Scouting Report - #UAAP77 Week 1

(c) Sherwin Vardeleon

UAAP Season 77 is finally upon us! The opening weekend saw three blowouts and an intense clash between contenders FEU and La Salle. At this stage, all of those preseason predictions and rankings [I am guilty of doing one. Or two. Come on! Its part of my job!] are proven futile and should be thrown out of the window.

And with two playdates already done, lets take a quick look on the early achievers of this young collegiate basketball season and give credit to the boys who deserve it. Here we go!

WHAT YOU MISSED

July 12, 2014 - Saturday - Araneta

UE def. UP, 87-59.

FEU def. La Salle, 82-77.

July 13, 2014 - Sunday - Araneta

Ateneo def. Adamson, 79-57.

NU def. UST, 59-40.

POWER RANKINGS

1. FEU (1-0)

Terrence who? RR who? The Tamaraws showed no signs of missing last year's star guards as Mike Tolomia, Mac Belo, and the returning Russel Escoto towed FEU to a hard-fought opening day upset win against the favored La Salle team.

2. NU (1-0)

It wasn't pretty, but the Bulldogs ushered in its post-Bobby Ray Parks era with a statement win versus their tormentors last season UST, blasting their rivals with ease in a total team effort.

3. UE (1-0)

"Thunder" Dan Alberto zapped UP with five treys to set the wheels in motion for the Red Warriors' trek to the Final Four. The bench production for UE allowed coach Derrick Pumaren to go easy on Roi Sumang's exposure in opening day.

4. ADMU (1-0)

Sign of things to come? Kiefer Ravena might just have opened Chapter 1 of his "Eff-You" season this year, torching the lowly Falcons and posterizing defenders not once, but twice. "Eff-You" indeed.

5. DLSU (0-1)

The Green Archers might be stunned with an opening day loss against FEU, but it just wasn't their game to win. Expect the defending champs to bounce back in their next game – against rivals Ateneo.

6. UST (0-1)

Its just not the same without coach Pido. That's not a dig towards new coach Bong dela Cruz, but in the Tigers' first outing, the runner-ups seemed to be discombobulated [Did I spell it right?] against a more ready NU squad. The good thing is its just their first game; the bad thing is that they have to get it fast.

7. ADU (0-1)

With 11 rookies, even coach Kenneth Duremdes didn't expect the mugging they would get from Ateneo in their opener. He hoped that they would at least compete, but the team's immaturity surfaced, forcing "Captain Marbel" to reassess his plans, even if it needs him to exit the dugout in the fourth quarter of the succeeding game.

8. UP (0-1)

I'll just let this meme do the talking.

(c) UAAP-NCAA Memes

MVP WATCH

(c) Sherwin Vardeleon

(weekly production/ averages in parentheses)

1. Mike Tolomia (23 points, 4/6 3PT FGs, 3 rebounds, 5 assists in W vs DLSU): The fourth-year guard made the most of his extended responsibility, bucking a slow first half and torching La Salle with 20 second half points, as the defending champs struggled to find an answer against the Tams in the endgame.

2. Kiefer Ravena (22 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals in W vs ADU): It was a statement game for the elder Ravena sibling as Kiefer really showed the way for Ateneo. It also won't hurt that he had two slam dunks which sent Mika Reyes wildly cheering from her seat.

(c) Sherwin Vardeleon

3. Mac Belo (20 points, 4 rebounds in W vs DLSU): Belo has shown tremendous improvements from his days in the Sinag Pilipinas squad, and the forward has been a workhorse in the paint against taller counterparts.

(c) Sherwin Vardeleon

4. Dan Alberto (15 points, 5/6 3PT FGs, 2 assists in W vs UP): Whoever said that Dan Alberto will be an early season MVP candidate, please raise your hands. Nobody? Exactly.

