DLSU vs. AdU
The Green Archers are coming off their first win of the season. The Falcons have been struggling to play consistent quality basketball. The half ended with a very low score of 23-20 in favor of the Falcons. From there both teams would fight tooth and nail. Eventually needing another 5 minutes to settle the score.
In overtime a costly foul by the Falcons gave the Archers 2 free throws with 3 seconds left. The Archers would convert one of the two free throws and eventually win the game.
ADMU vs. UP
3-0 ADMU would face 0-3 UP. The result was a shocker. The Blue Eagles would play listless the whole game. UP would play inspired basketball from start to finish. The Maroons, who lead the league in turnovers at over 30 per game would have less turnovers than the Blue Eagles who only average 13 per game.
The vaunted defense of ADMU would not appear in this game as they allowed their Katipunan neighbors to post a blazing 89% shooting in the 4th quarter. UP would go on to post their first win.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Quick Updates
Due to the real world a week of basketball almost went by without me posting anything.
Some quick hits:
Jones Cup
More and more this tournament seems to be exposing the weaknesses of the current RP Team. We do know they are struggling at the point guard spot sincce injuries to JJ Helterbrand and Ryan Reyes has weakened the position. We have only 2 wins to show for in this competition and its 2 weeks to the FIBA Asian Qualifiers.
Hopefull they get their act together
NCAA
I come from a UAAP school so the NCAA seems to fall by the wayside.
There was a huge scuffle at the end of the Beda-Letran battle. Tempers flared. Benches emptied. Fortunately no one got hurt.
UAAP
DLSU finally got their first win of the season against the hapless UP Maroons.
Franz Pumaren thinks this is a turning point for the struggling Green Archers.
Some quick hits:
Jones Cup
More and more this tournament seems to be exposing the weaknesses of the current RP Team. We do know they are struggling at the point guard spot sincce injuries to JJ Helterbrand and Ryan Reyes has weakened the position. We have only 2 wins to show for in this competition and its 2 weeks to the FIBA Asian Qualifiers.
Hopefull they get their act together
NCAA
I come from a UAAP school so the NCAA seems to fall by the wayside.
There was a huge scuffle at the end of the Beda-Letran battle. Tempers flared. Benches emptied. Fortunately no one got hurt.
UAAP
DLSU finally got their first win of the season against the hapless UP Maroons.
Franz Pumaren thinks this is a turning point for the struggling Green Archers.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
BOPOLS of the past WEEK
RP Team FAIL
The RP Team opened the William Jones cup with a huge loss. Losing isn't the end of the world but the manner they lost leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. They lost huge and they seemed lost on the court. There was no defense and the offense was ugly. You could say it looked like a team that was formed just that day.
La Salle's offense
AS the Archers sink to 0-2 it seems time that Franz Pumaren revisit his offense. In 2 UAAP games no Green Archer has scored more than 9 points. Even UP and perennial doormat NU doesn't have that distinction.
Ateneo's Slow Starts
Before the trouncing they gave UST, Ateneo already had 2 come-from-behind wins under its belt. It was alarming for an Atenean see their beloved Blue Eagles start of slow in the first 2 games. The higlight of course was UE's 17 point lead in their game. Making up a huge deficit builds character but this is crazy.
UP's Ball Movement
UP UP UP.
They had a chance against NU but then they had 36 turnovers. They had a chance against Adamson with 16 seconds left only to turn the ball over 3 times. Most of the time the errors are unforced. Do the up players put oil on their hands before playing?
Ginebra's Offense and David Noel
We know JJ Helterbrand was hurting, but for Ginebra's players to all suddenly come out and shoot blanks? David Noel was the main culprit as he couldn't get himself into the most important game of the season.
The RP Team opened the William Jones cup with a huge loss. Losing isn't the end of the world but the manner they lost leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. They lost huge and they seemed lost on the court. There was no defense and the offense was ugly. You could say it looked like a team that was formed just that day.
