PCC 2008: Let’s get it started
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PAST collegiate post-season tournaments never had the luster that individual leagues like the NCAA or UAAP had. Blame it on mismanagement, scheduling, or even prominent hoops programs withdrawing on the eleventh hour. Whatever the reason is, the country’s never been able to bestow the official title of “the nation’s best†on any team.
All that should change with the 2008 Philippine Collegiate Championship. The most organized and structured after-October cage gathering is down to its Sweet 16 after kicking off with over 250 teams from Vigan to Zamboanga. The tourney deserves the hype it’s been getting, and will hopefully be taken seriously by the remaining squads.
And why not? It’s just so exasperating to hear people say that this school isn’t the best cause this school withdrew, or cause this university didn’t field this player, or cause the brackets were drawn to see through two institutions with the same backer play in the final.
Enough of that, please. Let’s get this on and see which team is truly the Philippines’ best.
The most intriguing Sweet 16 matchup is the Jose Rizal University-Far Eastern University tiff. The Heavy Bombers’ physical, inside-outside game will be tested by, on paper, one of the most talented squads in the country. My friend and colleague, Sid Ventura, is looking at the frontline battle to serve as the key to the game, with FEU’s Mac Baracael and Aldrech Ramos going toe-to-toe with Shaw Boulevard’s Marvin Hayes and JR Sena.
If the tempo of the game isn’t that slow or deliberate, though, the open court will be crucial. JRU swingman John Wilson is an efficient finisher on the break, and so is about five or six of his teammates. This may ultimately bury the Tamaraws and seal 2008’s status as a year to forget in Morayta.
Who the hell are the Universal College of Nursing Golden Dragons? Cebuanos or Davaoeños may not be familiar with, say, the San Sebastian College Cavite Baycats, in the same way that Manileños could be strangers to the University of San Jose-Recoletos Jaguars. But it’s safe to conclude that, universally, the UCN Dragons are the unknowns heading into the PCC.
The Dragons are this season’s Universities and Colleges Athletic Association (UCAA) champions. After going 2-12 in their debut campaign in 2006, coach Yong Garcia’s wards shocked the basketball world by sweeping perennial powerhouses Emilio Aguinaldo College en route to the title.
Familiar with the National University Bulldogs? Yup, those yellow and black-clad guys who love jacking up threes left, right and center in the UAAP. UCN plays this way, but only better. Cedric Matugas, Mike Montilla, Marc Joseph and Jeff Ompad like to spread the Dragons’ offense and set up for those deadly triples. Coach Garcia likes them playing loose and fast, and yup, shooting a lot of treys.
The squad I should be most excited to see since I never get to watch them on TV is Arellano University. The Chiefs have won almost every not-so-known abbreviated tournament in the city (FMC, NCRAA, FMC-D2). And with their intent to jump to the NCAA, this is their chance to be seen and felt.
Orlando Daroya, a 6-foot-3 swingman, is the man to watch, with 5-foot-1 (yes!!) playmaker Len Anquillo and defensive specialist Jordan Melaño in the supporting cast. Adrian Celada and Gio Ciriacruz can also put points in a hurry. Just ask University of Santo Tomas, the team the Chiefs walloped to get to the Sweet 16.
It also won’t be improbable to see Arellano give San Beda (a potential Elite 8 showdown) a tough fight. Leo Isaac’s other team, Mapua, dealt the Red Lions two losses in the 2008 NCAA wars. Arellano runs the same system, arguably with even better players.
The team most likely to be upset in the Sweet 16 is University of the East. In one of the episodes of One U I was part of, I mentioned that I always get scared every time the Red Warriors take the floor against big squads. In Season 71, they went 1-5 against the three other UAAP Final Four teams (1-6 if the semifinal loss to Ateneo is factored in).
UE’s opponents, University of Visayas, is as big a team as it can get. After copping their eighth straight CESAFI plum, the Green Lancers are out to prove that last season’s Collegiate National Championship (which is the former name of the PCC) runner-up finish isn’t a fluke. Six-foot-eleven big man Greg Slaughter has improved slightly, while old reliables Von Lanete, Ritchum Dennison and Chris Diputado can still burn opposing teams.
UE and UV play very similar styles of ball. Both teams are athletic, and both like to run and shoot. The only difference is that the Red Warriors are much smaller, and this may prove costly.