(c) Sherwin Vardeleon

5. Gelo Alolino (13 points, 6/10 FGs, 3 rebounds, 3 steals in W vs UST): It all starts with Alolino, as the NU playmaker anchored the all-around assault for the Bulldogs in exorcising the demons of their bitter UST losses last season.

BEST FIVE

G - Mike Tolomia (FEU)

G - Kiefer Ravena (ADMU)

F - Mac Belo (FEU)

F - Russel Escoto (FEU)

C - Troy Rosario (NU)

ROOKIE WATCH

(c) spin.ph/ UAAP-NCAA memes

(weekly production/ averages in parentheses)

1. Ivan Villanueva (15 points, 6/9 FGs, 9 rebounds in L vs ADMU): Extra Rice Jr.? The former Letran Squire showed his soft shooting touch even as the Falcons struggled in its first game of the season.

2. Arvin Tolentino (12 points, 2/6 3PT FGs, 5/12 FGs in W vs ADU): The ex-San Beda Red Cub lived up to his hype as he joined forces with Kiefer Ravena in the early Ateneo pullaway, draining threes amd setting the tone for the W.

3. Rev Diputado (8 points, 2/2 3PT FGs in W vs UST): Diputado, a former Bullpup, showed that his spot in coach Eric Altamirano's rotation is safe as he was solid in his time on the floor while Alolino is resting on the bench, drilling occasional threes while setting his teammates up in offense.

WHAT THEY SAID

"We're playing undersized. Si Carl Bryan Cruz nasa kili-kili na ni AVO. Sacrifice." - Nash Racela on FEU's bigs matching up with La Salle's big men.

"Maganda ba or di maganda? Kung maganda, itutuloy namin. Kung ayaw nyo eh di palitan namin. Baka mas maging topic nyo pa yung outfit namin than the result." - Juno Sauler on the coaching staff's coat-and-tie uniforms

"I didn't do anything. I'm a good boy." - Kiefer Ravena on the unsportsmanlike foul whistled on him in their Adamson game.

WEEKLY NOTABLE

The La Salle coaching staff donned these uniforms which set the Twitter world ablaze last Saturday. What do you think?

UNI-WATCH

Just a quick word on the opening day uniforms.

The Nike jerseys (Ateneo, La Salle, FEU) are still the usual, but I observed one thing which bugs me until now. The school's names, regularly emblazoned on the shirt's chest, is now placed on a lower position, particularly the "tummy area." We believe that this space is alloted for the advertising patches, but isn't it too spacious for a certain patch to be placed in the center of the uniform?

Unless... they are pushing for a sponsor's logo to be placed above the school's name in the jerseys (which just further hammers a discreet belief on the league's commercialization, if its not yet that commercialized).

NU and UST, for me, had the best opening day uniforms.

Without any biases, I liked the loudness of the UST golden yellow uniform bearing a tiger print lining in both sides.

I also liked the simplicity of NU's white uniforms, going away from the usual "big U" NU logo and the one bearing a bulldog, and rather opting with the simple "National University" text upfront. Plus points for the style of the numbers at the back, which is the same font face of those of San Mig Coffee's. [Quick tangent: NU assistant coach Mon Jose also served as a video coordinator and later, an assistant coach for the Coffee Mixers during the 2014 PBA Governors' Cup.]

Still not digging UP's threads. Its nice that you have the word "Pilipinas" written on your jersey's front (with a little "Unibersidad ng" text written above it), but the white "bibs" that hug the maroon jersey just doesn't make the cut. And I'm using that term lightly. It really resembles an infant's bib, right?

The author covers the UAAP for Balls Channel, Solar Sports Desk, and occasionally, for Inquirer Libre.

The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the author's employers.