La Salle's offense
AS the Archers sink to 0-2 it seems time that Franz Pumaren revisit his offense. In 2 UAAP games no Green Archer has scored more than 9 points. Even UP and perennial doormat NU doesn't have that distinction.
Ateneo's Slow Starts
Before the trouncing they gave UST, Ateneo already had 2 come-from-behind wins under its belt. It was alarming for an Atenean see their beloved Blue Eagles start of slow in the first 2 games. The higlight of course was UE's 17 point lead in their game. Making up a huge deficit builds character but this is crazy.
UP's Ball Movement
UP UP UP.
They had a chance against NU but then they had 36 turnovers. They had a chance against Adamson with 16 seconds left only to turn the ball over 3 times. Most of the time the errors are unforced. Do the up players put oil on their hands before playing?
Ginebra's Offense and David Noel
We know JJ Helterbrand was hurting, but for Ginebra's players to all suddenly come out and shoot blanks? David Noel was the main culprit as he couldn't get himself into the most important game of the season.
UAAP Sunday
NU vs. UE
The Bulldogs started strong. UE even spotted them 14-6 at one point. Eventually the NU guns would silence themselves and UE's talent and experience would come to the fore.
UE goes above .500 with a 2-1 record. NU still only has its win over UP. But at least now the Bulldogs know that they can put up a fight.
Ateneo vs. UST
The main game of the day. 2-0 versus 2-0. The league leaders meet oh so early in the tournament. UST has met lightweights in Adamson and NU. Ateneo has gone up against some of the better competition in FEU and UE.
UST was averaging 90 ppg. Ateneo was holding down it's opponents to 56 points a game.
For about a quarter and a half UST was able to hang around. And then Ateneo detonated a 15-6 run to end the first half. Eman Monfort was the star of the show as he hit 4-6 from rainbow country. MVP Rabeh Al-Husaini was on the bench during this huge spurt because of an unsportsmanlike foul. Ryan Buenafe also did his share coming up with 9 points.
It would be all Eagles in the second half as the lead would balloon to about 24 points. At the 8:02 mark of the 4th Ateneo's bench already had 49 points versus UST's total of 51.
Ateneo is now 3-0to start the season. The title defense seems right on track!
The Bulldogs started strong. UE even spotted them 14-6 at one point. Eventually the NU guns would silence themselves and UE's talent and experience would come to the fore.
UE goes above .500 with a 2-1 record. NU still only has its win over UP. But at least now the Bulldogs know that they can put up a fight.
Ateneo vs. UST
The main game of the day. 2-0 versus 2-0. The league leaders meet oh so early in the tournament. UST has met lightweights in Adamson and NU. Ateneo has gone up against some of the better competition in FEU and UE.
UST was averaging 90 ppg. Ateneo was holding down it's opponents to 56 points a game.
For about a quarter and a half UST was able to hang around. And then Ateneo detonated a 15-6 run to end the first half. Eman Monfort was the star of the show as he hit 4-6 from rainbow country. MVP Rabeh Al-Husaini was on the bench during this huge spurt because of an unsportsmanlike foul. Ryan Buenafe also did his share coming up with 9 points.
It would be all Eagles in the second half as the lead would balloon to about 24 points. At the 8:02 mark of the 4th Ateneo's bench already had 49 points versus UST's total of 51.
Ateneo is now 3-0to start the season. The title defense seems right on track!
Saturday, July 18, 2009
UAAP: Losers' Day Saturday
All teams that lost in their first games got together this Saturday to find out who would crawl out from the muck and grab their first win.
It was UP versus Adamson and DLSU versus FEU.
UP vs. Adamson:
The Maroons would erect a 7 point lead at the half. They would still have a chance in the final minute of the game but 3 turnovers would kill UP's chances of scoring a win. 2 of those turnovers were by Alvin Braganza with 10 seconds left. UP was just a possession away from tying.
Adamson, after a close loss to UST, now has a 1-1 slate.
DLSU vs. FEU:
FEU was the no. 1 ranked team in a lot of preseason rankings. La Salle was reeling from losing its key men.
