UAAP Season 72 First Half of Second Round: Getting Serious

Note: This is an old post from my Multiply site last September 1, 2009.

I am actually writing this journal entry for the sake of giving my ‘quarterly’ power rankings and analysis. The season is reaching its critical stage so I will try to be more level-headed and serious in my analysis rather than put strong biases on it. We are way past the end of the first half of the second round, but I am still publishing this. We still have two weeks to go.

UAAP Men’s Basketball Power Rankings
1) Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles. (11-1) Best winning percentage usually goes to the team on top. The Hail Mary Squad has performed greatly in the second round of eliminations with an immaculate record thus far. They have shown that they are the team to beat by plowing over their opponents. There might be close encounters but these would have to be attributed to slow starts, relaxed defense and dreadful offense. Nevertheless, the Blue Eagles still consistently get victories because of their well-fortified defense. No matter how you shoot badly, you will always get a shot at winning the game because of defense. Ateneo’s last game against Adamson is a very good testament to that.

The Blue and White squad has shown several flashes of brilliance in the second round. Salva, Buenafe, Long and Salamat all have shown that we do have a strong lineup for years to come as each shared breakout games. Rabeh Al-Hussaini is back to his MVP form especially now that he is defending impeccably. Team Ateneo is just extremely talented.

Strengths: Defense, Bench Scoring, Ball Rotation, Free throw Shooting (even if it was worse than last year’s), End-Game Composure, Disciplined Game
Weaknesses: Tendency to be overconfident

2) Far Eastern University Tamaraws. (10-2) They are the strongest foes of the Blue Eagles because they also have a formidable lineup that is deadly on both ends. If Ateneo prides itself with its bench scoring, FEU counters with arguably the strongest starting quintet in the league: Barocca, Garcia, Noundou, Cawaling and Ramos. With this lineup, I tell you, no team stands a chance against them after Ateneo standouts graduate this year. FEU is really on a mission this year because they have been playing steady basketball with the exception of their UE game. They are great in handling the ball and their defense, if not tied, is a close second to Ateneo’s. Their rookies are undoubtedly playing like veterans.

Strengths: Defense, Strong Starting Five, Ball Handling, End-Game Composure
Weaknesses: Tendency to be overconfident

3) University of the East Red Warriors. (7-4) This team is incredibly peaking. You can just notice their high spirits after they trampled the Tamaraws and they defeated the Green Archers. The Warriors were able to sink difficult shots against La Salle that just left the Green Gallery depressed. That, however, is UE’s biggest problem. Even if they have the best passer in the league – Paul Lee – their free-flowing offense does not result to good ball rotation. The primary reason why Ateneo dominated them this season was because UE just cannot shoot the ball from an optimal location.

Strengths: Athleticism, Team Chemistry, Mobile and Ranged Big Men
Weaknesses: Ball Rotation

4) University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers. (6-5) High-octane offense. Pido’s Tigers run and gun to trample their opponents. They boast of athletic wingmen which could give matchup nightmares to most teams. UST has overachieved its pre-season expectations as they managed to hold the fourth place despite of having a big hole in the middle. But to say that they are better than last year’s effort is a bit hasty. They have only beaten one team of the Top 5 as of the present time. Pido is not a good technical coach. His run-and-gun style usually hits him back at crucial moments when his pivotal starters run out of gas.

Strengths: Offense, Wingman Mismatch, Athleticism
Weaknesses: Inexperienced Bench, Uncontrolled and Impulsive Gameplay, No Legit Center, Terrible Defense

5) Adamson University Soaring Falcons. (3-9) They may have been eliminated but Coach Austria’s wards have shown strong opposition this year. They can play solid defense and they can control the boards. The only problem is their raw talent and their inability to close out games.

Strengths: Rebounding, Defense
Weaknesses: End-Game Composure, Durability, Basketball IQ

6) University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons. (3-8) Coach Aboy’s boys are starting to grow into men. They are playing a more mature brand of basketball as shown by their defense. Yes, they can defend (that was why they beat Ateneo in the first round). They also boast of great raw talent in Mikee Reyes, Alvin Padilla, and Mark Juruena. The biggest problem though is, they have an on and off switch. Their offensive executions are mediocre as well.

