Wide-open race marks UAAP cage wars

MANILA, Philippines - All eight coaches are agreed that the field of battle in this season’s UAAP men’s senior basketball competitions is the toughest in years – make that, at least in the last five years. Although back-to-back-to-back defending champion Ateneo is favored to notch a four-peat, Blue Eagles coach Norman Black won’t even think of it. The threat of an ambush along the way is serious and Black said the key is to stay hungry.

For Black, winning four titles in a row won’t be a fresh silver lining in his resume. As San Miguel Beer coach in the PBA, Black did it once, starting with the Reinforced Conference in 1988 and proceeding to bag a Grand Slam the next year. But to achieve the feat in the UAAP is a big deal, particularly if Black accomplishes it this season because the opposition couldn’t get any stiffer. If Black nails a fourth straight crown, it’ll definitely be the sweetest yet.

Seven teams will gang up on Ateneo to foil the Blue Eagles’ bid for a four-peat and in the process, anything can happen. The dimension of unpredictability is what makes this season’s UAAP basketball tournament a certified box-office hit.

Although the Eagles won’t return last year’s Finals MVP Ryan Buenafe and PBA-bound Erik Salamat, they’re not viewed to skip a beat in jumpstarting their campaign. Adding 7-foot Greg Slaughter gives Ateneo a dominant center with the potential to relive Rabeh Al-Hussaini’s glory years. That factor alone should make the Eagles a cut above the rest. Throw in a formidable holdover unit led by Kirk Long, Eman Monfort, Nico Salva and Justin Chua and a bunch of blue-chip rookies, including hotshot Kiefer Ravena, and Black has the luxury of a unit that can cruise to the top.

But in the offseason, Ateneo wasn’t exactly invulnerable, losing to La Salle twice and NU once. Still, the proof in the pudding is in the eating and for Black, what matters most is the outcome in the UAAP – everything else is secondary.

Crowding Ateneo in the race for the crown jewels are FEU, Adamson, La Salle and NU. The Tamaraws are desperate for a championship with five key players winding up their varsity eligibility. The mood in the FEU locke-room is restive – the team’s battlecry is now or never. The Tams brought back Bert Flores as coach to remind them of how it was in 2005 when FEU reigned supreme – with the same Flores at the helm. Adamson has no “name” players in its roster but coach Leo Austria is convinced the Falcons could go all the way – the optimism reflects a sense of confidence that might just propel the team to the top. La Salle fortified its fences by beefing up with size, an element that compliments the Archers’ ability to run. Pressure defense will continue to be the Archers’ trademark. How quickly coach Dindo Pumaren’s big rookies can adjust to his system remains to be seen. NU is a mystery waiting to unravel. Bobby Ray Parks is the Bulldogs’ main ticket and if new coach Eric Altamirano can instill instant chemistry on the floor, there’s no telling how far NU can advance.

UST, UP and UE are in the “lower” bracket but none of their coaches will agree to the seeding. A lot is expected from the Growling Tigers, Fighting Maroons and Red Warriors who have nothing to lose and everything to gain by giving it all they’ve got. The teams got tougher with new recruits so ruling them out of contention early would be premature and imprudent.

“I’m not thinking of a four-peat at the moment,” said Black, one of six ex-PBA cagers coaching in the UAAP. “All I’m thinking about is winning our first game against Adamson. It’s too soon to think about the championship. Is there more pressure on the team in trying to win four in a row? At Ateneo, there’s always pressure – it doesn’t change. The priority is to work hard and stay hungry. We’ve got to prepare for every game, offensively and defensively. It’s all about going out to take the test and passing it. We want to continue improving game after game, doing what it takes to succeed.”

Black said with five rookies in the fold, Ateneo has a lot of young blood that will sustain its winnability beyond this season. The newcomers are Slaughter, 5-11 Ravena, 6-2 Gwyne Capacio, 6-2 Von Pessumal and 5-9 B. J. Cipriano. Six players are graduating but only three – skippers Long, Monfort and Raymond Austria – are playing out their eligibility.

