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Some uninvited visitors have signified their intent to crash San Beda’s two-year party.

Despite being three months away from the start of the 84th Season of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Men’s Seniors Basketball tournament, the defending champion Red Lions are expectedly the primary targets of the chasing pack. Out to end their reign are the same two teams that came closest last season.

Season 83 runners-up Colegio de San Juan de Letran Knights and third-placers Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers have enough reason to believe that this year will be a step forward. Both squads return with the same coaching staffs, relatively intact cores and arguably bigger dreams.

Sixteen-time NCAA champions Letran enter 2008 with the same mentality that’s seen them through five consecutive Final Four appearances. Defense and a primacy on shooting remain the trademarks of the Muralla-based squad. And while head coach Louie Alas feels his team’s attitude is “still quite far from that of his previous championship teams’,� he’s confident that his players will mature soon enough to realize their potential.

Some issues, however, need to be addressed by Alas and his coaching staff. Team captain Mikko Quinday was the only player expected to leave the team after 2007 due to age requirements, but the Knights lost two additional key cagers for various reasons. Last year’s second-leading scorer Bryan

Faundo is currently not with the team for academic reasons, and point guard Kirk del Rosario will likely sit out the year after undergoing shoulder surgery in the off-season.

In typical Letran fashion, however, Alas remains resolute. While Faundo’s loss is critical, given the fact that he’s able to pull opposing big men out of the interior due to his prolific perimeter game, Alas feels that some of his current players can pick up the slack. “I have John Foronda and Alvyn Cabonce, both of whom can shoot from the outside,� he said.

Cabonce, Foronda and Schubert Reposar are expected to complement Dino Daa, the team’s primary weapon in the paint. However, much of the team’s offense will be anchored on its perimeter players. RJ Jazul, arguably the league’s most dangerous shooter, high-flying Rey Guevarra and Reymar Gutilban form a dangerous troika that’s expected to shoulder about 60 percent of the Letran offense.
Over at Shaw Boulevard, the Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers are doing things just the way they like it. With not much attention paid to them, last year’s surprise package are quietly attempting to put the finishing touches on a three-year program that’s catapulted them to the upper echelons of the league after a dismal 2-12 record in 2005.

Heavy Bombers head coach Ariel Vanguardia still has the six-man core from his first year in charge. Incidentally, these six players – Marc Cagoco, Marvin Hayes, Jayson Nocom, Maui Pradas, JR Sena and John Wilson – are all playing in the Philippine Basketball League, a clear testament to their growth and maturity. “This year is boom or bust. It’s the final year where I’ll have all six together, so this is our best shot at winning,� Vanguardia said.

Gone from last year’s team are defensive specialists RJ Cunanan and Alvin Se, while big man Jerome Ramos will skip the season after being tapped by the Nokia RP Youth Team. Prospects looking to break into this year’s roster include Capiz-based recruit Jecster Apinan, point guard Nathaniel Matute (who was originally recruited by a top-caliber UAAP school), former JRU Light Bomber Derico Lopez, and Cameroonian Nchotu John.
Key for the Heavy Bombers this year is production from their second unit. John Agas, JR Bulangis and Raycon Kabigting need to step up on both ends of the floor to support JRU’s “Super Six.� In Season 83, JRU’s reliance on its core players pushed them to the limit, resulting in tired legs in the endgame.

In terms of maturity, Vanguardia feels that his team has finally acquired it. “They’re mature; they pass more and shoot less. They’re ready.�

The Knights and Bombers both know that there’s more to dethroning San Beda than mere talk. Should they do more, this year’s bash may not be around the hallowed grounds of Mendiola anymore.

Tags: Ariel-Vanguardia, dethroning-san-beda, Heavy-Bombers, JRU, Knights, letran, Louie-Alas, ncaa, Petron, Postgame, red-lions, San-Beda, Sprint

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