Don Quixote and the Four Horsemen
Wednesday, 9 September 2009 4,030 Views / 160 Comments
LITERARY critics point out that Don Quixote is one of the most brilliant pieces ever written. The tale’s title character, enamored by tales of chivalry, embarks on adventures tailor made for a knight in shining armor. In reality, however, Don Quixote was actually battling figments of his imagination in the form of windmills.
Similarly, hoops pundits and fans alike agree that University of Sto. Tomas has, post-2006, wilted in the most crucial stretches. From last year’s snafu against De La Salle University, which saw coach Pido Jarencio call a timeout with 5.5 seconds left right before a last Green Archer [team without any more timeouts] possession that eventually produced a game-winning Maui Villanueva tip-in, to consecutive losses to both La Salle and Adamson with the last Final Four berth on the line, the Growling Tigers have melted more times than a prom queen on junior/senior night.
What do both the fictional character and the squad have in common? Most often than not, they both end up battling themselves. After UST’s last game of Season 71 – a 71-63 victory over host University of the Philippines – Jarencio vented his frustration on almost everything after his unit’s 6-8 season, everything except his own team. He took exception to the calls that didn’t go his way throughout the year, and remarked that [with UP vice-chancellor Tessa Jazmines in his sights], “UP lang ang matino this season [as hosts]†before hitting the door of the Araneta Coliseum press room and leaving for his team’s locker room.
On the court, everything seems to point to the Tigers’ implosions against the league’s top teams. Pending the result of their crucial tiff with UE tomorrow [Sept. 10], they are a mediocre 1-6 against the league’s top three teams and DLSU combined, losing by an average of 12.3 points. Last season, they were 0-8 against the Final Four squads, and 6-0 versus the bottom three.
The tantrums and blowouts at the hands of the big boys show that UST isn’t facing up to their real foes: themselves. Instead of taking aim at the bigger price, this turn of events merely speaks volumes of how efficiently they’ve become at shooting themselves on the foot.
This will remain an issue whether or not UST makes the semis this time around. Championship-caliber teams don’t break down when the going gets tough. If ever such squads break something, it’s the opposing five. When push comes to shove, it’s the team that wins or loses games, not the referees, nor the quality of the opposition. Thinking otherwise will leave the country’s second-oldest learning institution waging war with themselves and those make-believe enemies.
To most, Don Quixote is a literary gem. To the Christian world, the Holy Bible is, among others, God’s Word. Chapter 6 of its last book, Revelation, depicts the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, each representing conquest, war, famine and death. The riders sow terror and usher in an era of chaos and devastation that is part and parcel of the world’s end.
NCAA Season 85 also has its own version of the Four Horsemen and a crumbling world. With still a little less than a month before the end of the elimination round, its Final Four cast is virtually sealed, with San Sebastian still undefeated, San Beda College romping away and Jose Rizal University and Colegio de San Juan de Letran not far behind. Among the last six, only Arellano University, which is currently on a three-game losing skid, has a mathematical shot at the semifinals.
While Arellano and company have made for pure viewing pleasure and a newfound excitement, the tournament’s big four has come, seen and conquered. The result? A larger-than-life, final stretch that will see all four teams play each other beginning this Friday, September 11, when JRU and Letran renew hostilities that date back to the 2007 NCAA Final Four, 1999 “Hopia Championship†and all else should you be older than me.
The Stags, in the Final Four for the first time since 2005 [Season 81], look as if they’re on a serious mission. They lead the league in opponents’ points per game [67.1], and are second in field goal percentage [46.4], field goal defense [36.6 percent] and rebounding [49.8 a game]. Plus, they have a guy named Jimbo Aquino in their lineup. San Beda, which has so far lost only to San Sebastian, has won 11 of its 13 games by double-digits. Oh, and the Red Lions top all the aforementioned categories that the Stags play runner-up in.
JRU and Letran, meanwhile, have their marquee players playing even better. John Wilson, who already erupted for 48 points against CSB a few games back, is averaging 20.3 points a game – on 49 percent shooting, an astounding figure for a guard who hoists up a ton of triples. The Knights’ Rey Guevarra, meanwhile, is norming 21 points a game in the second round of eliminations – on a torrid 64 percent shooting clip.
San Beda has been the conqueror of all for three years now. Letran has been waging war the past six years, winning the championship twice and entering the playoffs in all those six years, while JRU’s 37-year title drought is more than a famine and San Sebastian has risen from the dead.
