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IT WAS an exciting week as upsets marred Week 5 of UAAP Season 71. With each teams having seven games remaining in their calendar, the second round promises to be more action-packed as the top teams jockey for position in the Final Four race. After the first round, Ateneo is on top with a 6-1 record, followed by La Salle and FEU with a 5-2 slate. UE is two games behind the leader with a 4-3 record. Rounding up the next four spots are UST (3-4), UP (2-5), Adamson (2-5) and NU (1-6).

Ateneo is fast becoming a favorite to reach the championship round as center Rabeh Al-Hussaini finally came out of his shell to show his true worth. Described as a “softy” whose only weapon of choice is a jumper from the elbow, Al-Hussaini averaged 25 points and 13 rebounds in the last two games, and even outplayed reigning MVP Jervy Cruz. His coming out party will definitely help Chris Tiu and the rest of the team on both ends of the court. Of course, we should see how this team will handle its early success as it has had a history of blowing games that mattered most.

La Salle and FEU are fortunate to have good records going to the second round as both teams are having manpower problems. The Archers reportedly lost center Marko Batricevic for the season while starting point guard Simon Atkins is in the hospital due to the whiplash he suffered in the UE game. FEU had its’ rotation problem exposed by the NU Bulldogs as the Tamaraws lost center Robert Kave who went home to Papua New Guinea after the Baracael shooting. FEU is now down to 13 players.

UE and UST are fast becoming to be the teams that will battle for the last Final Four spot. The Warriors are in a better position though as they finally came together and played “UE” ball against the Archers. But their loss against Adamson will be the “regret” game should they fail to make it to the Final Four. The Tigers on the other hand, will be greatly pressured as their back court continues to be a problem for them. Rookies Jerick Fortuna and Clark Bautista are both playing inconsistent as far as stabilizing the UST offense is concerned. UST can only hope that Japs Cuan will heal fast and return to action.

Adamson will have its’ hands full in the second round as they wait for the recovery of back up point guard Lester Alvarez. The Falcon’s last two games were especially difficult for them as starter Jerick Cañada is playing on extended minutes to stabilize their offense. Furthermore, Adamson needs their front line to play with more consistency, especially Michael Galinato and Mark Agustin.

In the second round, host UP must play with more fire and heart against the elite teams to make their rebuilding season a success. Though this team has improved a lot and has won two games so far, the UP community easily gets deflated every time the team losses by a huge margin. The Fighting Maroon has shown promise a few times, so a bit more of consistency will help their campaign.

NU hopes to use their win against erstwhile leader FEU as a springboard to salvage their season. This veteran-laden team has become this season’s under-achieving team (again!) and a huge turn-around in the next round is needed if they hope hope to make it in the Final Four.

Let’s review the games of Week 5.

Thursday, July 31

UST 88, NU 77. UST kept its’ hunt for a Final Four spot on track with a drubbing of cellar dweller National University at the start of Week 5 of UAAP Season 71 basketball tournament. It was a close game in the first half as the Tigers struggled to keep the Bulldogs at bay. NU started the second quarter with a 9-2 run to take a 28-22 lead. But rookie guard Clark Bautista fired three consecutive triples to give the lead back to UST 31-30, a lead that the Tigers never relinquished. NU still fought to stay close, even equalizing the count at 39-all and staying at the heels of UST at halftime, 44-43. The second half was all UST as the Tigers pulled away in the third behind Bautista, Francis Allera and Khasim Mirza, while reigning MVP provided big support with his output of 14 points and 10 rebounds. Bautista led the Tigers scoring with a career high 18 points (6 of 9 from rainbow country) while Mirza brought his “A” game for the first time this season with 13 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals. The win was UST’s third in six game, while NU went further south with a 0-6 record.

FEU 72, Ateneo 66. In another potential Final Four match up, FEU dealt Ateneo with its’ first loss of the season while trying to solidify their chances of making it to the Final Four. The Blue Eagles were in control of the game in the first half as big man Rabeh Al-Hussaini led the Ateneo attack with 16 points. Though the Eagles were in control early on, the Tamaraws were stalking them, keeping the game close. After trailing by five at the end of the first half 36-31, the Tamaraws made a 6-0 run with Ben Fernandez and Paul Sanga firing a triple each. But Al-Hussaini continued his scoring ways, making minced meat of the FEU defense by scoring 12 more points in the third. The Tamaraws made a move on the fourth while Al-Hussaini was taking a breather, cutting down the deficit to one with 6 minutes remaining. Al-Hussaini and rookie Ryan Buenafe came back with five minutes remaining and gave Ateneo a little breather 62-59 with five minutes left. Ateneo was still up 66-62 in the last two minutes of play when FEU made a stirring 10-6 windup to snatch the win from the Blue Eagles. Al Hussaini had a monster game had a career high 33 points and 20 rebounds (5 offensive) but wasn’t able to get support from his team, with captain Chris Tiu firing a measly 2 of 11 from the field. FEU thus caught up with the Eagles and La Salle on top with a 5-1 record.

