UAAP Season 72 Preview: UP and NU
Sunday, 5 July 2009 7,103 Views / 33 Comments
National University Bulldogs
2008 Record: 2-12 (8th)
Additions: Cabaluna, Denmark; Donahue, Francis; Hermosisima, Kokoy; Malanday, Larry; Roy, Ronald; Singh, Ajeet; Terso, Joseph
Subtractions: Aguilar, Raymond; Asoro, Edwin; Berry, Mark; Catamora, Chris; Dela Cruz, Christopher; Galapon, Aaron; Garcia, Jessey; Jahnke, Jonathan
Holdovers: Jerome Tungcul; Kevin Batac; Michael Luy; Elmer Fabula; Mervin Baloran; Jewel Ponferrada; Marion Magat; Mark Manito
Background: After a promising Season 70 campaign that saw the NU Bulldogs finish with an impressive 6-8 record (including a key victory over Ateneo that helped pave the way for La Salle’s title run), Season 71 was supposed to be another step towards respectability for the Sampaloc-based cagers. Yet despite a virtually intact core that featured Edwin Asoro, Jay Jahnke, Raymond Aguilar and Jewel Ponferrada, the Bulldogs instead regressed badly and finished dead last with only two wins to show. But as is the norm for NU, one of those wins was over a contender, in this case eventual third placer FEU, a result that eventually impacted the Final Four match-ups.
Asoro capped his brilliant UAAP career by leading his team in scoring (13.5), rebounding (9.2), steals (1.1) and blocks (2.0). He also achieved the rare distinction of not missing a single game in his five UAAP seasons. The downside is he will go down as one of the most talented players to never have played in the Final Four.
Overall, the Bulldogs were second-to-last in point production with 64.6ppg, ahead only of Adamson’s 64.6. On defense, they gave up 10 more points (74.6), sixth-best in the league. The gap could have been narrower – and the losses fewer – if only they had shot better from the free throw line. While they ranked third overall in free throw attempts (322, or 23 attempts per game), the Bulldogs were the worst free throw-shooting team, hitting only 58.7% of their freebies.
The problem for NU was confidence and consistency, epitomized by a bench that at times appeared overwhelmed. A number of their losses were by double digits, and in many of them, the players simply imploded. And for all his wondrous talents, Asoro was error-prone (he actually led the league in turnovers per game) and never really developed into a go-to guy who could pull his team together at crunch time.
Key Changes: Asoro will be missed, no doubt. Aguilar (9.7ppg), Jahnke (8.7), and Jessey Garcia (6.8) rounded out NU’s top four scorers, and since none of them will be back this year, Coach Manny Dandan will be basically overhauling his starting five.
New faces include guards Ajeet Singh, a transferee from San Beda, and ex-Bullpup Joseph Terso plus big men Denmark Cabaluna and Francis Donahue. Ronald Roy, Kokoy Hermosisima and Larry Malanday round up the list of rookies. With the loss of Jahnke and Chris Catamora in the backcourt, Singh and Terso will probably see the most minutes.
But the biggest change for this team came off the court. The SM Group bought a majority stake in NU and poured serious money into the school’s sports program. And almost overnight, NU suddenly became a major force in the recruiting wars. Last October, over 300 hopefuls showed up for a series of tryouts. In previous years, the coaching staff was lucky if a fourth of that number tried out. The team now also tools around in a brand-new air-conditioned bus, and their practice facility in the Mall of Asia complex is a major, major upgrade over their old, well-worn gym. Clearly, better times are just around the corner.
Outlook: All told, this is a very young and inexperienced team. With three playing years under his belt, guard Michael Luy is already the most veteran player. Yes, they’re that young. The major prizes nabbed in those series of tryouts are still serving residency, so it looks like another year of taking lumps, rolling with the punches and gaining experience.
Dandan will be the first to admit he doesn’t exactly have a powerhouse lineup. But he actually likens this team to the one he had in 1998, when he had a bunch of young players named Froilan Baguion, Jeff Napa and Gilbert Neo who would form the core of the team that would go on to the Final Four three years later. And with funding no longer a problem, the school hopes it won’t take three years this time around to make it back to the post-season. At least that’s the plan.
