NU, FEU, UP, UST post big wins in UAAP juniors basketball

MANILA, Philippines – The second round of the UAAP juniors basketball tournament got going Sunday, with the top leaders creating more separation from the rest of the pack in terms of the twice-to-beat advantage in the Final Four race.

There was also a huge win by UPIS — their first in the tournament — at the expense of DLSZ, which is in the midst of a trying season.

Here are our thoughts about this weekend’s games:

NU is looking more and more like a champion

Yes, we have a long way to go, but this is just a deep and talented team. Twice they defeated the defending champion Ateneo, convincingly if I may add. The latest is a 78-71 triumph that put them at 7-1. They are deep at every position and are well coached.

It is a moment of déjà vu for Ateneo

That late third quarter substitution did them in at the end of the first round against NU and once more. In the first round, the Blue Eaglet starters went out and the third stringers were shockingly put in. NU went on a 10-0 run to take the lead, which they would not surrender.

Second round, same situation. A mix of second and third stringers. NU goes on a 7-0 run that eventually went up to 10. The Eaglets came within a bucket but that took quite an effort. Ateneo is not a team that rallies from deficits.

And the other veterans who aren’t really veterans (because of a lack of big game experience) are playing very poorly. What a poor final inbound. That is hurting them because they do not win even with Kai Sotto putting up monster numbers.

The lack of game experience hurts this team. They should have played in more preseason tournaments and not simply in their home court. Ateneo stays at the third spot with a 5-3 record, ahead of Adamson because of the win-over-the-other rule.

UST must continue to go to their Dynamic Duo

The strategy of simply giving Mark Nonoy the ball and let him create is shockingly poor. As talented as he is, Nonoy cannot win ball games on his own. He finished with a triple-double (looks like they are going for back-to-back MVP Awards after CJ Cansino won the previous year) with 27 points, 12 rebounds and 11 steals.

Nonoy took 17 shots from the field. That is nine more than the next players who are Jhonvic Casingcasing and Vincent Marzan. He also attempted seven free throws.

In contrast, Bismarck Lina scored 15 points but only had six field goal attempts. He got the rest from the free throw line. “Sariling sikap,” as they say. Ina added 14 rebounds and 6 blocks.

Marzan and Casingcasing each added nine points. That’s good, but if you ask me, their opponent in this 85-63 win was UE.

It is a win, but the coaching really leaves much to be desired. At 4-4, they still have a chance. But note they have not beaten any top four team. If they want that to happen, then they cannot simply play one man against five.

Big win for UPIS

UPIS might be outgunned, but they never stop fighting. And they got a huge win against a freshman-laden DLSZ team that is still without its injured Batang Gilas players (and also missing RC Calimag who transferred to LSGH incurring the ire of the Zobel coaching staff).

The Junior Fighting Maroons’ huge third quarter explosion helped them take their first win in eight games. They also won with three players doing the bulk of the scoring — Allen Torres, Ralph Labao and John Tuazon tallied a total of 52 points. The entire DLSZ managed 56. So the 12 points added by the other players were the difference too.

UP is at 1-7 while DLSZ fell to 3-5. This is turning out to be a long and agonizing season for them.

FEU’s second chance points and killer threes are the difference vs Adamson

FEU bucked a first quarter deficit and turned the game around in the next three frames for a huge 80-72 win. Adamson got terrific performances from Joem Sabandal, Ap Manlapaz, Adam and Andre Doria. So what killed them? 

Well, the Baby Tamaraws scored 20 second chance points. Adamson managed only five. That’s big, but what also got FEU the win were the big triples hit by JB Sajonia and RJ Abarrientos late in the game.

Sajonia’s 21 points were of huge help to Abarrientos.

FEU is second in the standings with a 6-2 slate while Adamson is at fourth with a 5-3 record.