Go Four, Eagles dare

MANILA, Philippines - Season 74 of the UAAP could turn out to be an extension of a champ’s reign with a fourth jewel, another’s rampaging comeback from a disastrous finish, a third team’s soaring ambition coming to fruition and a former titlist fast-turning from green to mean. It could also go to the ’Dogs – chasing the hounds of their past – or long deserved redemption for the league’s have-nots.

It’s ‘time to reap’ or ‘time to weep.’ A time for victory or defeat. But for whatever it is, it will still be the best of times.

It’s the UAAP.

New faces are Mike Agustin, Genesis Manuel and Harry Petilos.

“I will rely heavily on the mainstays of last year’s team, with my usual 10-man rotation,” said Austria. “We can say we’re intact because, of the three players gone, only (Will) Stinett got ample playing time last year, the other two, (Michael) Galinato and (Arnold) Basilio were backup big men.”

With the nucleus still there, the Falcons have gotten high billing among the favorites.

“They put us at No. 3 next to Ateneo, which is still formidable, and FEU, which remains a force to reckon with. We’re happy to hear such compliments, it’s a morale-booster and confidence-builder for us,” Austria said.

But the AdU mentor cautions against resting on this high stature and writing off the rest of the field altogether.

“We won’t know for sure if the players’ experience will be enough to beat the other teams, which have also built up. Just consider the performance in the summer league of the likes of NU and UP, you could see the changes and improvement in their system,” he said.

“It should really be a competitive season. I think the bottom four in the seeding, they are capable of pulling off upsets against the top four here and there,” he said.

Austria knows what he’s talking about. After all, last season, the Falcons got ambushed by University of the East just as they were racing for the Top 2 spot in the Final Four.

Greg Slaughter

Blue Eagles take flight and ‘Go 4 Glory’

Ateneo De Manila University

Season 73 record: 10-4 (2ND, elims) BEAT ADAMSON IN FINAL FOUR; BEAT FEU IN FINALS, 2-0

The Ateneo Blue Eagles will embark on their flight for a four-peat with every team training its sights to foil the dream feat.

“I think this is going to be our hardest campaign because the more you win, the bigger the target gets on your chest and the more people want to shoot you down,” Ateneo coach Norman Black said.

The Eagles will be bringing 11 members of the 2010 winning cast, led by Bacon Austria, Kirk Long, Emman Monfort, Nico Salva and Justin Chua back in their “Go 4 Glory” bid, and reinforced by talented recruits bannered by juniors sensation Kiefer Ravena and 6-11 transferee Greg Slaughter.

Burly Ryan Buenafe, last year’s Finals MVP, will not return for their fourth title run due to what Black called “certain circumstances” but the multi-titled mentor believes the 2011 bunch is loaded with so much talent.

“Of course, Ryan’s very talented and we’re going to miss him but due to certain circumstances he’s not able to play this year. We still have enough talent to be competitive, though, so we just have to take the next step and move on,” he said.

Giving Ateneo extra firepower are Ravena and Slaughter, who gave a sampling of what they can do in the summer tourneys, highlighted by their FilOil Pre-season Premier Cup conquest.

“They’ve been playing pretty well. But as in the past, we don’t really rely on one person to win games, it’s really a team effort. I think Kiefer and Greg have fit in pretty well to the system; they both understand it’s really a team game that we play and we don’t really know who the leading scorer will be, who the leading rebounder going to be.

“But definitely the two guys will be a key for us this year. Greg gives us a lot of size and inside presence and Kiefer is a very talented player. I think they’re going to help us this year,” Black said.

Like before, the Eagles spent two weeks at the Joe Abunassar Impact camp in Las Vegas to toughen up for the coming season, and did some team-building sessions, too.

Black tagged Adamson, La Salle, National U, and Season 73 runner-up FEU as the biggest hurdle to their four-peat campaign.

“Based on intact lineups, Adamson is tough to beat, La Salle, NU with Ray Parks playing, and of course, FEU, although it was hurt a little bit with the injury of Pippo (Noundou), but I think it’s going to be competitive still,” he said.

Despite Ateneo’s seeming overwhelming edge in terms of experience and talent, Black stressed they are in no way invincible.

“La Salle beat us a couple of times this summer and we also lost to NU in another tournament. We’re definitely not unbeatable. We really have to work hard if we really want to win our fourth straight championship,” he said.

Height welcome edge for cat-quick Archers

De La SaLLE UNIVERSITY

Season 73 record: 8-6 (4tH, elims) final four: LOST TO FEU

Norbert Torres

With “The Bullet” at the helm, you can expect De La Salle University to go heavy on its speed and quickness as the Green Archers target another Final Four appearance in the UAAP Season 74.