Forecast (Chances): I see the Bulldogs occupying the cellar again this year, and truth be told, a 0-14 season isn’t too farfetched. But I think they’re good for a couple of wins, and I’m betting one will once again come against a contender that will once again shake up the Final Four seedings.
University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons
2008 Record: 3-11 (6th)
Additions: Gingerich, Moriah; Gomez, Carlo; Juruena, Mark; Padilla, Alvin; Reyes, Mikee
Subtractions: Agbayani, Jayfelson; Dela Victoria, Czarlo; Fortu, Don Carlo; Pajela, Ronald; Sorongon, Paul
Holdovers: Astorga, Kevin; Braganza, Arvin; Co, Woodward; De Asis, Miguel; Gamboa, Michael; Hipolito, Dionisio; Lopez, Mark; Maniego, Francis Miguel; Marfori, Santos Andrew; Reyes, Martin John; Sison, Magi King
Background: After a rousing opening-day victory over NU, the Maroons’ first in the UAAP since September 2006, everyone got all giddy and hopeful for a decent showing in UP’s centennial year. Then reality set in and the team went on to lose 11 of its last 13 games.
The areas for improvement are obvious. The Maroons were the league’s worst defensive team last season, giving up 77.5 points per game. Not surprisingly, they were also last in two key defensive statistics: steals and blocked shots. They also gave up the most points off turnovers per game (18.9).
On offense, the statistics weren’t any better. UP shot the worst from the field, hitting only 36.1% of field goal attempts, and had the fewest fastbreak points per game at 5.7 despite playing with three guards most of the time. The Maroons also didn’t take care of the ball, giving up 19.9 turnovers per contest. Only NU had a higher average.
But it wasn’t all bad news. The Diliman dribblers were third overall in assists per game (15.1), behind only UE (15.5) and eventual champion Ateneo (15.4), with Braggy Braganza registering the highest individual assist-per-game average (4.1) league-wide. And despite having a small line-up, UP was also third in rebounds per game (43.6). With a team filled with shooters, it also wasn’t a surprise that the Maroons averaged the most perimeter points per game (29.6).
Jay Agbayani was the team’s leading scorer, averaging 11.7 ppg. While this was more or less a result of his being the most veteran player, it also spoke to UP’s lack of reliable scorers, since Agbayani is clearly not a very skilled offensive player. The next two top scorers were shooter Martin Reyes (11.4) and forward Woody Co (9.1), both of whom were wildly inconsistent and shot only 52% and 57% respectively from the free throw line.
Key Changes: With only Agbayani graduating and a host of recruits coming in, Coach Aboy Castro cleared up roster space by cutting Ron Pajela, Czarlo Dela Victoria, and Paul Sorongon. Additionally, shooter Don Fortu suffered an ACL injury last year and has yet to fully recover, so he’s sitting out this season as well. But it’s not like any of these guys will be terribly missed. For one thing, none of them is over six-two, and on a height-challenged team like UP, they were natural choices to get pink-slipped. For another, well, they weren’t exactly lighting it up. Pajela (2.4ppg) became expendable after Mikee Reyes came onboard. Dela Victoria (1.1 ppg) could shoot threes all right, he just couldn’t do it often enough. Sorongon (6.5 ppg) hit a couple of big shots to seal a win over Adamson, but other than that, he was plain inconsistent.
Taking their places are guard-forward Moriah Gingerich, power forward Carlo Gomez, forward Mark Juruena, guard Alvin Padilla, and point guard Mikee Reyes. Gingerich stands around six feet and hails from Faith Academy. He can play the two and three spots and is a pretty good defender. Gomez was elevated from Team B and should provide help underneath, although he’s not exactly the second coming of Nestor David. Padilla is a transferee from San Beda who can play both guard positions, while Reyes is a blue chip recruit out of La Salle Greenhills who impressed during the summer leagues. Personally, though, I think Juruena was the biggest catch. This kid stands around six-three and was the UAAP juniors MVP last year, and he can flat out play. I expect him to be among the top five rookies in the entire league this coming season.
Outlook: Castro moved a step in the right direction by shoring up UP’s frontline with the addition of Gomez and Juruena. The three-guard lineup that was just abused on defense last year should be a thing of the past, with Juruena capable of playing the three spot and Gomez joining a rotation that includes veterans Magi Sison, Andrew Marfori and Kevin Astorga at the four and five spots. Additionally, Woody Co and Diony Hipolito can play both forward spots depending on the match ups.
