coach Dindo Pumaren slow at making adjustments. UST ran the same press break play four times in a row: inbounds to Fortuna, pass to Teng right below the halfcourt line, double comes to Teng, Teng reverses the ball back to Fortuna, who makes a forward pass to the right wing player who drives in for a layup, with a big man on the weak side to allow for a drop pass if the lone Archer commits to him. Later on, coach Jarencio ran the same play twice, have Fortuna drive down the middle, attract the defense, and then throw it over his head to Teng at the top of the three point line. Result? Triples.

UST Positives :

• UST did all the right things today, making a mockery of the La Salle press (which they added some 2-2-1 variations to, after being creamed by it versus UE, ironically, it didn't help), unleashing the 2-3 zone early, and basically dictating the tempo, preventing DLSU from getting up and run. UST previously allowed the most fastbreak points per game, 15.2, but La Salle only had seven in this match, a testament to improved defense on the Tigers' part.
• The Tigers backcourt came up big in the clutch, with Teng hitting two huge triples and Fortuna coming up with the coast to coast layup. 
• The Growling Tigers bigs came up with 63 rebounds, 32 on the offensive end, cementing their rep as the best rebounding team in the league. DLSU in comparison had just 41 rebounds total, 16 on the offensive end.

UST Negatives :

• Fortuna turned in his second straight poor shooting performance, going 2 for 18 from the field, though he did make the two assists to Teng for the triples that sealed the game.
• Kevin Ferrer continues to struggle, scoring just six points on 1 of 9 shooting, going 4 of 7 from the arc, and committing three turnovers.  What happened to him?

UAAP Picking Record: 30-10

UAAP S74: DLSU vs UST

History Lesson:
Nursing a 49-27 lead at the break, it would take a complete collapse for the UST Growling Tigers to get back at the DLSU Green Archers. They got close, holding DLSU to just seven third quarter points, and threatening with just a point difference, 72-71 with seconds to go, but Jarelan Tampus saved the day after nearly ruining it for the green shirts, missing two charities, but securing the rebound and then making up for his gaffe by knocking these two down. With Kevin Ferrer missing an off-balance trey to force OT, La Salle was able to escape with the win, 74-71. (Recap here)

What's at Stake: 

• Both teams possess 4-5 records and are tied for the fourth seed, behind the third-place 6-4 FEU Tamaraws. With five games remaining on tap for both these squads, a win here would be huge, placing large amounts of pressure on the loser to sweep their remaining games if they hope to make the post-season.

DLSU Stat to Watch : On a two-game losing streak since the second round began, La Salle's offense has lost a lot of pep that made them a dangerous team. Not only do they average five less points scored now (72.71 to 67.5), all their freethrow related stats have dropped too, includes makes and percentage. Rebounding, assists, steals have also declined, while turnovers have shot up. Given the close nature of their first encounter with UST, if their offensive ineptitude continues, then this game may not even go down to the wire.
DLSU Player to Watch : Norbert Torres came out and dueled Karim Abdul to a standstill, getting 21 points and eight rebounds, but contributing five blocks as well. With Yutien Andrada out for the season and Arnold Van Opstal becoming a foul magnet, Torres will likely carry the load down low, and will need to come up big on both sides of the court.

UST Stat to Watch : The Growling Tigers have ruled the interior to a certain extent in the round two, ruling the rebounds like in the first round (20.5 offensive rebounds a game, 52.5 rebounds total, both tops in the league), but also getting the most swipes, with six in each encounter. With Andrada missing, that's one less capable big man rebounder the Archers will have against Karim Abdul.
UST Player to Watch : Jeric Teng was coming off the bench in their first round game after an injury sidelined him in their previous encounter, playing just 24 minutes and finishing with 14 points. Teng can be both a boon and a bane for UST as shown in that meeting. Teng was a disappointing 2 of 10 from the field, 1 for 4 from downtown, but he made up for it with a 9 for 10 stint at the foul line. If he gets into attack mode and sends Van Opstal and Torres into foul trouble, things open up drastically for UST.

Prediction: UST Growling Tigers

UAAP/NCAA Power Rankings: Week 6 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 NCAA's first round is finally over! Huzzah! As a result, this week's power rankings deal with the fallout of the titanic SSCR-SBC match, and the latest happenings in UAAP, which include FEU regaining ground, and DLSU losing it.

One Day Later: DLSU vs UE, ADMU vs UST

Down. Out? The defeated faces of the Green Archers say volumes (pic source)

UE 74 - DLSU 69
Recap - - - Preview

Player of the Game : Remember when Paul Zamar dropped 20 on NU in the first round before scoring just four in round two? Well it looks like he reloaded for the DLSU game, scoring a game-high 19 points to lead his Warriors. He also made 8 of 10 from the foul line, and added two rebounds, two assists and just a single turnover with no fouls.

DLSU Positives :

• Simon Atkins and LA Revilla both passed medical tests that allowed them to play today. 
• With the exception of their free throw shooting, La Salle actually played very close to their season averages coming into this game.