“Just like the past season, we’re relying on our speed and quickness,” said Dindo Pumaren, DLSU’s second-year mentor who molded the cat-quick Archers into a pesky bunch that made life miserable for the opponent’s ballhandlers.

Simon Atkins, Luigi dela Paz, Jarelan Tampus and Almond Vosotros will be back to man the DLSU backcourt, with returning guard LA Revilla and rookie Roldan Sara as reinforcements.

But this doesn’t mean the Archers can’t go big. Especially with three recruits standing 6-5 or more: 6-7 Arnold Van Opstal from La Salle Zobel, 6-6 Fil-Canadian Norbert Torres, and 6-5 Ponso Gotladera from San Beda.

Torres suffered an elbow injury during summer but has already resumed practices and should be ready to play, according to Pumaren.

“The good thing is we now have big guys who can help us at the paint,” said Pumaren.

“We had problems when we played bigger teams last year so we added ceiling to allow us to compete with the bigger teams. But like I said, our strength will still be our quickness, even though we got height now.”

Last year, the rookie-and-sophomore-laden Green Archers overachieved and brought DLSU back into the Final Four after missing the playoffs the previous season. They lost to the FEU Tams in the semis and wound up fourth overall.

“Our goal is to make the Final Four again and hopefully gain twice-to-beat advantage,” said Pumaren.

And judging by their performance in the recent Filoil summer league, where they reached the quarterfinals, Pumaren expressed confidence about his wards’ chances this time.

“We’re very happy (with the team’s progress), the boys showed big improvement. We’ve been practicing well, we went to Chicago for training, where we worked on our individual skills and at the same time, we improved our team chemistry,” he said.

Low-profile Tams relish underdog tag this time

Far Eastern University

Season 73 record: 12-2 (1st, elims) final four: Beat DLSU; finals: lost to ADMU, 0-2

Alrech Ramos

Comebacking FEU coach Bert Flores likes it that his Tamaraws are not being mentioned ahead of everybody else when people are talking about the “team to beat” in UAAP Season 74. 

“We’re not really the topic of discussions this year; it’s more on Ateneo, Adamson, La Salle and National U. And this is good because this is less pressure for us,” said Flores, back at the helm to try to help FEU bounce back from its heartbreaking stint last year.

Pressure worked heavily on the Tams in Season 73, when they were heavy pre-tourney favorites. After sweeping the first round, carding a league-best 12-2, and reaching their expected place in the finals, the Morayta-based FEU fumbled big-time against Ateneo to settle for second.

Now the wounded crew of 2010 MVP RR Garcia, Mythical 5 member Aldrech Ramos, and Rookie of the Year Terrence Romeo, as well as veterans Jens Knuttel, Ping Exciminiano, Mark Bringas, Bryan Cruz and JR Cawaling ache for redemption.

“Last year, it was kind of bad but it was learning experience for us for this coming season,” Knuttel said in an interview on ANC, referring to their blowout loss in Game 1 and backbreaking setback in Game 2 which saw then coach Glen Capacio miss the entire second half due to high-blood pressure.

Neophytes Chris Tolomia, Russel Escoto, and 6-11 Cameroonian Christian Sentcheu are beefing up the 2010 team that lost Paul Sanga to graduation and Reil Cervantes, who waived his fifth year. Cameroonian forward Pippo Noundou will skip at least the first round due to a torn Achilles tendon he sustained in the summer.

“We may have lost a big man but I feel the team is still competitive,” said Flores, adding that their main weapon would still be defense and the guards’ sleek running game.

“I have talented wingmen in Romeo, Tolomia, Exciminiano and Garcia and it would be a waste if we won’t utilize their strength,” he added.

Flores, the last coach to steer FEU to the UAAP diadem in 2005, brought in former Tams and PBA superstars Johnny Abarrientos and Vic Pablo as his lieutenants along with Michael Oliver.

“We have a good system, with Oliver handling our defensive sets, and Johnny and Pablo helping develop the skills of the small men, and big men, respectively,” said Flores.

The presence of Abarrientos and Pablo does wonders on the current Tams.

“The guards like RR and Terrence get more drive from Johnny, and the big men from Pablo. What’s good is that when they talk, which player won’t listen? If they don’t heed the wisdom of Johnny and Pablo, both superstars of FEU and PBA during their time, they’ll get nowhere,” Flores said.

