Adamson University Soaring Falcons
Storyline
For years, the Adamson Soaring Falcons were the perennial cellar dweller team. Back in the late 90s and early 2000s, they sported a pathetic record. We called the winless basketball team in our high school intramurals as the “Adamson” team. But in the past few years, they have shown some glimpses of promise. They reached the Final Four in 2006 when then-MVP Ken Bono led their team. They eventually bowed out after getting eliminated by the first-seeded Ateneo Blue Eagles. The Falcons faded into obscurity until the current batch finally became contenders. They reached the Final Four last year only to be eliminated by their longtime tormentors – the Ateneo Blue Eagles. They easily mastered the Falcons that the last time they won over Ateneo was back in the 90s… correction: just recently.
The primary storyline for Adamson is that their school has had too many sad stories regarding basketball through the years. They always failed. By the time opportunity shines on them, they falter and disappear. Even if this year’s batch is considered a mature team, you will be able to notice that the Falcons’ losing mentality comes back to haunt them from time to time. How many times did they squander a huge lead? They have control issues on instances when they are about to achieve success. The idea behind it is like, “Hey, we are not used to winning. With all the luck we’re having right now, we are bound to screw this up.” I am not sure if that is what is going in the players’ heads or if all their choke jobs were coincidental. But whatever it was (plus Ateneo’s constant dominance of them), Adamson has a lot of chip in their shoulders.
What is going against them: Championship experience. They may be the most equipped team aside from Ateneo right now, but Adamson has not yet been in the Finals lately. Also, they have a questionable killer instinct.
Why you should root for them: Of the four Final Four teams, I think it is the easiest to root for Adamson. Their last championship was decades ago, unlike the three teams which won at least a title in the past decade. Furthermore, you can feel how passionate the Adamsonians are in achieving basketball success this year. They had a monster crowd cheering their lungs out in the game against Ateneo. Their players, whenever they are interviewed, always wanted to give it all back to their school. You can even see them crying when singing their Alma Mater song after the game. They do not want to lose anymore. Adamson easily wins the best feel-good story of the four final four teams.
Far Eastern University Tamaraws
Storyline
FEU is one of the strongest collegiate powerhouses. Before Ateneo got the most collegiate basketball championships record last year, FEU and UST once had it. FEU usually fielded a strong squad in the past few years. But if you are scoring from home, you will notice that the Tamaraws choked. They were poised to reach the Finals in 2008 only to be upended by JV Casio’s Green Archers (which to be honest, was undermanned as opposed to FEU then). In 2009, the Tamaraws were swept by a lower-seeded UE Red Warriors. By the time they reached the Finals in 2010, they were dismantled by a suddenly-peaking Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles. It was tough to be a Tamaraw fan.
This year was no different. Tagged as the second or third best team by pundits, the Tamaraws had a relatively slow start. They lost to the UP Fighting Maroons. By the time they began picking it up in the second round (by almost edging Ateneo and defeating Adamson), the Tamaraws lost recently to the UST Growling Tigers. Not only was it a tough loss, it put them in position to be the lowest team in the quotient system. The highest they can reach now is the third place.
What is going against them: Aside from their regular playoff losses in the past three years, the Tamaraws had a bigger baggage. Their basketball team was plagued with gambling controversies. Baracael was shot because of it. Barroca’s UAAP career ended abruptly when he was accused of selling out in 2009. If it was not for gambling, they experienced some horrible twist of fate. Cawaling suddenly became a non-factor last year. Nondou was out for the season this year. Yes, it is tough being a Tamaraw fan these days.
Why you should root for them: Everybody loves the underdog. If you want to root for a team who has a lot of baggage, FEU is the team to root for. It is fun to root for someone who finally emerges from all the bad luck he is facing. Between FEU and Adamson, I think the past three years was tougher for FEU fans. There was always a huge heap of expectations for them, while Adamson has been getting most of the sympathy because of their long drought.
University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers
Storyline
After they won the unexpected 2006 championship, Pido Jarencio’s UST Tigers faded into obscurity. From being a much-loved rookie coach, Pido became the idiotic tactician in the eyes of several pundits. He overused Jervy Cruz in his final year to the point that the ex-MVP had no lungs left in the final minutes of their regular season games. The same thing happened to Dylan Ababou. Pido’s play-calling was tagged as ‘mediocre’ at best. He questionably uses all of his timeouts before the final minutes of a game. After Jervy left, UST became a less fundamental team as they settled for long jumpers and less defense.
This year, UST had the sneaky route. Nobody expected them to enter the Final Four as experts usually picked either DLSU or NU to get the fourth spot. UST won the easy games quietly in the first round. Everybody was looking at La Salle to be the fourth placer until the Green Archers started to lose their confidence. UST, on the other hand, did its job of beating the weaker teams. Thus, they found themselves in great position after they defeated DLSU, Adamson and FEU. That is a tall order. Going into the Final Four, the UST Growling Tigers are arguable the hottest team in town.