Saturday August 2

UP 76, Adamson 68. UP took advantage of Adamson’s weakness in the backcourt as the Fighting Maroons surpassed all expectations of its community. The game started with both teams making mini runs of their own. After a 20-all standoff in the first and having forced to play small, UP roared to a 23-13 second quarter run as the Maroons forced the Falcons to turnovers by using their seldom-used pressure defense. Adamson started to chip away a 14 point deficit early in the third by extending their defense to UP’s back court and dropping a 22-8 bomb to catch up with the Maroons at 55-all after three quarters. UP spitfire Martin Reyes led a 12-5 run in the fourth quarter to finally give the Maroons control of the game. With the win, UP caught up with Adamson at 2-5 and is now in sixth place after the first round.

UE 68 La Salle 62. UE finished the first round on a positive note to keep their Final Four hopes alive. After dropping two of their last three games, the Red Warriors showed everybody why they were installed as favorites in the early part of the season and demolished Season 70 finals rival La Salle. The first two minutes of scoreless action saw Archers point guard Simon Atkins hit his head hard on the floor as he took a charge off UE’s Rudy Lingganay, and that prompted tournament medics to bring him to the hospital. Less than two minutes later, and with the score at 3-2 in favor of La Salle, Archers center Marko Batricevic fell down clutching his knee as Hans Thiele made a drive to the hoop. La Salle was still up by one when UE guard James Martinez shook of his slump and fired two consecutive triples to finally give control of the game to the Warriors. UE slowly pulled away leading as much as 16, as the injuries suffered by the the Archers, including James Mangahas’ ankle sprain, took its toll on La Salle’s rotation. La Salle made one last run in the fourth quarter but it wasn’t enough as UE improved their record to 4-3. The Archers fell to 5-2.

Sunday August 3

NU 69, FEU 61. National University finally ended FEU’s run to finally earn a victory at the end of the first round. Bulldogs center Jewel Ponferrada and forward Raymond Aguilar punished the Tamaraws’ front line by pounding the paint while guard Jonathan Jahnke finally came up with a spectacular all-around game for the monumental upset. FEU started the game strong with their bench coming up with much needed points, taking the first quarter 18-12. The Bulldogs kept the game close as they limited the Tamaraws starters to seven points while Jahnke, Jessey Garcia and Elmer Fabula hit their three point shots. NU finally made a run in the third, dropping an 18-4 bomb to take a ten point lead 50-40 late in the third. But FEU countered with its own 11-2 run to cut NU’s lead to one after the third period. The Tamaraws continued with their run in the fourth with Reil Cervantes four points to take a 55-52 lead. Then Aguilar and Ponferrada collaborated for seven points to tie the count at 59-all. After FEU took its’ last lead at 61-59, NU held the Tamaraws scoreless in the last two minutes while Jahnke led a 10-0 run to improve their record to 1-6. FEU settled for a 5-2 record after the first round.

Ateneo 64, UST 57. Ateneo bounced back from a sorry loss to beat UST and set the pace at the halfway mark of UAAP Season 71. Ateneo started the game strong as the Blue Eagles front line led by Rabeh Al-Hussaini and Nonoy Baclao asserted their might in the paint as they forced the Tigers to get most of their points from the perimeter. After UST took a one point lead in the second quarter courtesy of Chris Camus’ jumper, Ateneo went on a 11-2 rampage to take control of the game, 24-17. The Tigers kept the game close as their perimeter game clicked, cutting the deficit to four at the half. Ateneo extended their lead to 10 midway in the third but Dylan Ababou and Francis Allera each score ten points in the quarter to cut the lead to four after the third quarter. UST continued its’ run with a 9-2 scoring spree to take a 54-51 lead halfway in the fourth. Then Baclao clamped down on defense, blocking crucial attempts by the Tigers to hold them scoreless in five minutes while Chris Tiu, Ryan Buenafe, Jai Reyes and Al-Hussaini combined for 13 points to give the Blue Eagles the win. After the first round, Ateneo is leading the pack with a 6-1 record while UST is at fifth place with a 3-4 record.

Finally, it seems that my Final Four prediction is in danger of becoming a farce. Well, that’s alright as long as UP doesn’t finish 1-13 (di ba, Tony A.? hehehe).

Tags: Adamson-Falcons, Ateneo-Blue-Eagles, De-La-Salle-Green-Archers, FEU-Tamaraws, NU-Bulldogs, Petron, UAAP, UE-Red-Warriors, University-of-Sto.-Tomas-Growling-Tigers, UP-Fighting-Maroons

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