FEU athletic director Mark Molina went even further on the team’s title chances.

“I think we have a deep, talented team,” Molina said. “We still have a talented core that can win a UAAP championship.”

Coach E goin’ to let the Bulldogs loose

National University season 73 record: 7-7 (5tH elims)

Bobby Ray Parks Jr.

National University coach Eric Altamirano was more than just elated when the UAAP board finally cleared his prized rookie, Bobby Ray Parks Jr. for Season 74.

Afterall, the 6-4 son of seven-time PBA Best Import awardee is supposed to be NU’s main offensive weapon.

“Obviously, he’s the focal point of our offense. He can really score so we expect him to do that for us,” said Altamirano, who’s making his maiden stint as NU coach.

“Overall, the personality and style of play of the team is really defensive. On the offensive side, we don’t have much compared to the other teams so we expect Bobby Ray to give that option to us,” he added.

Parks’ UAAP stint initially encountered opposition since he studied abroad and under league rules should have sat out Season 74 to complete the two-year residency requirement. But NU officials submitted documents proving his exemption from the two-year sit-out by virtue of having an OFW parent at the time of his US studies.

“Now we can focus on the coming season,” a relieved Altamirano said.

“Coach E” has assembled a young cast of nine neophytes and seven holdovers. Cameroonian Emmanuel Mbe, Glenn Khobuntin, Joseph Terso and Ajeet Singh lead the “veterans” while ex-Phl U-18 mainstays Joshua Angelo Alolino, Cederick Labing-isa and Kyle Neypes join Parks in the rookies group.

“I think we have a promising young team this year, completely different from the team last year. More than half are rookies but we expect to excite the league, to win games and we wanted to create a team that the school would be proud of,” said Altamirano.

Despite giving up on experience, Altamirano remains upbeat of his youngsters’ capabilities.

“We’ll be competitive this year, we’ll be able to play against the elite teams. If we play our cards well, probably we’ll win some games that could help us get into the Final Four,” he said.

The new-look Bulldogs will come into UAAP Season 74 in high spirits, thanks to their triumph in the Fr. Martin Cup last summer, and the Unigames last November, both with the prolific Parks in the lead role.

Mightier, taller Falcons ready to soar

Adamson University

Season 73 record: 9-5 (3rd, elims) final four: lost to ADMU

Jeric Canada

Toughened by years of playing together, including a stint in the PBA D-League under the Freego banner,the Adamson Falcons look poised to soar to greater heights in Season 74 of the UAAP.

“I could say we have a better team than last year,” said Adamson coach Leo Austria, whose wards reached the UAAP Final Four in 2010, then placed second in the Philippine Collegiate Champions League in the post-season.

The San Marcelino-based squad also made the semifinal round of the recent Filoil summer tourney.

“The players have gained experience from the different tournaments, they’ve become more mature and can now fully adopt to our system. I think the team improved (overall),” added Austria.

AdU will parade an intact crew led by veterans Lester Alvarez, Eric Camson, Jan Colina, Alex Nuyles, Jeric Canada, Roider Cabreba, Janus Lozada and Austin Manyara with Rodney Brondial, a revelation in the post-UAAP tournaments, expected to provide support.

Warriors decimated, but won’t lay down arms

University Of The East

Season 73 record: 6-8 (6tH elims)

You could easily feel the sense of loss in coach Jerry Codiñera when he answered a query about the composition of his University of the East squad for Season 74.

“Naku, depleted, eight veterans ang nawala (Sadly, we’re depleted with eight veterans gone),” Codiñera said, starting from scratch in assuming the coaching chores for his alma mater.

Paul Lee, the Red Warriors’ chief scorer the previous year, opted to skip his fifth year to turn pro, while Mythical Five member Ken Acibar was cut due to supposed lack of commitment.

Also gone (graduation) were shooter James Martinez, Raffy Reyes, Garrick Ayala, Ezer Rosopa, Sam Razon and Ivan Hernandez.

“Talagang depleted. Kung yung tatlo nga lang ang mawala magkakaroon na ng imbalance, ito pa kaya? (It’s totally depleted. Losing three already creates an imbalance, how much more if you lose eight?),” said Codiñera.

“Pero ayoko nang tignan yun (I want to leave that behind already). We’re now here to compete (with what we have),” added the ex-cager who was part of the last UE champion team in 1985.

Thrust into the leaders’ roles are guards Paul Zamar, Lucas Tagarda and Biboy Enguio, and forwards Adrian Santos and JM Noble. Tapped to help out are rookies Von Chavez and Chris Javier from San Beda, and 16-year-old BJ Zosa from Davao.