DLSU Negatives :

• The Yutien Andrada injury was gruesome to watch. The guys sitting around me immediately said ACL, though there's no official word as to his injury yet. 
• It's hard to figure out La Salle's free throw shooting. They normed 67.95 percent in their first five games, a huge improvement on their 59 percent summer clip. Since a disastrous 39.13 percent figure versus Adamson in round one though (a game they could have won had they made charities), their shooting has been on a decline (though they did make 11 of 15 versus the Falcons in round two), and in this game, they shot just 52 percent, or 13 of 25. 
• Maybe it's too easy to harp on a coach's rotation after the fact, but there were some really weird moves made by coach Dindo Pumaren. After his spectacular heroic effort versus Adamson, Almond Vosotros was rewarded with...12 minutes of playing time. With UE pressing, La Salle turned to...the turnover prone Joshua Webb, who tallied a team-high four mistakes in 18 minutes. When they desperately needed a trey they turned to...Joseph Marata, who was ice cold after spending lots of time on the bench (Marata by the way is shooting 9 of 35, 25.71 percent from beyond the arc. Luigi Dela Paz on the other hand, is 9 of 17, for a team high 52.94 percent on treys). Needing to press their height advantage, La Salle fields...shot blocker Papot Paredes and hustle player Jovet Mendoza.
• I humble submit the nickname "Trick or Treat" for Jarelan Tampus. When he's good, he's really good, but when he's bad, he's horrible. Unfortunately for the Archers, he was the latter today, going 0 for 7 from the field in 16 minutes of play for a grand total of two points. It's a bad follow-up to his last outing, when he was just 2 of 13 for six points.

UE Positives :

• When the Red Warriors put points on the board, good things happen, simple as that. In both of UE's wins, they broke the 70-point barrier, scoring 72 versus NU in round one, and 74 versus La Salle. Another key number? Lots of points in the paint, as they scored 38 today, and 44 in their NU win. 
• Great show of fighting spirit by the Warriors, coming on the heels of a 40-point blowout loss. 
• Gutsy coaching by Jerry Codinera, who zagged, pressing into a 2-2-1 zone, when everyone else was zigging, using a 2-3 zone. It could have backfired hugely on their faces, but Codinera was confident his guards could pull it off and they did, forcing La Salle into 24 turnovers, a season-high for them.

UE Negatives :

• UE is still horrible from outside the arc, making just 1 out of 10 triples in this game. Luckily for them, it didn't matter in this game. 

Face palm. The UST coaching staff simply had no answers in this game (pic source)

ADMU 82 - UST 57
Recap - - - Preview


Player of the Game : Nico Salva followed up his sweet-shooting game versus FEU with an encore performance, scoring 20 on 7 of 11 shooting, plus a 6 for 6 stint at the line, plus seven boards and two assists. While basketball convention says he's taking some extremely inefficient jump shots, the fact is he's making them and that's really what counts.

ADMU Positives :

• Coach Norman Black wanted better ball movement on offense and the same level of defensive intensity in the first quarter. Check and check, as the Eagles tallied four assists on six field goals, while holding the Tigers to 2 of 13 shooting in the first quarter. 
• The Eagles leaned on their usual strengths, free throw shooting (hitting 90.3 percent of 31 free throws), transition points (19 fast break points), and turnover points (24 points). That allowed them to shrug off a 2 for 13 performance from beyond the arc. 
• Ateneo's coaching staff made a concentrated effort to get Justin Chua lots of touches, allowing him to finish with 18 points. Chua was in a huge slump at the start of the season, but the Eagles will need him down the stretch as a main weapon off the bench, so hopefully this improves his confidence by a lot. 
• Three steals by Kiefer Ravena, three fastbreak layups by Ravena.
• Despite going with a bench crew, and eventually, third-stringers, in the fourth period, against mostly UST starters, Ateneo was down just 14-20 in that period, which speaks to the depth of this team.
• Keeping his cool this time, Emman Monfort was able to make life a living hell for Jeric Fortuna. Prior to the fourth quarter, Fortuna scored just two points on 1 of 5 shooting, and had two rebounds and three steals.

ADMU Negatives :

• A few players missed a couple of make-able layups here and there. (We're grasping for straws here)

UST Positives :

• Karim Abdul kept his double-doubles streak alive, extending it to three games with a 12-19 effort.
• Despite the presence of Greg Slaughter, the Tigers still owned the glass, with a 51-45 rebound advantage, 25-10 on offensive boards.

UST Negatives :

• UST was held to season-lows in all scoring percentages, except perimeter shooting percentage.
• The Tigers also conceded a season-high in turnover points, allowing 24 turnover points on 23 errors.  
• Did UST really need to keep their starters in the game late? Players like Louie Vigil could have made better use of the fourth quarter playing time, while fans could have seen the first minutes of Jaypee Sarcia in college. 

UAAP Picking Record: 27-9