Humblebola

By: Karl Batungbacal

UAAP Season 87 has begun with all the teams beginning to put their cards on the table. The hands have been dealt, all bets are off, now it’s time for first impressions and give our assessments based on these categories:

What’s obvious?

Jared Bahay is as good as advertised, given how he gave the Blue Eagles a decent shot at making a comeback, thanks to his playmaking and timely shots. How Bahay performs the rest of the way will correlate significantly with Ateneo’s success this season. 

Thanks to their surprising scrappiness on defense, the Blue Eagles had a decent shot at getting the opening-day upset over the UP Fighting Maroons. But that shot faded away the more the Blue Eagles missed shots (especially at the free throw line).

What’s the expectation?

The Ateneo Blue Eagles entered Season 87 with a tumultuous offseason due to the losses of Mason Amos, Kai Ballungay, Jared Brown, Gab Gomez, and Raffy Celis.

However, it is not all doom and gloom for the 12-time UAAP champions.

Another name to watch is Waki Espina, who showed no fear in attacking the rim and had enough confidence to take threes in rhythm. The DLSZ standout is bound to improve as the season continues, with him taking cues from the games of co-captains Sean Quitevis and Chris Koon.

Meanwhile, Joshua Lazaro and Ian Espinosa are poised to fill the roles of Ballungay and Brown, respectively, should their performances on opening day against the Fighting Maroons hold up the rest of the way.

The best-case scenario:

Despite facing their tallest mountain in the Tab Baldwin era, the Loyola Heights squad is a sleeping monster that could mess around and eventually end up in the Final Four.

Projection:

If new additions Victor Balogun, Femi Edu, and Kristian Porter find their groove quickly, the Blue Eagles could make a late-season charge and turn their fates around just like what they did in Season 79.