Peeking at the UAAP 2

     I've been quite candid that I'm not as comfortable blogging about the UAAP since I don't watch a lot of its games, but if I am blessed with more freebies like the one I got last Sunday (ahem, attention Aly Yap and Harvey Keh), I could do more.  In any case, here are some observations From the 50 Peso Seats.

• With Glenn Capacio leaving as FEU coach (probably due to health reasons), FEU wasted no time in shoring up its staff.  They now have at least 5 (!) assistant coaches.  While that is too many for my taste, I'm glad to see former greats Johnny Abarrientos and Vic Pablo coaching on the bench.

• Like I mentioned on Twitter, Ateneo was very lucky to get past Adamson.  Yes, Blue Eagle defense was tight in the 4th quarter, leading to a scoreless Falcons team in the home stretch, but Falcons did have 3 consecutive "in and out" shots in that stretch and the final turnover that killed them was by a too strong pass from Lester Alvarez.  Offensively, there was too much dribbling, especially from Bacon Austria and to a lesser extent Kirk Long and Tonino Gonzaga, leading to too many broken plays.  They need players ready to shoot upon Slaughter's kick outs.  Perhaps they miss Ryan Buenafe, who Tibibord wrote an excellent post about here.  Blue Eagles and their fans need not thump their chests just yet. They need a lot more work.

• How good is Smart Gilas training? Observing Aldrech Ramos and Greg Slaughter at work, any basketball fan will know their dominance has as much to do with their height and talent as with their training and experience.  There was an aura of calmness in both players, in their scoring, defense and passing, as they led their respective teammates to victory.  They never took bad shots, found open teammates and most impressively, jumped straight up (with arms raised up) whenever trying to defend.  It seemed like they were playing at a different (aka superior) level and speed.

• R.R. Garcia and Terrence Romeo have continued to show why they are the valedictorians of the Allen Iverson School for Non-Passing Point Guards, which is sad considering they have arguably the best all-around big man in Aldrech Ramos.  Lester Alvarez, L.A. Revilla (DLSU) and Emman Monfort (ADMU) seem to be trying their best to catch up in the non-passing achievement.  I miss Jun Reyes, TY Tang and Olsen Racela.

• It was painful to watch DLSU play.  They were like an army equipped with cannons but then used pocket knives to fight.  They have tremendously talented big men yet they end up dribbling the shot clock away and shooting from the outside or worse, throwing the ball away.  They're young but they can do a lot better with someone better on the bench. They need better direction and better plays.  It's time the Archers let go of the Pumarens.

• UAAP fills me with hope.  Hope is brought by players like Norberto Torres, Arnold Van Opstal, Oping Sumalinog, Lester Alvarez, Alex Nuyles and R. R. Garcia, young ballers dripping with talent and a coach away from greatness.  It will be interesting to watch their development.

• UAAP also fills me with chagrin.  Chagrin is brought by players like Bacon Austria, Frank Golla and Joshua Webb.  I mean why do these guys have uniforms anyway?  These dudes need to do more positive things than dribble, use up the clock then cause a broken play on offense.  Love their intensity, but they need to rein it in and contribute more. 

many thanks to aly yap, bekshoot.wordpress.com and inboundspass for the photos.

Peeking at the UAAP

     Being an absolute sports geek, it's pretty amazing that I've never paid for tickets to see a UAAP Basketball game.  Admittedly, I am not as obsessed a fan of the UAAP as I am the NBA, PBA or the UFC, but I have seen my share of games.  Recently, I got to watch two UAAP games and, thanks to the generosity of high school buddies Harvey Keh and Aly Yap, I still haven't paid for tickets.  


     Anyway, here are some thoughts I gathered while watching:

• Far Eastern University does have the deepest bench this season.  A number of their bench players would have started for other teams.  The question now is, can Coach Glenn Capacio maximize it?

• Eric Salamat has small hands.  This contributes a lot to him being a turnover machine and a volume shooter. 

• University of the Philippines doesn't need better players or better coaches.  It needs a ball handler to emerge as a leader, because half the time they can't get their plays to even begin.

• Aldrech Ramos is an absolute beast.  It's a shame that Far Eastern University guards RR Garcia and Terence Romeo went to the Allen Iverson School of Non-passing Point Guards.  Otherwise, Ramos would be averaging over 25 points a game.

• The UAAP crowd may yet be the biggest collection of non-basketball fans watching a basketball game (crouches to avoid a flying chair).  Watching the reaction of the crowd, I just want to grab the mic and remind them that a) not all calls will go your team's way and b) it is not automatically "luto (rigged)" if you think calls cost your team the victory.

• Coach Norman Black should consider playing with no centers at times.  I know he likes a traditional Center and Power Forward tandem and that works fine when Justin Chua is in the game, but other centers like Golla and Escueta are different stories.  He should go with Mico Salva and Arthur de la Cruz together instead.  These two have better basketball I.Q. than Golla and Escueta.

     On an unrelated note, I bought a couple of Fire Floss Buns from Bread Talk after the game and I had this observation:

• It might not be a good idea to buy French Baguettes (which they display uncovered near the entrance) at Bread Talk.  When I was there, I saw a woman pinch the bread with her bare hands several times and I'm not even sure she bought it.