“We’ve got a lineup that gives us a solid inside-outside game,” said Black. “With Greg, we can do a traditional post-up like we used to with Rabeh two years ago. We lost Erik and Ryan but we’ve been reinforced by a back-to-the-basket post-up guy and four other talented rookies. Now that we’ve got size, we want to get the ball closer to the basket for high percentage shots and go to the foul line. Our main focus is defense. With our team, it doesn’t matter who scores the most points. It was like that last season. We’re bringing back the same attitude. Our concentration is winning as a team.”

 Pumaren said the Green team is now more determined than ever to move up the ranks. “We’ll still rely on our speed and quickness,” said the former PBA guard known as the Bullet. “But unlike last season, now we’ve got big guys who can help out at the post. We’ll continue to be a pressing team with defense as our main thing. We’re hoping to improve on our composure and consistency. I think anyone can step up and take over a game. Our depth gives us a lot of options. Our goal is to make it back to the Final Four and gain a twice-to-beat advantage. If we survive, then we’ll start thinking about the championship.”

La Salle’s rookies are 6-8 Arnold Van Opstal, 5-8 Dan Sara, 6-6 Norbert Torres and 6-5 Pons Gotladera. Making a comeback after a two-year absence due to illness is crack point guard L. A. Revilla. Pumaren has the luxury of rotating veterans Simon Atkins, Joshua Webb, Sam Marata, Almond Vosotros, Maui Villanueva, Yutien Andrade and Papot Paredes to keep the defense guessing.

“Of course, Ateneo is the favorite, that’s a given, with their talented lineup getting a huge lift from rookies like Greg and Kiefer,” said Pumaren. “NU will be a contender with Parks and (Emmanuel) Mbe. Adamson is solid with a lot of seasoned players while FEU is always tough. Every team got stronger and you can’t take any team for granted.”

Altamirano called the upstart Bulldogs, with nine rookies, four sophomores and three juniors “the team of the future.” He said how far the varsity goes will depend on how quickly his youthful players mature during the season.

“We’ll work on our mental toughness and discipline,” said Altamirano. “It was a big relief that the UAAP Board cleared Ray-Ray to play. Now we can start focusing on the season. But with or without Ray-Ray, I think it’ll be tough to land in the Final Four. We still have a lot to work on.  We’ll experience growing pains as we learn to deal with the pressure of winning. Ray-Ray will be the focal point of our offense and Mbe will keep us strong in the middle.”

Altamirano said aside from the aim of winning as many games as possible, the Bulldogs will be out to excite the fans with their brand of play and create a team that the school can be proud of.

NU’s rookies are Parks, PBA cager Samigue Eman’s brother Spencer, Kyle Neypes, Denice Villamor, Reden Celda, Ajeet Singh, Robby Celiz, Joshua Alolino and Robin Rono. The 6-7, 210-pound Mbe from Cameroon will take care of the slot for the Bulldogs.

UST coach Pido Jarencio said the competition in the league couldn’t be more balanced. “It’ll be an exciting season for sure,” he said. “All the teams got better. Ateneo is favored because any team that has a good seven-footer will be a strong contender. FEU, La Salle and Adamson will be hard to beat. I consider NU the darkhorse.”

Jarencio brought in eight rookies, including junior MVPs Kevin Ferrer and Louie Vigil. Also in the Growling Tigers roster are newcomers 6-6 Karim Abdul of Cameroon, 6-3 Kent Lao of St. Stephen, 5-9 Fil-Canadian Jamil Sheriff and 6-2 Robin Tan of Xavier. Holdovers are former PBA cager Alvin Teng’s son Jeric, Jerome Fortuna, Chris Camus, Carmelo Afuang, Paolo Pe, Eduardo Aytona and Aljohn Ungria.

“We’ve assembled a complete team that is versatile,” said Jarencio. “We’ve got depth at every position – point guard, the wings, power forward and center. Our forte is our perimeter game but now, we can play inside, too. We can run or we can execute in the halfcourt. We’re ready to compete. It was morale-boosting when we won the MBL championship in the offseason. In the Filoil tournament, we beat La Salle and San Sebastian so that’s an indication of our potential. We lost Clark Bautista because of academics and Aljun Mariano because of injuries but they’ll be back next year. We’ve got players who can make an impact like Afuang who’s an undersized power forward like a Freddie Abuda, Camus who’s a 6-4 power forward and Fortuna who’s a point guard.”

