THREE teams that supposedly were in a rebuilding mode – Ateneo de Manila University, National University and Far Eastern University – are actually dominating Season 77 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball competitions.
Ateneo completed its first-round schedule with a league-leading 6-1 record, having lost just to National University (64-60) last July 26. Many preseason prognosticators have belittled the Blue Eagles’ Final Four chances this season, let alone a Finals appearance, after losing several key players to graduation, including regulars Ryan Buenafe and Juami Tiongson and big men Frank Golla and JP Erram.
Coming of a non-Final Four finish following a five-year title streak, the Blue Battalion’s fortunes this year rest mainly on the shoulders of fourth-year hotshot Kiefer Ravena and veteran playmaker Nico Elorde, and because its roster is dominated by rookies who, no matter how celebrated some of them were at the high school level, lack the experience to duke it out with battle-scarred athletes from other schools.
But the 6-foot Ravena has taken the UAAP by storm, averaging a league-best and career-high 23 points an outing, including a tournament-best 38 points in a come-from-behind 93-91 overtime victory over the University of the East last August 10 to pin the Red Warriors (2-4) with their fourth consecutive defeat, including a two-point for a third time, following a 2-0 start.
NU was expected to go through rough times with the departure of its three-year meal ticket Bobby Ray Parks, a two-time UAAP Most Valuable Player awardee (2011 and 2012) who opted to bypass his final year of varsity eligibility to try his luck in the United States.
To the surprise of many, the transition period has been far from unsettling. The Bulldogs share second place with reigning UAAP titlist De La Salle University at 5-2. Only the FEU Tamaraws and the DLSU Green Archers have gotten the best of them.
To compensate for the scoring void left by Parks’ departure, the team has banked on its gang-type rebounding and strong defensive effort. Beanpole Jeth Troy Rosario, a 6-foot-7 power forward from Cagayan who is in his final season, is pacing NU in point production at 11.3 ppg along with 8.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists every time out. Joshua Angelo (Gelo) Alonino, the 6-foot, four-year floor general, is contributing 11.0 scores, 4.4 boards, 1.7 assists and 1.43 steals per contest.
Team skipper Glenn Khobuntin is playing the best ball of his collegiate tenure and owns norms of 8.4 points, 8.0 reebies and 2.1 dimes an outing.
And then there’s the play of rookie import Alfred Dong Aroga, the anchor of NU’s defense and rebounding efficiency.
Arugain lang ng mabuti si Aroga and he’ll go places.
At this early stage, the 6-foot-7 Roman Catholic from Cameroon, who was ineligible to play a year ago due to residency-related issues, is averaging 10.4 points, 9.7 rebounds and a tournament-best 2.29 blocked shots a game.
Defense is the passport to NU’s success so far as three men, including Rosario and Aroga’s co-Cameroonian backup Henri Joel Betayene, rank among the top 10 in blocks.
Far Eastern University also appeared to be in transition with the loss of its top two scorers from last season, 2013 UAAP MVP Terrence Romeo and R.R. Garcia, who both recently completed their professional debut in the Philippine Basketball Association.
But the Tamaraws still can count on foxy guard Chris Tolomia and veteran frontliners Mark Belo, Carl Cruz and import Anthony Hargrove. Belo, whose improvement can be traced to his participation with the gold medal-winning Philippine national team to last year’s Southeast Asian Games, is contributing 17.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 2.5 feeds in six appearances.
Tolomia, the third man in Tams’ old backcourt triangle that also featured Romeo and Garcia, is hitting at a 15.5-point clip along with a team-high 3.7 doleouts and 3.7 reebies. Cruz is tallying 8.8 scores and 5.0 rebounds and Hargrove owns averages of 8.7 points and 7.5 rebounds.
At 4-2, FEU is on track to join La Salle and NU at second place with a victory over winless Adamson University (0-6) on Wednesday, August 13, in a game that was postponed last July 16 due to poor weather conditions.
(UE and the 3-3 University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers will face each other that same day.) For God’s sake, the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons finally broke a three-season, 27-game losing streak with a 77-64 decision over the Soaring (?) Falcons last August 9 to complete its first-round sked at 1-6.