The player who’ll break out is Ateneo swingman Oping Sumalinog. Like everyone else, I’ve always wondered why this lanky Cebuano shooter was sparingly used in past UAAP battles. With Chris Tiu’s impending absence in this season’s PCC, this 6-foot-3 sniper will be thrust into the limelight – and will make the most out of it.
In the 2008 University Games in Dumaguete, Sumalinog proved to be Ateneo’s glue and spark plug, hitting clutch shots and making crucial plays as the Blue Eagles captured the championship at the expense of West Negros University and EAC in the finals. The PCC will be the next stop in Sumalinog’s quest to stardom.
When the national champion is crowned, I can look forward to less whining, hopefully. Let’s keep our fingers crossed here. Ideally, no school should back out, and more importantly treat this tournament like the genuine national championship that it is. The PCC isn’t meant to supplant the popularity of the UAAP, NCAA or even CESAFI (chances are, it can’t), but is upon us to declare the best of the very best.
(6 votes, average: 4.33 out of 5)
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ang tunay na manggagamot ay ang dakilang nilikha
+0
Thursday, 15 January 2009 at 10:03 pm
as i said here they come:
@shoti says: GMA- … by the time na nag-aaral siya doon, formed na ang kanyang mga (corrupt) core values kaya ang dapat mo sisihin sa pagiging corrupt nya ay yung elementary,HS at pwede m na rin isama ang college niya…
any proof of this? medyo sweeping statement ito.
…saka kahit ba pagbigyan kita na i-consider mo silang “ateneo’s legacy in politics†talo ka pa rin eh kas mas malaki ang legacy na iniwan
ng UP sa nangyayari sa politika natin ehhh
how can you prove this? i know makoy screwed up our system but he and along with erap at least had the guts to give it up. this ateneo masters grad ngayon masyadong power hungry and any kind of scandal harap-harapan at bistadong bistado na corrupt ayaw pa ring mag-give up.
oo nga pala, ganito siya dahil assumptionista siya. her years in ateneo had NOTHING to do with this. NOTHING, right?
Pride and Glory
+0
Thursday, 15 January 2009 at 10:20 pm
@ang tunay na manggagamot ay ang dakilang nilikha
Iho, malayo pa rin ang nagawa ni Macoy kaysa kay Gloria kung alam mo lang… Iba yung twenty years niya. Ibang iba ang MARTIAL LAW. at mas marami pa ring ninakaw si Macoy.
Kung ikumpol mo ang lahat ng kalokohan ng past presidents ng pilipinas, lamang pa rin si McCoy at yung asawa niyang ulul na graduate din ng UP.
ang tunay na manggagamot ay ang dakilang nilikha
+0
Thursday, 15 January 2009 at 10:38 pm
@pride and glory
itoy,
huwag kang mag-alala at isa ako sa nag-rally sa edsa hanggang mapatalsik si makoy. I am a martial law baby kaya alam ko ang lahat nang iyan. wala kang angal sa akin kung tungkol sa tagal ng mangungurakot ni makoy.
but let me give you a hypothetical…. what if we were rallying against gloria arroyo in edsa 1? or for that matter what if the personalities were reversed in edsa 2 and we were rallying against gloria to demand that she resign? nag-resign kaya siya? alam no na siguro ang sagot diyan.
J. Dela cruz
+0
Thursday, 15 January 2009 at 10:54 pm
magpasalamat nalang tayo at meron ateneo dito sa pilipinas, kundi wala sanang magagaling na pinoy. mga atenista lang ang magagaling, wag na kayo umangal dahil wala tayo binatbat sa kanila.
isipin niyo nalng kung walang mga atenista na nagpapatakbo sa mga malalaking kumpanya dito sa pinas, di sana mas maraming pinoy ang nagugutom at walang trabaho. malaki talaga utang na loob naten sa mga atenista. sila ang magaling. sila ang nagpapa andar sa bansang ito. sila ang pilipinas.
Pride and Glory
+0
Friday, 16 January 2009 at 1:40 am
@ang tunay na manggagamot ay ang dakilang nilikha
I’d like to start by saying, that it was never EVER safe going outside your home during the Marcos DICTATORSHIP unlike now.
Anyway,
“By this statement you not only insulted those who rallied to oust gloria but even those who are less demonstrative in opposing her. this is perhaps 70% of the RP population that you insulted? medyo irrational na ito.”
True. But you’re also not recognizing the fact that I never said that there was no heart and will in the present rallies because there are! What I am trying to say, that COMPARED to the Edsa’s, there’s not much impact that will simply make GMA go away. Again, it’s COMPARED to.