Martin Reyes, Alvin Padilla, Migs De Asis, Miggy Maniego and Mark Lopez form a decent rotation at the wings, while the point guard position will be manned by Mikee Reyes, Braganza and Mike Gamboa.
The key here will be Sison. For so long now, he has tantalized his coaches with what he coould become, but he just hasn’t been able to put it all together. Hopefully, his stint with the Smart Gilas developmental team will have boosted his confidence. If the big guy can deliver equally big numbers, and the outside shooting of the guards stabilizes, UP could pull a few surprises.
Overall, though, the Maroons aren’t quite there yet. Too many of the rookies will be relied upon to produce major minutes, and the talent just isn’t deep enough to compete with the elite teams. There’s also the question of chemistry. UP gambled by using Mike Silungan heavily in the summer leagues, even though his stint this year was still up in the air. As of this writing, the eligibility committee has already ruled against Silungan, but university officials are preparing to launch a last-ditch appeal. Personally, though, I think it’s a lost cause, which means the Maroons will be entering the UAAP wars without their go-to guy and leading scorer of the past several months. It will be interesting to see how the team will adjust.
Forecast (Chances): Every year I get the same question from UP peeps: will we make it to the Final Four? And every year I give them the same answer: if you honestly believe that UP is better than at least four other teams, then yes.
This year? Not likely. I’d have to put Ateneo, FEU, and UE clearly ahead of UP. La Salle, Adamson and UST won’t be easy pickings either. The Maroons are good enough to perhaps – and I really mean perhaps – win half their matches against the Archers, Falcons and Tigers, and they’re virtually a lock to sweep NU, but against the top three teams it will be an uphill battle. I see UP finishing this season with a 6-8 record.
(2 votes, average: 4.50 out of 5)
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Hopefuly the eligibility committee will grant UP’s appeal. Nonetheless, UP maroon’s season 72 line up is far better than the previous season.
Not bad for 6-8 prediction for UP. Mataas na yun for my standard. I dont believe na nakasira ng chemistry si silungan. Di naman masyadong naglaro si Mike, ilang games lang. Dapat lang na mgimprove si Sison kung hindi ewan ko na lang.
Not bad yung 6-8 prediction for UP. Mataas na yun for my standard. I dont believe na nakasira ng chemistry si silungan. Di naman masyadong naglaro si Mike, ilang games lang. Dapat lang na mgimprove si Sison kung hindi ewan ko na lang.
mr. sid,you failed to mention an important and vital NU bulldog player na wala na din sa line-up na si mike salvado…he has done a lot for the team especially during the crucial uuap 70 game 2 vs ateneo which nu won…
sigurado ako na sa 1st ANG 2nd game NU ang mananalo… kahit pumusta pa kyo…..
sir, pangit ng font
@Mark: Disagree on Silungan. He was heavily used in the summer tournaments and often led UP in scoring.
@winshill: I didn’t forget Salvado. It’s just that he wasn’t playing anymore last season.
@LJA: I’ll ask the webmaster to do something about the font. Thanks.
pwede ba magtanong kung ma uupdate ba agad ang score dito sa site nato pagkatapos ng game sa uaap?
Brothers san pede makabili ng mga tickets s opening day ng UAAP?, kc ang layo ko s araneta
even finishing 6-8 (good for 5th place) would be a very tall order of the very short UP Fighting Maroons. 6-8 was what UST finished with last year and they had a Jervy Cruz..
but then again, hope does spring eternal.
I was able to read some posts on the Gameface message board and other online message boards about the UP Fighting Maroons having some scrimmage games with the De La Salle Green Archers and the UE Red Warriors. The results of the said scrimmage games were as follows:
1. UP vs La Salle scrimmage game ended tied after two overtime periods, with the Maroons playing without off-guard Martin Reyes, forward Woody Co and defensive guard Mark Lopez and the Archers playing without starting point guard Simon Atkins and highly-touted San Sebastian Staglet big man Arvie Bringas.
2. UP vs UE scrimmage game ended with the Maroons defeating the Warriors, 92-90. Woody Co and Arvie Braganza were absent for UP while UE fielded “a full line-up”. Also mentioned was an interesting fact: The relatively shorter Maroons outrebounded the much taller and more experienced Warriors.