Strengths: Talent, Passion to win
Weaknesses: Inconsistency, Ball Rotation, Ballhandling

7) De La Salle University Green Archers. (4-7) Note: I am not hating on them for placing them here. Note that they have not yet won a game for the whole second round. Both UP and AdU have two wins already. The Archers are definitely struggling. Their vets are not built to be alpha dogs. The inexperience of their rookies poses them problems as well. The system is still there but the vaunted press is easily broken by opposing teams already. Their offense really took a hit this year. I think the vets are demoralized or pressured too much that they cannot sink in wide-open shots. La Salle usually boasts of high basketball IQ but they don’t have it this year. Because of high expectations, the boys from Taft are having a tough time. That is why when I asked “have they peaked?” in a column before, I really meant it. Their offense already went uphill after they beat UST and I doubt if they still reach that. But still, they are NOT YET eliminated.

Strengths: Aggressive Defense, System
Weaknesses: Offense, No Go-To-Guy

8) National University Bulldogs. (2-10) The team really lacks talent. At least, they steal the ball a lot. They also have promising rookies. But the good things end there. The Bulldogs are just terrible in both offense and defense. They also turn the ball a lot.

Strengths: Stealing
Weaknesses: Offense, Defense, Ballhandling

MVP Race
1) Rabeh Al-Hussaini (Ateneo). He has been superb on both sides of the court starting in the second round. He has been the consistent scorer of Ateneo’s starting five. Ball hog? Dude, he has a good field goal percentage to back it up.
2) Dylan Ababou (UST). Statistically, he is the best but for me it is like the Steve Nash effect. His team runs and scores a lot. I think a better measure to get with regard to scoring is to get his percentage contribution from his team’s total score. Also, I do not want him to win because he punched a player. Let’s uphold sportsmanship, please.
3) Paul Lee (UE). His scoring and his passing have done wonders to his team. With a team with lesser talent as compared to FEU and Ateneo, Paul Lee deserves to have his spot in here.
4) Aldrech Ramos (FEU). Another statistical monster. However, FEU has a lot of big-time scorers that overshadows his contribution.
5) Pari Llagas (UE). Consistently Deadly. ‘Nuff said!

Courtside Reporter Rankings
To be honest, this year’s batch is the worst I have watched. There are just too many stuttering and bloopers that I could not help but cringe most of the time. I will just post the good ones.
1) Jessica Mendoza (Ateneo). She is still my Numero Uno in this list but the gap is very close. Jessica’s report content is arguably the best and she has the best reporter voice ever. However, she stutters a lot and is sometimes caught reading in the camera. That can be improved, although I felt sad because she still appears tensed up to now. She appears too serious. Nevertheless, very good report content and very clear voice are two special talents (it’s like defensive capability and shooting stroke for basketball players) that’s why she’s the best so far. My advice: Show a more fun side and have shorter reports.
2) Maan Panganiban (NU). This gal has a good command of English and she delivers it great. Her reports are also informative as well. My only concern is that she talks a lot. Her voice is not as clear as Jessica’s so her lengthy reports get drowned by the background noise. She also had her share of bloopers as well.
3) Tiff Atendido (UE). Very close third. She confidently delivers her reports and these are normally well-done. However, her reports are too lengthy as well. I am not fond of her voice as well.
4) Job de Leon (AdU). Hey, I put a guy in this list! Yeah, I am getting less biased now. I think he does it just right. Nothing special, but nothing bad as well.

Rookie of the Year
1) RR Garcia (FEU). Is this guy qualified? If yes, he should win it. He plays like a veteran and he has bailed out FEU when they play relaxed.
2) Jeric Teng (UST). Very close second. Even if there is a Steve Nash effect, this kid still plays exceptional. His shots are difficult and he hustles a lot.
3) Alvin Padilla (UP) / Pipo Noundou (FEU). Very good stats and they have hugely helped their team in their victories. Padilla scores a ton while Pipo provides the intangibles.

Notes:
• I am not counting out DLSU. Final Four is still attainable and if they win their last three, they have huge momentum going to the playoff.
• Studio 23 should turn off the background volume when the courtside reporters are shown. Their words usually get drowned by the noise.
• They either have lengthy commercials or they just do not coordinate with the referees. It is very common to miss one or two possessions after a commercial break.
• There are too many errors when they show the team names/scores/stats. I cringe every time I see the wrong information flashed on the screens.
• Show replays on dead ball situations, not during the middle of the action!
• I have no issues with the refs. I may have grown some indifference on officiating unless it is a very obvious miss. I am fine with the traveling calls as long as they call it consistently.