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THE NU BULLDOGS ARE ABOUT TO BECOME A HOUSEHOLD NAME
BY KYLE REINER PINEDA
Excuse me, haven’t you heard? The National University Bulldogs are among the top dogs now.
Hardwork and belief are two traits Coach Jeff Napa has always instilled onto his players since he took over the program in 2020. The National University basketball program has been one of the best at finding diamonds in the rough around the country and polishing local talent to be able to compete consistently in the UAAP.
The Bulldogs were one quarter away from causing a major upset to the UP Fighting Maroons in Season 85 and were top of the standings at one point last season. Many will pass off last season as a fluke but their consistent core of players and system have earned them a reputation for being one of the tougher teams to play against in the league. Breakout stars Kean Baclaan, Steve Nash Enriquez, Patrick Yu, and Jake Figueroa return to the fray in leading this long yet versatile roster.
This team plays as a unit with Jeff Napa instilling defense and tenacity at the root of his philosophy. Teams like NU do not have much leeway in recruiting the most talented players but they certainly make up for it by being one of the most cohesive units in the UAAP. Ten players scored in their opening win over the Ateneo Blue Eagles in convincing fashion.
“We did not look at the score. Ateneo ba yan or ibang school, we’ll just play our game and work hard then the results will follow.”- Coach Jeff Napa after their 77-64 win over Ateneo
The Jeff Napa system has been blossoming for a while now and the hype train will only get more crowded as the wins start to rack up. His coaching staff has a wide pool of basketball talent around the country with his roster composed of players from Muntinlupa, Pampanga, Cebu, and more. The team has also experimented with using the long-ball more often and using the drive-and-kick game depending on the opponent. These Bulldogs are not scared to press full-court if needed and pull out the zone when down to surprise opponents.
Many peg the National University Bulldogs to be a sleeper candidate for the Final Four. Give them a few more games into the UAAP Season 86 and they will surely make noise and announce their return to the postseason again.
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With or Without Him
The Adamson Soaring Falcons will need to find ways to win games with or without their superstar guard Jerom Lastimosa. This much has become evident even before the start of UAAP Season 86 as the arguably best point guard in the UAAP is set to miss a significant portion of the season due to a knee injury.
A running theme for the Falcons since Season 84 has been the question of what life after Jerom will be like for them. We got glimpses of this during their preseason tournaments wherein they played without him while he was busy donning the Gilas Pilipinas jersey. While their preseason stints did not yield as many trophies as they would have wanted, their consistent placing among the top teams is reason to be optimistic about their foundations of their system.
A major change will be to their center position with the abrupt departure of big man Lenda Douanga. Left to man the paint will be Moudiaga Ojarikre whose timetable for joining the team has been drastically accelerated. Initially set to join the lineup in Season 87, Ojarikre has had only months to pick up where Lenda left off and serve as the team’s primary rim protector. While he has a tall task ahead of him, his teammates believe that he will find his footing soon as they describe him as a fast learner with an athletic playstyle.
Aside from Lenda, the Falcons have also lost several key players in Aaron Flowers and AP Manlapaz who have opted not to return to the team. This opens the door for their new recruits to fill in their shoes and make an impact. NCAA juniors champion Emman Anabo is set to bring his championship pedigree to the team while Jhon Calisay will finally get to suit up in the 5×5 scene after honing his skills and helping the 3×3 team take home the silver in Season 85.
While Lastimosa is away the Falcons will look to their veterans to provide on court leadership. Expect Cedrick Manzano, Joshua Yerro and Vince Magbuhos to take turns leading the charge in his absence. These players have shown flashes of brilliance in seasons past and are familiar with handling the pressure of carrying the team.
The Soaring Falcons have built a system that allows them to play at a consistent level, however, the lingering question is if they’ll be able to elevate their game enough in order to compete against the teams that have re-tooled and reloaded during the offseason. Patience is key for the Falcons and this season will determine if their patience pays off.
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THIS IS THE UP FIGHTING MAROON’S REVENGE SEASON UNDER CANSINO’S LEADERSHIP
BY MARCUS ASINAS
The UP Fighting Maroons head into the season as a championship favorite once again. Can they live up to the hype coming of being the biggest winners of the offseason?
Last UAAP Season 85, the UP Fighting Maroons started the season as the defending champs, showed their muscle the elimination round and secured a twice-to-beat advantage during the Final Four. However, the season ended with a painful championship loss to the Ateneo Blue Eagles. But the pain did not stop there. The UP community received even more painful news as two key players; Carl Tamayo and James Spencer decided to forgo their remaining playing years to play overseas. And then key members of the UAAP season 84 championship team, Calimag, Lina, and Eusebio transferred to different universities and colleges.
Season 86 is redemption season for the Fighting Maroons, and the first order of business is to bring back the championship trophy to the other side of Katipunan. Filling in the void left by Carl Tamayo and Zav Lucero was a challenging task, but the UP front office did not disappoint, pulling in high-caliber recruits from different schools within the Philippines and other parts of the world. All eyes will definitely be on LeBron Lopez given his unexpected turnaround from the Ateneo bonfire to the Maroon side of Katipunan. Lopez was Tamayo’s sweet goodbye to his beloved university as he became instrumental in recruiting the 6’6 athletic guard. UP tapped the service of LSGH’s twin tower, Seven Gagate and Luis Pablo to add some height and offensive arsenal.