What is going against them: Pido Jarencio. Even if his coaching gambles paid off against Adamson and FEU, these are still, well, gambles. His 3 P’s might suit a team very well to peak at the right time right now, but he is not undercover now as he was in 2006. No one is underestimating his Growling Tigers anymore. And if a controlled team enters the game with the proper game plan against UST, they’re in for a long game.
Why you should root for them: Pido Jarencio. A lot of people hate him (including yours truly) but for those who admire his coaching style a.k.a. “The Ginebra/Jawo Coaching Style,” you have all the reasons to believe in Pido. After all, he needs to get some credit for turning his underrated Tigers into contenders this year. Their defense – I must admit – is quite impressive. They are in 2006 mode right now. And for those who watched them in 2006, we all know that it was an easy team to root for because they had the Cinderella season. And you know what, they might be an elite team for all we know. Maybe, Pido just forgot to coach correctly the past few years then he suddenly woke up from all the mess he had. He has the proper tools. Fortuna has evolved into a sneaky good point guard. I would not have imagined him to be in this place three years ago. Jeric Teng and Kevin Ferrer are decent wingmen who can exploit the opposition. Camus is the most hardworking player in the league. And of course, Karim Abdul is scary good. He is like a secret character you activate by cheating in a video game. If you want to root for the team with the most momentum and arguably passion, then the Pontifical University is the best for you.
Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles
Storyline
Going for their fourth title in a row, the Ateneo de Manila Blue Eagles are more dominant as ever. The Hail Mary squad pummeled everything in their path until the final elimination game. But still, the storyline did not change. The Blue Eagles are the Philippines’ version of the Duke University Blue Devils. Both institutions field good team players. Ateneo and Duke have highly decorated coaches. Duke has Austin Rivers while Ateneo has Kiefer Ravena. Both teams are consistent, well-disciplined and are team-oriented. But you know what, both are portrayed by media or by public perception as the villain team. They are not in douchie Miami Heat-esque villainous way, but Ateneo and Duke are hated. Other teams hate them because the referees seemed to have favored them. Also, we get the national attention most of the time. Remember Ateneo’s 2002 championship which had media frenzy on it? It irked a lot of non-Ateneans. This is why even if we do not play the bad guys, we will still be dubbed as the ‘Big Bad Blue’ this year.
Do not get me wrong, I am a die-hard Atenean. I use up a lot of my saliva and sweat when cheering in games. I get my eyes radiated for writing Ateneo stuff. I rant about the team when things go wrong to either reverse jinx them or just point out what is wrong (or just make a sarcastic joke out of it). When I point something possibly bad against the team, it is because if is a) a fact, b) my non-fantardish observation, or c) it is an exaggerated joke. Do not take all the things I write literally or seriously – of course, I love the Ateneo Blue Eagles. Thus when I try to write this ‘Big Bad Blue’ perspective, I am not looking at it as a fan, but I am looking at it more from the outside perspective. Someone has to assume the ‘villain’ role. The Blue Eagles may not be as cocky as the Green Archers were a few years ago, but someone has to be the big bully. Often the case is, the league leader is portrayed as that one. In movies, that is the cliché. (This is why I like “Friday Night Lights” a lot, but you know what, the protagonists were still the underdogs in the final game) In real life, that is still the case. Ateneo is easily the most polarizing team these days.
And you know what, I love it.
Bring on the haters. The Blue Eagles always had a lot of haters. We have teams chanting “Beat Ateneo, Animo
When Ateneo plays in the Final Four, expect their opponents to lustily boo them. They just took their cue from Adamson recently. Every team wants to beat the Blue Eagles. That is why Ateneo will be the Big Bad Blue – the team that raked most of the elite high school players the past few years.
What is going against them: The Bull’s Eye target is as bigger than ever. The Blue Eagles will be the most scouted team in the Final Four. Another concern (which I previously mentioned in a recent writeup) is potential complacency. I know that Adamson played a better overall game recently, but getting outscored 62-46 is huge enough. Luck played a factor, but Ateneo also had huge turnover numbers, bad free throw shooting and the way Nuyles successfully attacked the basket like he regularly. There was a bit of complacency in there, and it is a bit delusional to not think of such. I believe the coaching staff is working hard to plan against the opponents, but the lead would have been slimmer if there was no hint of complacency. The loss should give the team some hunger and passion. If you have been winning three straight championships with a regular season average of 12.25 wins, it is expected that you will end up being complacent somewhere along the road. Even a fan like me got complacent. Heck, even legends became complacent. Larry Bird shot threes using his left hand.
Another thing going against the Blue Eagles is the Host School Jinx.
Last but not the least, the lingering question now is: Have the Blue Eagles peaked?
Why you should root for them: Unless you are already an Atenean, here is my reason why you should side with the Blue Eagles. All the three teams have similar storylines: “we are underdogs, we have not won championships… boo-hoo.” If you want to be the contrarian and root for the un-cliché storyline, root for the Ateneo Blue Eagles. Root for the team that promotes great basketball ideals like team play, discipline and intelligence. Root for the team that delivered great collegiate basketball the past few years.
But if you jump in the Ateneo Haters Bandwagon, then so be it. The Blue Eagles will try to win the championship with or without you on their side.
No comments:
Post a Comment