For the second straight game no Green Archer would score in double figures. For the second straight game DLSU would lose. For the first time in Coach Franz Pumaren's tenure they would start the season 0-2. For the first time in DLSU's stay in the UAAP they are starting the season 0-2.
Do I hear alarm bells for the Taft-based squad?
It was UP versus Adamson and DLSU versus FEU.
UP vs. Adamson:
The Maroons would erect a 7 point lead at the half. They would still have a chance in the final minute of the game but 3 turnovers would kill UP's chances of scoring a win. 2 of those turnovers were by Alvin Braganza with 10 seconds left. UP was just a possession away from tying.
Adamson, after a close loss to UST, now has a 1-1 slate.
DLSU vs. FEU:
FEU was the no. 1 ranked team in a lot of preseason rankings. La Salle was reeling from losing its key men.
For the second straight game no Green Archer would score in double figures. For the second straight game DLSU would lose. For the first time in Coach Franz Pumaren's tenure they would start the season 0-2. For the first time in DLSU's stay in the UAAP they are starting the season 0-2.
Do I hear alarm bells for the Taft-based squad?
Friday, July 17, 2009
PBA Game 7: All Hail The Champs!
The commentators said it would be 48 minutes of hell.
That was true for Ginebra, its fans, and their import David Noel.
Ginebra struggled to get any offensive rhythm going with only JJ Helterbrand (MVP) having any semblance of a good game. Sunday Salvacion got thrown out for throwing an elbow in Gabe Freeman's face. Neither Tubid, Paul Artadi or Chico Lanete could provide support for JJ's efforts. Major Pain Eric Menk was in pain himself as he struggled with his hook shoot. But the biggest hole for Ginebra was David Noel. The import from North Carolina could not find the range all night and seemed to fade as the game moved on.
San Miguel on the other hand had Marc Pingris exploding for hge scores in the first and Jonas Villanueva taking over in the home stretch.
Siot Tanquincen keeps his slate clean against mentor Jong Uichico.
SMB captures its 18th crown, 1 more than the famed Boston Celtics.
The San Miguel Beermen are once more Kings of the hill
That was true for Ginebra, its fans, and their import David Noel.
Ginebra struggled to get any offensive rhythm going with only JJ Helterbrand (MVP) having any semblance of a good game. Sunday Salvacion got thrown out for throwing an elbow in Gabe Freeman's face. Neither Tubid, Paul Artadi or Chico Lanete could provide support for JJ's efforts. Major Pain Eric Menk was in pain himself as he struggled with his hook shoot. But the biggest hole for Ginebra was David Noel. The import from North Carolina could not find the range all night and seemed to fade as the game moved on.
San Miguel on the other hand had Marc Pingris exploding for hge scores in the first and Jonas Villanueva taking over in the home stretch.
Siot Tanquincen keeps his slate clean against mentor Jong Uichico.
SMB captures its 18th crown, 1 more than the famed Boston Celtics.
The San Miguel Beermen are once more Kings of the hill
Thursday, July 16, 2009
PBA: Game 7 is on.
No more tickets except General Admission at the Araneta.
The Big Dome will be rockin tomorrow night as SMB and Baranggay Ginebra clash for the season ending trophy.
Huge fan bases. Tremendous talents. Amazing imports.
Get ready for Game 7!
The Big Dome will be rockin tomorrow night as SMB and Baranggay Ginebra clash for the season ending trophy.
Huge fan bases. Tremendous talents. Amazing imports.
Get ready for Game 7!
UAAP: Sweet Wins
UST took it to the gut of the NU defense. And Dylan Ababou proved he was still the man for the Growling Tigers as he scored 29 points in a win that saw UST become the first team to score more than 100 points since 2006.
The second game of the day was even sweeter for the ADMU Blue Eagles. The defending champions got down by 17 in the first half only to pummel the UE Red Warriors and escape with a blow out 15 point win.
At the end of the day the Blue Eagles were kings.
The second game of the day was even sweeter for the ADMU Blue Eagles. The defending champions got down by 17 in the first half only to pummel the UE Red Warriors and escape with a blow out 15 point win.