Now, Macoy is understood to have done WAAAAY more dubious deeds than GMA in the past. And WAAAAY before Edsa 1 he was already asked to take off position! Even before martial law was declared!!! So it took 12 years (correct me if I’m wrong) to make him go. It also took a historic event to make him go. Such a historic event, that it already made Macoy decide that he’ll never go to heaven. Yet, that same historic event, is not even close to the rallies at current.
I know, GMA will go heaven, but the current rallies simply DO NOT make her realize that yet. So in her mind, Why should she give up? She is basing her popularity with the past revolutions which, yun nga, no match pa rin talaga sa EDSA 1 and 2.
Think of it this way. You have two witnesses captured by the mafia. One was beaten up and will be stabbed in the arm to tell the truth. However, the other one took awhile in being beaten up, stabbed in the arms, then finally he gave in because his balls are to be cut. Grabe impact diba? Ano siya, magmamatigas pa rin? Hindi na, siyempre, suko na.
“but when people have assembled and called for him to give it up, at least he did”
STATEMENT WRONG!
Do not ever claim that at least, “Mcoy gave up” when he was asked to. because That just happened after freaking years of martial law. after all the political killings, guerrilla warfare, legal impeachment proposals, and everything else shown in dekada sitenta and most importantly, NINOY AQUINO DYING. Again, obviously, he resisted impeachment for many years before he realized he IT’s JUST TOO MUCH.
Something you have to realize…
The mere fact that he declared martial law, labeled as a dictator and forcefully extended his term for 12 more years were proof that he had the MORE excessive ABUSE OF POWER. This is basic logic. I can’t believe you didn’t realize that.
Just hope that we can go back to UP vs Ateneo now because it looks like this topic is going to end soon.
Pride and Glory
+0
Friday, 16 January 2009 at 1:45 am
Let me add again…
Something you have to realize…
The mere fact that he declared martial law, labeled as a dictator and forcefully extended his term for 12 more years were proof that he had the MORE excessive ABUSE OF POWER than GLORIA or all the Philippine Presidents’ wrongdoings combined. This is basic logic. I can’t believe you didn’t realize that. HE ABUSED MORE POWER BECAUSE HE WANTED MORE POWER. basic.
ang tunay na manggagamot ay ang dakilang nilikha
+0
Friday, 16 January 2009 at 2:46 am
@pride and glory,
maybe we won’t settle this because you just keep saying the same thing. so don’t even answer it.
no need to remind me of makoy’s ventures because i am aware of all that. my comment is simple: what if gloria had macoy’s brains? i think she’s capable of doing worse. just a hunch. i think she can declare martial law if she knew how to or know how to get away with it.
btw, makoy was not impeached. the KBL that controlled the parliament then was not going to impeach him.
Wala Lang
+0
Friday, 16 January 2009 at 7:54 am
shoti, you’ve got an interesting idea there…Manila All-Stars vs. Quezon City All-Stars…sama ako dyan! Bili kita ng courside seats! hehehe!!!
BUT…it looks like that’ll have to wait…there seems to be another discussion thread unraveling…it looks like there is now season 2 of PCC 2008 and it’s no longer THE-QS Atbp. but PCC 2008: The (Mis)Adventures of Ferdie and Gloria!
Mr. Soler’s probably laughing his brains out (as I am) with how the BASKETBALL discussion on his BASKETBALL article deteriorated to a payabangan ng ranking sa THE-QS…
Then dahil Ateneo and UP ang no. 1 and no. 2 sa ranking sa THE-QS among universities sa Pinas, naging Ateneo vs. UP ang usapan…
Then dahil sa graduate sila ng mga pamantasang ito, at parehong power-hungry, nahantong na sa MaCoy vs. Gloria…
Even funnier was when Pride and Glory suggested going BACK TO THE TOPIC of UP vs. Ateneo… akala ko pa naman BASKETBALL na…hindi pa pala!
So shoti…tera na at samahan mo ako mag enjoy sa soap opera dito sa inboundpass.com! Sa season 72 UAAP nalang kita ibibili ng courtside tickets na gusto mo…I’m sure gusto mong panoorin ang Ateneo-La Salle game.
racer_sebastinian
+0
Friday, 16 January 2009 at 8:20 am
Haaay, ngayon ko lang na visit itong inboundpass tapos ganito pa rin, puro bangayan. Mga feeling Ateneans at UP!!Can you just post your bickerings in other site, not here at inboundpass??..Please lang. Hindi ako interesado sa mga rankings rankings na ganyan, basketball forum to! What a crap!