The next few weeks will determine if the horsemen do swap horses.
(20 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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1st
no more roar for four!!!
BRAVO BASTE!
Lions Roar loudest
at the Final Four going for
the Fourth Straight Championship.
GO SAN BEDA FIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!
baste 2003 last final four appearance??? mali yata yung facts medyo humaba. hehehe! nung 2005 # 4 sila behind letran, pcu and mit. 2006 nag-umpisa drought ng baste while 2003 is their last final appearance.
SBC = Sam (Ekwe) Beda College.
pagtanda natin, maaalala ng mga tao, nagchampion ang beda dahil sa banyaga
pagtanda mo, maiisip mo na walang kinalaman ang mga banyaga sa kakapusan sa kakayahan ng iyong koponan.
I’ve always thought UST was the oldest learning institution in the Philippines. Christian, kindly enlighten us on which school is currently the oldest. Just curious. Thanks.
The University of San Carlos (USC) in Cebu City is considered as the oldest school in the country and in Asia. Formerly known as the Colegio de San Ildefonso, it was founded by the Spanish Jesuits on August 1, 1595. This makes the Cebu-based university older than the University of Santo Tomas (1611) in Manila and Harvard University (1636) in the United States.
The University of Santo Tomas, however, contests this title. Formerly known as the Colegio de Nuestra Señora del Rosario, UST was the first school, which got a university status in 1645. USC became a university in 1948. UST also claimed that the original USC was closed in 1769 as a result of the expulsion of the Jesuits. It reopened in 1783 under a new name and ownership. But the USC officials stick to their claim. The university observed its 400th foundation day on August 21, 1995.
http://pinoyrecords.blogspot.com/2007/09/oldest-school-in-philippines.html
Thanks for the clarification go. There are always points of contention between schools as shown in history and the comments on inbound pass. Cheers!
Hail to the Chiefs!!!
Nice article, Mr. Soler.
Pido Resign.
Alfrancis Chua, you know what to do.
@ hh
-> so bitter…you know, bitterness kills. it brings total despair into a person’s head causing him to commit suicide. be careful….
kala kasi ng iba basta may import ka sa team automatic champions na…kita naman sa JRU, alang ginawa yung import kundi yakapin si escobal sa finals kaya indi naging champion. its that simple simpletons!
Question of the day: WHO WILL CHOKE?
Pagnananalo ung school tpos may import sasabihing madaya pero pag may import tpos laging talo ung school walang pakielam…haaay naku rami nyong dahilan! laban na lang! wag bitter mas lalo kayong matatalo nyan! ANIMO SAN BEDA!
Who blocked Su Daniel a while ago?
@mr. Soler
another great piece article for the comeback of Mr. Chris Soler, hats off to you Sir!
Seems like Coach Pido’s ‘pang barangay liga’ tactics aren’t effective anymore; from sidelining his players during pre-season tournaments to acting as Coach Aric’s second coming when he howls his players (esp. Mirza, i pity him so much), these shows that UST needs to get more scientific in its basketball program and not just rely on the infamous 3 P’s of Coach Pido.
Start with the recruitment program. Tama na ang palakasan sa mga pari at kung sino-sinong matataas ang posisyon sa UST. I think what FEU did 3 years ago is something worth emulating. Revamp the present line-up, no sacred cows. Give everybody an equal chance to be in team A. Get a pool of coaches that will create the right mix of scientific prowess, physical/mental conditioning and huge motivators.
It may take time for the rewards to be reaped but I think a strong and consistent program in the long run is what’s needed by UST.
I graduated from UST and I still see a lot of UST fans that are still so entangled with the Cinderella story of 2006, some even connects with what’s happening to UST in 2009 is very similar to the fate of the 2006 UST team (concluding that the same ending will happen). Sorry, but alam na ng ibang teams ang bluff ni Coach Pido. Guys, let’s all wake up and take a sharp look with what’s in store for us tomorrow; a possible knockout game (pa) with La Salle. Huwag naman nating hayaan na palagi nalang nating pahihirapan ang mga sarili natin para makapasok sa Final Four.
Good luck to UST tomorrow and I hope that the more deserving team will enter the Final Four.
I think that a coach with a “Temperamental” approach will bring back the UST team that won 4 straight championships.
Of course, they may also need a Big Man, like Dennis Espino, Richard Yee, and of course, Jervy Cruz.
cguro nga..kya nga am still not decided if L go tomorrow at araneta or just watch na lng on tv..haay
@More Money
it’s salanga i think.