Asked who would take the baton, Codiñera said: “I really don’t know. Every game, it’s a different guy who shows up; sometimes it’s the rookies who deliver, sometimes it’s the veterans who shine.”

The good thing about this current batch, he said, is that they help one another out.

“I still believe in team concept, teammanship. One player alone cannot win a UAAP championship; it takes cohesiveness, teamwork. Even if you have a seven-footer but there’s no one to pass the ball to, it still won’t work,” he said.

With this brand-new lineup, UE finished third in the eighth Asian University cage meet in Sarawak, Malaysia last summer, giving Codiñera the confidence heading into the UAAP.

“We’re all very excited. I’ve prepared the team during the off-season and I’m very positive they’re ready this year to play against the heavyweights,” he said.

“I just hope and pray the boys will play consistently and to their full potential and improve as we play.” 

Kevin Ferre

Tigers don’t meow, they growl – Pido

University Of Santo Tomas

Season 73 record:4-10 (7th elims)

University of Santo Tomas coach Pido Jarencio spoke with a high level of confidence during the press launch for UAAP Season 74 than he was when he attended the same the previous year. 

“Mas competitive tayo this year. Kung dati, kuting ang sigaw namin, ngayon tigre na kami. (We’re a more competitive team this year. If last year we meowed like a kitten, this time, we’ll growl like a tiger),” said the Tigers mentor.

Jarencio has reasons to be upbeat.

His Tigers got 6-6 Cameroonian center Karim Abdul to man the slot and UAAP juniors MVP Kevin Ferrer and 2009 NCAA juniors MVP Louie Vigil to link up with eight veterans led by Jeric Teng, Jeric Fortuna, Carmelo Afuang and Chris Camus.

In contrast to their “let’s-train-by-ourselves” thrust in 2010, Jarencio let the rejuvenated Tigers loose last summer, winning the Millennium Basketball League crown and springing some surprises in the Filoil pre-season caging.

“We were champions of the MBL and even if we didn’t make the quarterfinals of Filoil, we beat San Sebastian and La Salle in the preliminaries,” he said.

The Tigers’ stint with the Max! Super Bond Glue Sumos in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup, where they placed third, gave them the needed exposure and helped them sharpen up.

“It gave our UST players exposure and experience going into the UAAP season,” Jarencio said.

Despite losing sweet-shooting Clark Bautista (academics) and Aljon Mariano and Eduardo Daquioag (injury), Jarencio believes his boys will rebound from their forgettable No. 7 placing last year.

“Basta kami this year ready kami (Whatever happens, we’re ready),” he said. 

“Galing kami sa ilalim, No. 7, wala na kaming dahilan para bumaba pa, dapat paakyat na kami. Kaya kayong lahat ready kayo sa amin (We came from the bottom, and there’s nowhere else to go but up. So all of you, get ready for us),” he added in jest. 

Fighting Maroons in fighting mood

University Of The Philippines

Season 73 record:0-14 (8th, elims) 

Ricky Dandan’s first order of battle when he took the coaching position at University of the Philippines (UP) was to change the image of a beaten team. 

“Let’s change into a positive mindset,” Dandan recalled telling his new squad, still reeling from a harrowing 0-14 performance in Season 73.

“So many comments were made from both the UP community and outside the community so the negative factor lingered. So when I came in, I ordered a change in mindset. It’s been seven months and I think we do have that positive mindset now,” he added.

The new-look Maroons will parade a slew of recruits led by 6’7 Nigerian Alinko Mbah, Jello Montecastro from St. Benilde, and Paolo Romero from UAAP three-peat juniors champion Ateneo.

Veterans Mike Silungan, Carlo Gomez, Mike Gamboa, Mark Juruena, Miggy Maniego, and Martin Pascual, are back, all eager for redemption.

“The team is really tired of what people think of us. UP, it’s just UP,” Gamboa said on ANC’s Hardball.

“We just want to prove everyone wrong and we’re positive this UAAP season. We all know what we can do so I wouldn’t be surprised if we start winning.”

The Maroons do not promise outright success yet, setting their sights on the long-term.

“We’re on a rebuilding mode this year; there’s a process and that process involves learning how to win again, knowing what it takes and doing what it takes to win. And down the road we’re looking at four years (to bear the fruits),” he said.

UP will come into the UAAP armed with valuable experience from playing for Junior Powerade in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup. The Maroons also showed vast improvement in the Filoil pre-season caging.

“We expect a better performance compared to last year,” Dandan promised.