At the end of the day the Blue Eagles were kings.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
PBA Game 6: SMB Evens It
Seems like a script.
Ginebra losses game 6. SMB wins it.
All tied up.
Game 7 is gonna be huge.
Finally some real basketball will be played.
Ginebra losses game 6. SMB wins it.
All tied up.
Game 7 is gonna be huge.
Finally some real basketball will be played.
Monday, July 13, 2009
PBA: Game 5 Ginebra Wins!
San Miguel came back from 17 points down.
Only to sputter and lose it in the end.
The Gin Kings are now a win away from the championship and Coach Jong Uichico is one win away from finally winning a series versus his former student SMB Coach Siot Tanquincen.
Only to sputter and lose it in the end.
The Gin Kings are now a win away from the championship and Coach Jong Uichico is one win away from finally winning a series versus his former student SMB Coach Siot Tanquincen.
Weekend Bopol #1
Weekend BOPOLS
BOPOL: a Filipino slang word meaning idiot or stupid.
Our first rundown of the worst in the weekend of RP basketball.
DLSU Green Archers: We know they lost main scorers Rico Maierhofer and JVee Casio. But they scored only 46 points in their season debut against the UE Red Warriors. No Archer could score more than 9 points. Maybe Asst. Coach Dindo Pumaren (UE's head coach last year) is carrying some sort of hex. The Archers better find their targets fast.
ADMU Blue Eagles: The defense of the championship starts on shaky ground. Yes they were going up against preseason favorite FEU. Yes they lost main man Chris Tiu. But are those any reason to almost choke away a victory?
They spotted the Tamaraws 8-0. Then went on a huge run to lead by 6 at the end of the first quarter. By the 2nd quarter they were playing like champs again thanks to the amazing play of back-up point Eman Monfort. They quickly choked on offense and barely scored 10 in the 3rd and let FEU tie the count at 54. Good thing FEU suddenly went cold.
UP (Non) Fighting Maroons: It was the NU Bulldogs for God's sake. Most teams see NU and automatically notch the win already. Most of my UP friends were optimistic about this. UP would lose to NU by 10 points. They turned the ball over 36 times almost matching the record 38 turnovers NU set in 2005. The saddest part was most of those turnovers were not due to NU's defense but more due to the UP players just passing to nowhere.
The PBA: Their nightmare came true. The UAAP season has come and has pushed the PBA out of their normal skeds for the Araneta Colosseum. Some guy messed up the scheduling. Now they are forced to play game 5 on a MONDAY! Since when did the PBA have Monday night games?
UST Salinggawi fail: Human Pyramid. Falling Cheerdancer. Head or Leg. The cheerdancer chose her head over leg and promptly broke a leg after falling from the top of a human pyramid. First performance of the year. Ouch!
BOPOL: a Filipino slang word meaning idiot or stupid.
Our first rundown of the worst in the weekend of RP basketball.
DLSU Green Archers: We know they lost main scorers Rico Maierhofer and JVee Casio. But they scored only 46 points in their season debut against the UE Red Warriors. No Archer could score more than 9 points. Maybe Asst. Coach Dindo Pumaren (UE's head coach last year) is carrying some sort of hex. The Archers better find their targets fast.
ADMU Blue Eagles: The defense of the championship starts on shaky ground. Yes they were going up against preseason favorite FEU. Yes they lost main man Chris Tiu. But are those any reason to almost choke away a victory?
They spotted the Tamaraws 8-0. Then went on a huge run to lead by 6 at the end of the first quarter. By the 2nd quarter they were playing like champs again thanks to the amazing play of back-up point Eman Monfort. They quickly choked on offense and barely scored 10 in the 3rd and let FEU tie the count at 54. Good thing FEU suddenly went cold.
UP (Non) Fighting Maroons: It was the NU Bulldogs for God's sake. Most teams see NU and automatically notch the win already. Most of my UP friends were optimistic about this. UP would lose to NU by 10 points. They turned the ball over 36 times almost matching the record 38 turnovers NU set in 2005. The saddest part was most of those turnovers were not due to NU's defense but more due to the UP players just passing to nowhere.