It seems to me that UAAP Season 72 will be a very interesting one for the UP Fighting Maroons. Best place finish for the Diliman-based squad, in my opinion, will be 8-6 (2 wins vs NU, 2 wins vs UST, 2 wins vs Adamson, 1 win vs La Salle, 1 win vs UE) while the worst place finish might be 6-8, with UP sweeping NU, UST and Adamson but not winning against La Salle, UE, Ateneo and FEU.
6-8 finish for UP? Dream on…
UP will be unbeatable this season.
8-6 for UP… yeah.. not a bad prediction… woody co should step up though.. gave up on migs de asis already.. puro yabang eh. gamboa m.reyes lopez, and co should be more offensive minded this season.
0-1 for up hahahahaha
Nice Game NU BULLDOGS… nagpabaya na lang sila bandang hule umabaot sa 26pts. ang lamang nila sa UP galing nila kya nila ang ATENEO ngayon… go go go NATIONAL-U…
0-1 for UP, MARAMI silang turnovers, iba ang pre-season sa ACTUAL game…bilog ang bola..I have been following the Maroons’ game panahon pa nina Bo Perasol, Paul Raymond Du, Alfred Manlulu, Joey Guanio but what I saw yesterday was completely undescrib-able..Padamihan ba ng points for each player or they want a “W”??, just asking..
Wow, what a statement game for NU. Much as I don’t like to judge teams based on their first game of the season, it’s pretty apparent my 6-8 prediction for UP was a bit too optimistic, while 2-12 for NU might be too low. My bad.
Kudos to Coach Manny Dandan and his crew. They thoroughly prepared for this game and it showed.
@Sid, it looks like Manny Dandan was able to scout Aboy Castro and the Maroons very well. For every move that Castro made, Dandan had an effective response. For every play the Maroons tried to execute, they got “owned” by the Bulldogs.
This is lesson to everyone of us kasi napapahiya lang tayo lahat… “Dont judge the book by its cover”
If you have a friend from DLSU, and your team has a game the same day, you could ask him or her to reserve a ticket online
other than that you have to line up on game day or work with insiders
Hello Sid,
Will you or other InboundPass columnists write articles about game analyses on completed games of the UAAP? We’re starved of opinions and analyses. Seems like your last articles are at least 1.5 weeks old prior to the UAAP opening.
How about it!
Two possible scenarios for UP
Worst Case: 0-14 (I doubt it pero baka maka 3 or 4 games man lang)
Best: 6-8 (parang nung 05 or 7-7 nung 04)
Honestly as a fan for 7 years, nakakafrustrate na rin.
For NU, I hope mas gumaling kayo. I like underdog teams (who played well unexpectedly) like you. Nice job from ex-Maroons now NU head Coach Manny Dandan. You adjust well in the times where it matters most :)
@Marvin
na-Karma ang college alma mater ko. No faith in Coach Lipa’s long-term game plan. Binastos pa.
Mabuti pa ang pep squad. Huhuhuhu . . .
Hey Sid,
How about a new article after the first few playing days of the new season when the sked went so tough for the seeded teams. What say you?
Deep Blue
0-14 na ang UP na yan. hindi man lamang matalo ang NU at AdU.
e2 naman ang coach ng NU na si dalandan sobrang yabang kaya naman nila ang UST ibinangko ba naman si singh yun na nga lang ang gumagawa lagi… papalitan na yan next season kala nya napakagaling nyang coach at kaya nyan humabol ng lamang e puro rokie ang players nya eh.., dalandan unghang
It seems like nothing is getting right for the UP Fighting Maroons. They lost two of their supposedly easiest assignments- the NU Bulldogs and the Adamson Falcons- and, just yesterday, were beaten by UAAP powerhouse La Salle. In the coming days, UP will be facing other UAAP powerhouses Ateneo, FEU and UE and capping the First Round with a face-off with UST. The prospects of the Maroons ending the First Round with a dismal 0-7 win-loss record have become more apparent.
