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As expected, La Salle trounced UP 82 – 60. From beginning to end, the Fighting Maroons were just no match against a very balanced La Salle team.

Every quarter, the lead just kept getting bigger with UP showing only a tinge of a fight in the first. As Coach Franz Pumaren kept throwing different player combinations into the fray, UP Coach Aboy Castro just couldn’t find a group that could consistently play good offense as well as defense.

UP’s Woody Co poured in 19 points in the first half but was not a factor in 2nd. Hyram Bagatsing came on strong and scored 12 points, scoring on all the shots he took.  Every game this year, La Salle has had a different player step up and show his wares. Getting consistently good games from Casio and Maierhofer are a given. But the way the rest of the team has performed is truly amazing.

After the opening game loss to Ateneo, La Salle has slowly started to show that it is not going to make it easy for the other teams to stop their title retention bid. Players like Barua, Managahas, Villanueva and Bagatsing have been an encouraging sign of how deep the La Salle bench is. In the game against the Fighting Maroons, Joshua Webb scored the first 6 points of the game. I expect Webb to have a big game soon.

LA Revilla, another rookie with a lot of potential, injured his neck in the game against Adamson and did not play against UP.  La Salle is deep in every position except in the middle. Batricevic, Walsham and Ferdinand are not as strong as the centers of the other teams. However, La Salle counters this with the presence of Maierhofer, who averages double digit rebounds, a couple of blocks per game in addition to his consistent scoring.

Because of their sticky defense, La Salle forces the opposing team to play a perimeter offense that normally forces them to take the long shots which then opens up the middle for La Salle to have an easier time to rebound.

With a starting five of Casio, Mangahas, Batricevic, Webb and Atkins, it is not surprising that the bench scores a lot more than the starters. With Maierhofer, Barua, Malabes, Villanueva, Revilla, Walsham, Ferdinand and Bagatsing coming off the bench, it is also no wonder that La Salle can continuously throw fresh legs to keep up their torrid defensive pace.

La Salle needs to improve its foul shooting. Though they have improved from the horrible foul shooting in the game against Ateneo, they still have to be more consistent from the line. In a close game, those free throws will definitely matter very much. Only Casio has been consistent from the stripe. La Salle is better than what they may look on paper. Bigger names can be seen in other teams. But La Salle has the right players for its system. More importantly, it has the best coach in collegiate ball.

Other UAAP Highlights:

Yesterdays, FEU – UE game was a real nail biter. FEU played like a team on a mission. With the number 12 sewn on their uniforms, they rallied around their fallen teammate Mac Baracael, who was shot last Thursday.
UE looks like a far cry from the team that had a 14-0 record going into the finals. They have lost more games this season that they did all of last year. They look tentative and vulnerable. The upset loss to Adamson has made the rest of league feel that they can be beaten.

FEU on the other hand seems more relaxed and focused. While most of my colleagues here chose UST to enter the Final Four, I chose FEU. This is a good team. Glen Capacio is probably the most underrated coach in the league.

With the loss of Baracael, FEU will have to make a big adjustment. Losing 10 points a game plus the leadership Baracael brings to the court will force them to look for a player to step into those shoes.
Yesterday, Cawaling, Adolfo, Fernandez and Barroca stepped up and played their hearts out. Their efforts were rewarded with a victory.

Bad officiating again reared its ugly head in yesterday’s UE- FEU game. I could see both Glen Capacio and Dindo Pumaren just shake their heads in disbelief as the refs kept making one bad call after another.
Even the table officials were questionable. In the 4th quarter, the game had to be stopped because the table officials were unsure if a shot taken by FEU a couple of plays before was a 2 or a 3. One ref called it a 3 while the other called it a 2. I don’t know why the table officials had to wait. If they were unsure, they should have called the refs immediately to find out what the decision was. Instead, they had to wait for an FEU official to question the decision before they took action.

In a game as close as it was, that 1 point could have changed the outcome of the game. Even if FEU won by 3, the coaches would have made different adjustments depending on that 1 point. At the time, FEU was leading by 1. When the call was clarified, FEU’s lead increased to 2.
UE put the game under protest because of the horrible officiating. It is unclear what the details of the protest are.

With Ateneo as the only unbeaten team and La Salle closely behind, the other 2 spots for the Final Four are up in the air. A record of 8 – 6, is probably what is needed to get to the Final Four. I believe that there are 4 teams who have a good chance to at least achieve that feat.

It looks like Ateneo and La Salle are definitely going to the Final Four. FEU is looking like it will do so too. The last slot will be fought for by UE, UST and Adamson as the dark horse.  Everyone predicted UE to be in the top 3, but they have shown that it may not be too far-fetched for them to have to be fighting tooth and nail for that last spot.

Of course, at lot of games are still to be played. I expect NU to act as spoiler and throw a monkey wrench into the fray. Adamson may be a long shot, but just as they did with UE, they may just have a few more tricks in their bag to win a couple of games against any of the top 5 teams.

Tags: Bulldogs, FEU-Tamaraws, Green-Archers, La-Salle, NU, Red-Warriors, UAAP, UE

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