UE coach Jerry Codiñera has high hopes for a Final Four finish after the Red Warriors wound up sixth with a 6-8 record last year.

“Our goal is to land in the Final Four,” said the rookie mentor who takes over from Lawrence Chongson. “We will continue to pursue UE’s championship tradition, with 18 titles so far, including seven in a row. I’m prudent in my forecast on teams to beat. We prepared our team to go against the best and I’m very certain that our boys are ready.”

Codiñera’s coaching staff lists Billy Reyes, Allan Caidic and surprisingly, Robert Jaworski.

“We don’t have a particular style of play,” he went on. “Our boys are trained to react to ball-game situations at hand. One thing is evident, our players will never back down, cringe or duck from a hard game. We’re a young team with seven rookies and nine veterans. Our key players are composed mostly of our veterans like Paul Zamar, Biboy Enguio, Adrian Santos and Lucas Tagarda. We’re very proud of our rookies who trained hard and are determined to provide first-rate support to our veterans.”

Austria singled out Ateneo as the team to beat but declared that “it’s a wide open race in a very exciting season.” The Falcons posted a 9-5 record in the regular season last year and advanced to the Final Four, losing to eventual champion Ateneo in the semifinals.

“Our fans are expecting a lot from us,” said Austria. “We’re very optimistic of achieving our goals. We have three rookies with different roles. Ateneo is formidable and still the team to beat because of Slaughter and Ravena. FEU is a force to reckon with because of their veterans and a very talented lineup. La Salle is dangerous and they’re maturing and their bench is getting deeper with the presence of their big men. NU is the darkhorse because of Parks and they’re gaining a lot of respect from other teams because of their performance in the offseason and summer leagues.”

Austria isn’t dismissing the possibility of the other teams in the “lower” bracket to surprise the oddsmakers. “You can’t underestimate the teams in the bottom four,” he warned. “They’re not easy to beat. My goals are to get into the Final Four then into the finals and lastly, capture the championship.”

UP coach Ricky Dandan’s dream is to bring back the fighting spirit of the Maroons. “We’re focused on the process of learning how to win again, knowing what it takes and doing what it takes to win,” said Dandan, referring to UP’s 0-14 record last season.

Dandan, who played for the Maroons in 1982-85, inherits a team that can’t go anywhere but up. UP has won only 10 games in the last five years under three different coaches. Dandan took over the coaching reins from Boyet Fernandez who had previously relieved Aboy Castro.

“The teams to beat are Ateneo, Adamson, La Salle, FEU and NU,” said Dandan, a Powerade assistant coach in the PBA. “Our strength is our strong positive mindset. Of course, this mindset will be tested when the games begin. We’re focused on generating offense from our defense and that is what it takes and what needs to be done for us to get chances to win.”

Flores returns to the Tamaraws bench and checks in with an all-star coaching staff made up of Vic Pablo, Johnny Abarrientos, Richie Ticzon and Mike Oliver. As a bonus, B-Meg head coach Jorge Gallent is a consultant.

“We’re very competitive,” said Flores. “Our team still has to improve on our defense. Our target is to make it to the Final Four. We always want to keep in mind to play as a team and to play to win. The teams to beat are Ateneo, La Salle, NU and Adamson. Our strength is our transition game and our weakness is the lack of experience of our big men. This year will be different because several key players are graduating and we expect them to step up and guide the team.”

FEU’s graduating players are Aldrech Ramos, J. R. Cawaling, Pipo Noundou, Chris Exciminiano and Jens Knuttel. Gone from last year’s runner-up cast are center Reil Cervantes and Paul Sanga, expected to join the PBA draft next month. Ramos and Cawaling carry over their experience with Smart Gilas. Leading the charge is MVP R. R. Garcia.

Expect a mad scramble in the chase for the championship.