The PBA: Their nightmare came true. The UAAP season has come and has pushed the PBA out of their normal skeds for the Araneta Colosseum. Some guy messed up the scheduling. Now they are forced to play game 5 on a MONDAY! Since when did the PBA have Monday night games?
UST Salinggawi fail: Human Pyramid. Falling Cheerdancer. Head or Leg. The cheerdancer chose her head over leg and promptly broke a leg after falling from the top of a human pyramid. First performance of the year. Ouch!
PBA: Game 5 Ginebra vs. SMB
Almost forgot about this until my bro turned on the TV.
We came upon a huge 17 point Ginebra lead in the 3rd quarter.
Only for SMB to go on a huge run and trim it down to 5.
More later...
We came upon a huge 17 point Ginebra lead in the 3rd quarter.
Only for SMB to go on a huge run and trim it down to 5.
More later...
NCAA: What's Going on...
On this storm hit Monday a pair of NCAA seniors games were held.
College of St. Benilde continues its free fall as it losses its 2nd straight game after winning its first 2. They hit the wall that was the San Beda Red Lions.
The Letran Knights gave a thorough thumping to the hapless Mapua Cardinals.
College of St. Benilde continues its free fall as it losses its 2nd straight game after winning its first 2. They hit the wall that was the San Beda Red Lions.
The Letran Knights gave a thorough thumping to the hapless Mapua Cardinals.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Blue Eagles: Wake-up call
It was an epic game. It was a view of things to come.
The pre-season number 1 FEU Tamaraws vs. the defending champions ADMU Blue Eagles.
With a ton of National Developmental Pool point guard Mark Barocca and a much much improved Aldrich Ramos leading the way FEU showed everyone it was a team to contend with. Despite the huge leads Ateneo put up FEU would not go away.
With Chris Tiu graduating Ateneo lost its heart and soul. Stepping up and trying to fill his place were a couple of Eagles, Jai Reyes and Eric Salamat. Eman Monfort would also provide quality minutes as Reyes's back-up.
Despite losing a huge lead, Ateneo's championship poise and defense would come to the fore and enable them to surmount the tough challenge that was FEU.
The second half disappearance of Ateneo's offense is a warning sign for Coach Norman Black, who readily admitted that he did not know where Ateneo's offense would come from. Top slotman Rabeeh Al Hussaini was off form for most of the night.
The road to defending the championship would be a long and tough one. A lot of the Team's shortcomings cropped up in its first game. This was a wake up call. Ateneo has sent a message to all comers "We will not go down without a fight."
And FEU has shown that it deserves its pre-season billing as a top flight UAAP team.
The pre-season number 1 FEU Tamaraws vs. the defending champions ADMU Blue Eagles.
With a ton of National Developmental Pool point guard Mark Barocca and a much much improved Aldrich Ramos leading the way FEU showed everyone it was a team to contend with. Despite the huge leads Ateneo put up FEU would not go away.
With Chris Tiu graduating Ateneo lost its heart and soul. Stepping up and trying to fill his place were a couple of Eagles, Jai Reyes and Eric Salamat. Eman Monfort would also provide quality minutes as Reyes's back-up.
Despite losing a huge lead, Ateneo's championship poise and defense would come to the fore and enable them to surmount the tough challenge that was FEU.
The second half disappearance of Ateneo's offense is a warning sign for Coach Norman Black, who readily admitted that he did not know where Ateneo's offense would come from. Top slotman Rabeeh Al Hussaini was off form for most of the night.
The road to defending the championship would be a long and tough one. A lot of the Team's shortcomings cropped up in its first game. This was a wake up call. Ateneo has sent a message to all comers "We will not go down without a fight."
And FEU has shown that it deserves its pre-season billing as a top flight UAAP team.
La Salle: Failing to hit the mark
La Salle ventures forth for the first time without any true star to anchor its line-up. Having lost Rico Maierhofer and JVee Casio, the Archers now anchor its hopes on PJ Barua and James Mangahas. They weren't enough. The DLSU Green Archers fell to the UE Warriors 65-46.