What went wrong with the Maroons? Well, individually, the players were really talented but there something wrong with them as a team- they lack chemistry. There is also something completely wrong with UP’s coaching staff, especially with Aboy Castro, as his inexperience as a basketball coach began catching up with him this season, vindicating those who were against his appointment as the Maroons’ head coach in 2008.
I have heard stories of what UP officials (Chancellor Gerry Cao; then Human Kinetics Dean and, now, UP Sports Director Herky Callanta; then UP Sports Director Edwin Barber; etc.) and the Gregorio family did to then UP Head Coach Joe Lipa in 2007. The guy was openly disrepected, “ousted†after the 0-14 finish of the Maroons two UAAP seasons ago. As how some UP alumni would put it, Season 72 might be the time when God would grant Coach Joe Lipa, the current UAAP commissioner, the justice he truly deserved as the Maroons and all UP officials and the Gregorio family would suffer “bad karma†for all the things that they did to Lipa in 2007.
hayaan nyu ..
bulldogs fan
babawi kami..
d kami magiging last naun season.
and next year we will be in the final four..
tnx poh..
Yan ang UP. Nagpapakumbaba sa mahina, at sa magaling gusto manalo. O..hindi na 0-14. Nakaisa na. Buo na ang season naming mga dugong maroon…pero may susunod pa sa palagay ko.
Records and standings…is that the utmost important thing we are looking at here? Coach Aboy has recruited well, made excellent decisions with his personnel, and is on the right track. All you doubters beware, be prepared to eat your words, and probably your hats too!
He has developed relationships with his team at both levels, A and B, and their confidence in the program he is building will start to show results. The players that count believe in him, and if given the chance, albeit what happens this season, the reward will be rich for him and all U.P. supporters for years to come.
U.P. officials and rooters, do not make the mistake of taking what Coach Aboy has done for granted, and will continue to do if given the chance.
8-6, 6-8, 14-0….forget it! The man builds character, and knows how to lead. God bless coach Aboy Castro this season, and for many to come.
@LJA Fixed the font! Thanks for noticing.
Again, congratulations to the Maroons for winning it over the Blue Eagles last Sunday. Good luck to them later today when they face another mighty UAAP team, the Tamaraws.
I happened to be going around certain websites when I passed on several online forums that discuss UAAP basketball. I could not help but notice the on-going word war of some sort between several fans regarding the Maroons so, if Mr. Ventura will give me the liberty to raise the issue here, please allow me to do so.
Where is UP’s basketball program really heading? It seems to me that based on the heated exchanges amongst UP fans on various websites, there are two factions within Diliman: Those who seem to believe on Aboy Castro’s program and those who believe that UP will not see the light in UAAP basketball all because of the program’s shortcomings. When will the UP people ever unite on this? The politics on UP sports is reflected on how deeply divided the Iskolars ng Bayan are on the topic of UP basketball- there are those who are for the current status quo and those who keep on challenging the status quo all because they do not think that the prevailing arrangement in Diliman lacked “a winning attitude” and would never see the light in UAAP anytime soon.
I will not dig deeper on the details of those heated exchanges because it would take me a significant amount of time to do. I would just ask UP people here in inboundpass one question: Do all of you get the concept behind a successful college basketball program correctly?
Politics and sports should never, ever mix. A successful basketball program is a community effort and should not be merely dictated by a small group of people who exercise influence within a that community. If UP people would continue to go against each other as far as their basketball program is concerned, nothing will happen. If UP’s basketball program will be influenced or under a certain group of people (according to some UP people that I talked to, the Gregorio family and some other people in Diliman wield so much influence on the basketball program in Diliman other UP alumni are hesistant to help and support the team all because they wanted to stay away from the black hole that is politics within UP), then nothing will happen to the Maroons.
Also, is Aboy Castro really the man for the job? While I want to congratulate him for winning over Norman Black last weekend, that would still not cover the fact that he is inexperienced and he could not really oversee the program with much efficiency as compared to those with real experience in handling a big program like that of a UAAP team. The true test of the Maroons will come today when Aboy faces-off with his old employers in Morayta and try to cut the five-year losing streak of UP against FEU. Given Aboy’s inexperience in the head coaching job and the alleged nature of his appointment to the position, I should not blame some UP people to still think that someone more capable, although not necessarily a UP person, should have handled Diliman’s fledgling basketball program instead of the inexperienced Aboy Castro.