4th reich
+0
Friday, 16 January 2009 at 12:45 pm
like J. Dela Cruz said huwag na kayong lahat humirit pa. Ateneo is the king of the philippines. ateneo is on top of the philippines. it is the bestest universita in the whole wide world. if you put down ateneo you are just putting yourself down. because without ateneo there is no pilipinas. if ateneo goes so does the pilipinas! ateneo is the alpha…and it is also the omega. it is the legend. it is the pinnacle on the pedestal. it is the tip of Mt. Everest. it is on the highest planet or star imaginable and beyond!!! people who graduates from ateneo like me has IQs of 400 maybe 500. we are on tops of the worlds!!!
shoti
+0
Friday, 16 January 2009 at 3:26 pm
wala lang
thanks! pero nakakahiya..salamat na lang…
shoti
+0
Friday, 16 January 2009 at 3:29 pm
tama na UP,aTENEO AND LA SALLE should all love each other…as the big 3, sama na UST kung 2luyan na nga xang nakapasok bilang big 4….
TAMA NA AWAYAN…pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee….
shoti
+0
Friday, 16 January 2009 at 3:33 pm
tumigil na nga kayo sa pagsasalita fellow ateneans and UP neighbors…peace po…
ang tunay na manggagamot ay ang dakilang nilikha
+0
Saturday, 17 January 2009 at 12:22 am
@pride and glory
“but if you really want me to answer this
“what if gloria had macoy’s brains?
Ok, well, she doesn’t. Therefore, still making Macoy the hungriest of them all.”
thank you for still being scared to answer. this makes me believe that you really know the answer but you’re just to chicken little to admit it.
you must be related to gloria arroyo that’s why you don’t find any fault in her. even your edsa response made me wonder. how much money did you receive during the campaign? any cuts from the broadband deal? is garcillano really a nice guy? tell me.
4th reich
+0
Saturday, 17 January 2009 at 7:06 am
rastafari! ateneo is king of kings, lords of lords. his majesty haile selasie has seen ateneo in his dreams. ateneo will trample all over babylon!
guess who’s coming to dinner? an atenean!
yeah mon!
ang tunay na mangagamot ay ang dakilang nilikha
+0
Saturday, 17 January 2009 at 1:26 pm
@pride said
“Ngunit hindi ko talaga maintindihan kung bakit tingin mo mas mabuting tao si MACOY?!?!?!”
basahin mo nga iyong posts ko uli, itoy. the only good thing i can say about macoy is he voluntarily gave up power. he could have told Ver to start bombing edsa which Ver would have gladly followed. tipong Tianamen square disaster.
i see gloria taking that latter option if she was in that position. maybe its just my hunch. i’d actually be interested in what other people’s view would be. perhaps from non-gloria loyalists instead. i would think they represent the majority anyway especially in the more educated urban sectors of society.
svelterogue
+0
Monday, 19 January 2009 at 11:53 am
chris, just a thought:
the sports forum i frequent (another sport though) does have a panel of moderators. they make sure that certain rules are in place and then moderate comments based on the gravity of the content put in. it does not lessen readership but it does elevate the discussions mucho.
just a thought.
svelterogue
+0
Monday, 19 January 2009 at 11:58 am
mga huna huna lang, tutal don na napunta ang comments dito:
as a student of both UP and ateneo… masasabi ko lang… mas dakilang simple ang mga taga UP dahil ganon talaga ang atmosphere sa state U. mga atenista naman, pampered and spoiled materially. kung ang tao kulang sa lakas ng loob, kahit saan siya nag aaral, lalabas at lalabas din ang dearth ng kanyang spirit or ika nga, character. maraming mayabang at simple sa mundo, ang sad lang dyan kapag na a aggravate ng mga school status na yan.
aanuhin ko ateneo degree ko kung asshole naman ako diba? or yung pagiging UP student ko kung mapanglait naman ako? wala sa skwela ata yon.
chaka yung mga rankings na yan… sorry na lang ang UP this year at na pip siya ng ateneo. diyahe talaga kung la salle yung nasa top! hahaha :)
Professional_Scout
+0
Friday, 27 February 2009 at 1:00 am
@ Chris Soler
Hey Chris! I have something that you might be interested in.
Chastity Albayalde
+0
Monday, 16 March 2009 at 3:05 am
Good job Sir Chris!
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