Humblebola

Hey Toby,

Man, how do I even begin to talk about the current landscape of the Men’s Basketball Tournament in UAAP Season 89? I guess it would be best to look at the standings first?



The NU Bulldogs and the UP Fighting Maroons have separated (using this term extremely loosely) themselves from the pack by going 5-2. NU’s standout rookie Macmac Alfanta delivered a team-high 14-point performance to stun the FEU Tamaraws yesterday, ultimately winning their round 1 matchup, 69-65.

As for last season’s runner-ups, they found themselves in dire straits against the cellar-dwelling UE Red Warriors on Saturday, October 17, for much of the contest, as UE led by as many as 10 points. But, as we’ve come to know from this version of the Fighting Maroons, their overwhelming talent will somehow emerge and win them the day, which was where former San Beda Red Lion and NCAA Season 99 Finals MVP James Payosing turned in a 16-point performance.

Nos. 3-7 is where it gets interesting. In the main event of Saturday’s matchups at the UST QPav, the UST Growling Tigers and Ateneo Blue Eagles duked it out. It seemed as if it would be a grit-and-grind matchup all the way to the final buzzer since no one could pull away convincingly. Then the third quarter happened, where UST made 11/21 field goal attempts (5-of-11 from deep), while Ateneo only made one in 14 tries. That 20-0 run pretty much ended the Blue Eagles’ hopes of a winning record to close out the first round, as UST won, 80-68.

Meanwhile, Adamson continued to prove that preseason predictions are as finnicky as they come, when they dueled the DLSU Green Archers in yesterday’s marquee matchup. Let’s address the elephant in the room: that damned shot clock. Whenever it seemed as if either side was going to start building significant momentum, the 24-second shot clock would just decide that its job was done for the day and not count down. So much officials’ stoppage just to sort out the clock wore down both sides, with fans audibly voicing their frustration at the situation. No idea what happened there, but it’s got to be fixed sooner rather than later.

Anywho, back to the game. DLSU (hugely because of the shot clock sitch) played uncharacteristically undisciplined defense, as Adamson kept drawing fouls that were in the act of shooting. They did make a comeback (as the reigning kings of the UAAP were expected to do) and tied the game up. That was until Matty Erolon decided to break the 58-all deadlock with 30 seconds to spare with a straight-away devil-may-care three (which was Adamson’s lone three-point make in the fourth). Henry Agunnane made a nice layup, but Manu Anabo’s two made free throws practically sealed the game, giving Adamson a 63-60 victory and a 4-3 record — tied with UST and FEU.

If you’re seeing how the entire tournament is shaping up to be as I am, it feels like a time bomb that’s waiting to explode. Like, sure, the race for the Final Four is extremely tight now, and all six teams (sorry again, UE) have a shot at earning a twice-to-beat advantage.

However, I have a feeling that this will be the first time in the Final Four era that a twice-to-beat team’s record will be at 9-5. Trust me, I did the research, and I went all the way back to Season 56 (AB History degree doing its work) to see if there had ever been a time when 9-5 was the best record in the league.

It’s never happened before.

If we apply UAAP math (thanks to the klasmeyt Flever Dignadice for the term) to the situation, there’s all reason to believe that any one of them ends up in either the 1 or 2 spot. Season 89 feels like, for the first time in a very long time, I have no idea who will make it to the Final Four.

You and I both know how long we (and many other hoop fans) have been hoping for parity in the UAAP, and now we finally get it. I am hoping and will always be supporting the Blue Eagles (malamang, that’s my alma mater) in their campaign to make it back in the Final Four. But unlike previous seasons, I won’t feel so bad if they don’t make it. The field is as level as it has ever been. You can make so many permutations of the good ol’ “X beat Y, Y beat A, A beat B. While X never beat B in round one, B lost to Y. By transitive property of UAAP math, X holds a win over B.”

It’s stupid, it’s light-hearted, none of it should make sense — and yet in the microcosm of the UAAP, it does. It’s everything that the UAAP stands for as a whole. Speaking as a 16-year watcher of the UAAP, fan of college hoops, and undying supporter of showing school spirit, I wouldn’t change it for the world.

Round 2 begins on Wednesday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. For travel reasons, I obviously won’t be there, but the games are at the Blue Eagle Gym this weekend.

See you (and the entire UAAP community) then.

Mister-I-Only-Make-Threes-When-It’s-For-The-Game-In-Papawis-Setups,

Karl