46 points marked the lowest score that La Salle had ever gotten for a UAAP game. With no player stepping up to cover for the lost scoring of Casio and Maierhofer, UE stepped on the gas in the fourth and left the Archers huffing and puffing.
No Archer finished with more than 9 points.
UE on the other hand was dealing with a lot of issues on the side. Former coach Dindo Pumaren was now sitting on the La Salle bench as an assistant coach. Their athletic director passed away. And their main man James Martinez was lost for the season due to a torn ACL.
Despite all of these side issues new coach Lawrence Tiongson was able to steer the Warriors to a rousing win over the Archers.
46 points marked the lowest score that La Salle had ever gotten for a UAAP game. With no player stepping up to cover for the lost scoring of Casio and Maierhofer, UE stepped on the gas in the fourth and left the Archers huffing and puffing.
No Archer finished with more than 9 points.
UE on the other hand was dealing with a lot of issues on the side. Former coach Dindo Pumaren was now sitting on the La Salle bench as an assistant coach. Their athletic director passed away. And their main man James Martinez was lost for the season due to a torn ACL.
Despite all of these side issues new coach Lawrence Tiongson was able to steer the Warriors to a rousing win over the Archers.
NU dropkicks UP
With strong showing in the preseason leagues and NU its first opponent, hopes were high for the UP Fighting Maroons.
This hope was buoyed up by the strong start of the Maroons as they lead by as much as 8 points.
Alas this would not last long as NU's gunners would find their range at the same time that UP's offensive game would disappear.
That offensive game would not find its way back to the Araneta. Coupled with an almost non existent defense and a huge case of butterfingers (40 turnovers) UP would find itself down by as much as 26.
They would fight and trim it down to 10 before the game ends but nothing could prevent NU from notching its first win.
Back to the drawing boards for Coach Aboy Castro and an amazing start for NU Coach Ricky Dandan
This hope was buoyed up by the strong start of the Maroons as they lead by as much as 8 points.
Alas this would not last long as NU's gunners would find their range at the same time that UP's offensive game would disappear.
That offensive game would not find its way back to the Araneta. Coupled with an almost non existent defense and a huge case of butterfingers (40 turnovers) UP would find itself down by as much as 26.
They would fight and trim it down to 10 before the game ends but nothing could prevent NU from notching its first win.
Back to the drawing boards for Coach Aboy Castro and an amazing start for NU Coach Ricky Dandan
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Adamson: Tough luck
With a bunch of rookies and some veterans, the Adamson University Falcons gave the UST Growling Tigers a fight and then some. They lost to the Tigers 76-75. The rookie Paul Cabrera had 4 triples go in and out of the ring. Big man Jan Collina missed a ton of free throws that could have changed the game's outcome.
It's a good sign for Coach Leo Austria despite the loss. His wards never gave up and this early in the season they are showing signs of moving up. If there was a board counting losses-that-we-could-feel-good-about notch one up for the Adamson Falcons.
It's a good sign for Coach Leo Austria despite the loss. His wards never gave up and this early in the season they are showing signs of moving up. If there was a board counting losses-that-we-could-feel-good-about notch one up for the Adamson Falcons.
An Introduction
Basketball has always been a passion of mine. Entering college, one of my criteria for picking a school was it had to have a rich basketball history. Thus I went to Ateneo de Manila University. I had grown up watching their basketball games. And the Blue Eagle championships from the Danny Francisco era gave me some of my best basketball memories.
I had long mulled starting a blog about Philippine basketball. And with the advent of the 72nd season of the Universities Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) and the Blue Eagles returning as defending champs I have decided to finally give that blog life.
In this blog I'll try to cover most of Philippine Basketball. Join my journey.
I had long mulled starting a blog about Philippine basketball. And with the advent of the 72nd season of the Universities Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) and the Blue Eagles returning as defending champs I have decided to finally give that blog life.
In this blog I'll try to cover most of Philippine Basketball. Join my journey.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)