Man,this is SO true
On Pido:
Remember when Pat Riley acted like that on the sidelines in L.A?
Pido needs to mature as a coach – lumaki ulo niya because of ’06
On the NCF4 being set na agad:
Well,Baste lang talaga ang surprise – them and Mapua sucking so horribly
now this is how to write an article. not like tony atayde’s high school reflection papers/articles. what a moron.
@ana
wow ana you’re so slang you know,,like ‘am still not decided” or “L Go”.
Maybe ah ken join you to A-ra-ney-ta instead of wa-chen tv..
@ whamos
I totally agree with you. you are so correct. a whole revamp. and tama na ang palakasan sa mga pari. super
nagagamit ang palakasan e.
@Chris,
Nice article. I liked your metaphor for the likely cast of season 85′s Final Four, comparing them to the Four Horsemen of the apocalypse. It was a very refreshing read.
Can’t say much about the biblical reference for what’s going on in the NCAA (I won’t lie; I haven’t followed it ever since a couple of schools’ defections), but the analogy to what has been happening to UST is quite apropos. It sure was ‘chivalrous’, albeit unwittingly, in that game against AdU (by the way, from which the word quixotic was coined)
question lang bakit hopia asar sa jru?
Pati ba naman ikaw Mr. Soler nakiki-HOPIA na din? Badtrip!
bakit ba hopia rizalista? may kinalaman ba un sa championship nyu nung year na binanggit nya?
OO NGA BAKIT HOPIA RIZALISTA?
@redcard
According to legend, the present day campus of JRU used to be a big hopia factory. The factory was burned during the war, however there was a large stock of unexploded bombs found there.
The school bought the factory, and the “Hopia” tag stuck.
NO MORE ROAR FOR FOUR! BRAVO RIZAL!
@Boy Bungal
ah ok ty
@REDCARD
huy wag ka gaya ng gaya ng name gawa ka sarili mo.
JRU ROAR LOUDEST AT THE FINAL FOUR GOING FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP.
GO RIZAL FIGHT!!
baket madalas magpula ang fans ng baste? red stag ba sila? di ba golden stag sila? oh gusto lang maging parang beda? nagtatanong lang po?
ANG SABI NI SIR CHRISTIAN SOLER 2005 ANG LAST FINAL FOUR APPEARANCE NG BASTE! MAGBASA KA NGANG MABUTI!!
go sudan beda fight, we are the championship!
TAMA KA NAKILALA NGA ANG SAN BEDA SA BANYAGA. PERO KUNG WALA SILANG IMPORT PANIGURADO HANGGANG NGAYO HINDI PA SILA NAG CHAMPION!
baket ba kumukuha ng import ang san beda? di ba nila kayang manalo ng all filipino tulad ng baste? di ba nakakahiya na iyung mga championships nila ay dahil kay ekwe? oh desperado lang talaga sila magchampion? nagtatanong lang po.
KAYA KUMUHA NA NANG BANYAGA ANG BEDA DAHIL KINAKALAWANG NA DAW ANG HULING TROPHY NILA KAGAYA NG UE NILA BAGO SILA MAG CHAMPION WITH EKWE.
Welcome back Kotter … I mean Chris : ) !
PAG TANDA MO MAIISIP MO NA MALAKI ANG KINALAMAN NG BANYAGA KAYA LANG NAKAPAG CHAMPION ANG IYONG KOPONAN.
UST ANG PINAKA MATANDANG UNIVERSITY SA PILIPINAS.
UST IS THE OLDEST UNIVERSITY IN UAAP.
HAIL TO THE BOMBERS!
Nice piece Christian! I hope Coach Pido reads this article. Akala ko oldest university ang USTe sa Pinas.
Anyway, goodluck s USTe mmy.
More Christian! More write ups!
GO USTe! GO USTe! GO USTe! GO! GO! GO! GO!
SINONG BITTER? HINDI BA TOTOO NAMAN HIRAP ANG BEDA MAKAPASOK MAN LANG SA FINAL FOUR NUNG WALANG IMPORT.
150 years of excellence > 400 years of existence
TANGGA NA LANG ANG USTE PAG NAGPABAYA PA SILA. LALU NA NASA KANILA ANG PRESSURE BECAUSE UE MUCH EAGER TO WIN PARA MAKAGANTI SA KANILA.