UAAP Season 77 Primer: Adamson Soaring Falcons

Originally posted on the Balls Channel website

Head Coach: Kenneth Duremdes (1st season)

Last Season: Seventh Place (4-10 in the eliminations)

Key Losses: Coach Leo Austria, Jericho Cruz, Rodney Brondial, Ingrid Sewa, Roider Cabrera, Gian Abrigo, Eric Cabigas, Michael Agustin, Matthew Bernabe

Holdovers: Ryan Monteclaro, Don Trollano, Axel Iñigo, Jansen Rios, Dawn Ochea

Key Acquisitions: Joseph Nalos (transferee), Alex Barrera, Matthew Aquino, Ivan Villanueva, Christian Garcia, Francis Donahue, William Polican, JR Gumtang, Jess Pedrosa, Harold Butron, Kevin Baytan

The Coach Says:

“Basically, more on rebuilding tayo. We’re trying our best so that we can develop players in a quicker way. Wala yung mga veterans natin, especially with the early departure of Jericho (Cruz) to the professional league, so malaking trabaho ang ginagawa natin ngayon hoping that these young players that we recruited to this team can adapt and learn at the quickest way.” – coach Kenneth Duremdes

The Players Say:

“More or less, magiging tough season ito for us. Pero we’re very optimistic with the new system, plus I think I speak for everyone, we don’t have stars. So basically, we’re relying on teamwork. No individual go-to guy, walang specific na pupuntahan yung bola, and everybody’s licensed to do each of their roles.” – Ryan Monteclaro, guard

“Mahirap kasi we have new coaches, pero right now, naa-adapt na namin yung system ni coach Kenneth. Undersized yung team, but we’re preparing to give our full effort.” – Jansen Rios, forward

“Kailangang mag-step up lahat kasi ang daming rookies at wala pa silang experience sa ganung laban. Yung UAAP, mabigat na competition yun. Pero ine-expect ko na makapasok kami ng Final Four.” – Don Trollano, forward

X-Factor: Ryan Monteclaro

Though Duremdes has been preaching about teamwork to this young squad, he will still rely on his five holdovers from last year’s squad to be the shining light for the Falcons.

Expect the 5-foot-7 Monteclaro to be at the forefront of each of Adamson’s battles this season, as the team captain has been more than just a vocal leader for his raw teammates.

Whether it may be barking instructions from the sidelines, hollering when his teammates have executed a right play, or stabilizing Adamson’s play when he is on the floor, Monteclaro has really been a big help for Duremdes, and even Captain Marbel knows that the 22-year-old senior will be a key cog in the Falcons’ future this year.

But in Monteclaro’s part, he doesn’t want to shy away from the ideals his PBA legend coach is instilling to the squad.

“Our team, we’re undersized talaga. We lack individual talent. But yung potential ng team given na maraming talented rookies, andoon eh,” he said. “We’ll be there sa season ready for any battle. Even if we’re undersized and too young, we still believe that we can make some noise sa UAAP.”

He added, “We’ll be the underdogs of this season, and we believe in coach Kenneth and coaching staff. We are very motivated and inspired sa mga naririnig namin. The Adamsonians are going back to its rebuilding days, pero maganda dito is we’re going to surprise everybody in the league.”

Prognosis:

We have to be frank. Not much is expected from this year’s Soaring Falcons.

Losing their coach and basically the core players from last season’s campaign, Duremdes has been tasked in forming a ragtag crew, and it doesn’t help that the team has only been together for a month or so.

That isn’t going to be accepted as an excuse for a possibly tough season for Adamson, but knowing Captain Marbel, he wouldn’t fold that easy.

With only five holdovers from last year’s roster, the Falcons need to step up their game, more that from the point guard position to the center position, they will be thoroughly undersized.

How would Duremdes address that? Defense, he says.

Adamson will take their physical style of play from last season in grinding out possible wins this year, and the team believes that with the teamwork that they have, better things are ahead of them.

Sure, maturity would be a big issue, but it would be left to Duremdes and his coaching staff to fast track the players’ development for them not to succumb in the pressure of the bright lights of the UAAP.

*****

UAAP Previews: Adamson | Ateneo | La Salle | FEU | NU | UE | UP | UST