UAAP basketball: Ateneo, UP, NU find their groove

MANILA, Philippines — The standings of the UAAP Men’s basketball tournament were shook up last Wednesday, September 25. 

National University barged into the win column with a lopsided 61-39 win over beguiling Far Eastern University. 

Ateneo had a bit of a rough road to travel on against the University of the East in the first half, after which they blitzed them for an 85-68 victory — their sixth in as many matches. 

And lastly, the University of the Philippines continued to steel itself for another title drive with a game-winner from Juan Gomez De Liaño for a 72-71 victory, sending La Salle tumbling to their fourth loss in six games.

Regarding NU, it is good that they finally got that elusive win. If they had closed out well some of their other matches, they would be high up in the standings. But that is in the past. They should build on this.

As good as NU was, I am surprised at the performance of FEU. I really wasn’t high on them to start the season. Their veterans didn’t play well during the summer and well, they still aren’t playing well. You’d like to find some consistency in some players. As it is… it isn’t there. You really aren’t sure what performance you will get out of them.

Are they better than their current standing of 2-4? Definitely. They are the second best defensive team. However, you get stops but still cannot score…. That has to hurt. This is a team that needs to find its nerve and consistently fast because they are falling down the team standings. Only a win separates them from the bottom dwellers, NU and UE.

As for Ateneo, the defending champions are being challenged. They really haven’t been devastating on offense but they have found ways to win because of their defense. 

As for UP, their winning games in the crunch will help them grow as a team. Now the belief is growing. And that is the perfect way to head into their much-anticipated match against Ateneo this coming weekend.

Like NU, DLSU has to be concerned because there have been matches that they should have won but instead, found themselves on the losing end.

You cannot say that they did not have their chances. They had two crucial miscues in the final 27 seconds — one of which led to the game winning triple by a resurgent Juan Gomez De Liaño — and two missed shots right before the buzzer. And there were two missed free throws by Jamie Malonzo with a minute to play that would have given the Green Archers a bit more cushion.

As I have pointed out, they have come in with good game plans against everyone. They have made life difficult for both Ateneo’s Angelo Kouame and UP’s Bright Akhuetie. I think it is their collective seasoning.

If this team had been compact and whole since the summer, they might be singing a different tunes. 

I could be wrong here but the last time I saw DLSU somewhere down here at 24 was their maiden season in the UAAP in 1986.

As for UP, you have to like how Kobe Paras has strapped this team onto his back. Javi Gomez de Liaño didn’t play well, but Juan came to the rescue. That was a big time three to end the game. A gutsy gutsy shot after he picked off Aljun Melecio’s forward pass. 

That Ateneo-UP game is going to be electric. And that is going to be an understatement.