As a backup for the reigning MVP Malick Diouf, Coach Gold tapped the 6’11 Fil-Am Sean Alter of Volcano Vista High School in New Mexico. Another Fil-Am player joined the squad, Chicco Briones Jr., a 6’6 versatile guard. Two National University standouts will finally play for the maroon jersey, Janjan Felicilda and Reyland Torres from Coach Goldwin’s old stomping ground. Other notable new firepowers on the block are Mark Belmonte and LA Andres.
Finally, after a year of recovering from an ACL injury, Captain CJ Cansino is ready to avenge the Fighting Maroons. The ever-reliable playmaker JD Cagulangan will serve as a vocal leader who will look to empower the rookies as the senior of the team. Fans can still remember Harold Alarcon’s Hail Mary shot during the last few seconds of the final game and will certainly need him this season. UP was at the cusp of defending their championship in game 3 of the finals but fell short. With the addition of talented rookies and experienced seniors, will there be another championship bonfire in Sunken Garden at the end of the season?
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For Love Of The Game, Are We FIBA World Cup Ready?
By: Karl Batumbacal
The biggest stage in all of basketball is heading our way, on August 25 when the 2023 FIBA World Cup comes to Philippine soil. It will feature the best of the best in basketball from all around the world, all laying it out on the hardcourt to determine who will earn the right to call themselves World Champions of basketball.
The opening ceremonies are set to take place in Philippine Arena, Bulacan while other games are slated to be played at the Araneta Coliseum and the SM Mall of Asia Arena – the latter being the venue for the quarterfinals and beyond.
For the most part, talk about being World Cup ready has been centered around whether Gilas Pilipinas has had enough preparations to at the very least compete with the top teams around the world.
But the past few days, there has been a nagging thought going through my head about whether we– the Philippines, the Filipino people, the organizers of this event, are prepared to do our duties as hosts and ensure that the tournament goes smoothly.
Are we really ready?
For my day job, I wrote about deputy event director Erika Dy promising improvements to Araneta’s readiness for the World Cup with an emphasis on the following: the media’s access to the scrum area from the tribune, the queueing system to enter the world-famous arena and to make foot traffic flow better.
Admittedly, there is one thing I failed to highlight in that piece: the overall logistics issue.
See, as someone who has come to understand the hassle of commuting as I grew older, the thought of having to leave the house with at least a three-hour lead was such an utter BS.
Grab and other transportation-hailing apps were available during my college years and while it was convenient, the high fares nuked my wallet (and my first-ever savings account for that matter).
I knew then, and until now, that using public transportation in Metro Manila is hell.
The transportation system being the mess that it is, one can’t help but wonder, “What more when the quadrennial basketball tournament comes?”
When the World Cup starts, the Philippine Arena will kick off the festivities with the opening ceremonies. The Araneta Coliseum will be the battle ground for the group stage, while Mall of Asia Arena will see the new kings of basketball crowned. All of these battlegrounds have their share of transportation accessibility issues.
“What we’re really looking at now for that arena is the transportation time from [a hotel in Taguig City] to the Philippine Arena. FIBA requires that it should be 30 minutes maximum of 15-minute extension, so we have to get the players there within 45 minutes,” Dy said.
“We did some test runs yesterday and unfortunately, we couldn’t get them there on time, the teams on the buses. We’re at 52 minutes currently, 51 at best.”
Of course. Players and team personnel need to be at the venue, regardless of where the game is being played, with ample amount of time. Offloading equipment, getting settled in the locker rooms, speaking to the media, warming up. All of these things take time.
If any significant delay comes to pass, all of those things will derail the game schedule – an outcome no sane-minded person would wish upon any organizer.
But how is that going to happen when traveling, regardless if it’s by car or by commuting, is such a hassle? Add to this the thousands of fans who will also be driving to the venues, and you have a recipe for heavy traffic flow headed in the direction of the game venues.
“There are a lot of bottlenecks we have to improve on. We used the bus lane and we did have police escorts so we’re hoping to shave 10 more minutes,” Dy would later add.
Outside of organizers suddenly announcing that they have magically solved the transport issue without obstructing the rest of the public’s daily lives, or teleportation for that matter.
This whole situation raises another question, albeit an important one: how will it reflect on the Philippines if the organizers are unable to address the transportations issues that may affect the FIBA World Cup?
Will we see the blame landing solely on the local organizing committee for failing to get things in order? Will FIBA regret awarding hosting duties to the Philippines, especially when Argentina and Uruguay’s joint bid was still on the table? Will local officials realize that the lack of accessible, efficient and reliable public transportation is a serious roadblock to progress not only in daily life but to the image of the Philippines in the world community?
Who knows? Maybe all of the above, maybe none.
But.
I must ask again.
Are we ready to host the 2023 FIBA World Cup?
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The Rewind: The Stratagem of Three Straight Timeouts
At the start of the historic game 7 between the Alaska Aces and the San Miguel Beermen, Aces Coach Alex Compton did something that had their opponent and the Philippine basketball world baffled.
As soon as they got possession of the ball following the tip-off, they called three full timeouts, one after another without any time going off.
Even Coach Leo Austria of the Beermen was left dumbfounded as his players were forced to do nothing while the Aces were busy warming up along the sidelines. This meant that the Aces would have to play without timeouts throughout the first three quarters, something no basketball fan would consider to be a boon for their team.
But wait, perhaps Coach Alex was simply applying something he learned outside of basketball.
NBA Champion Coach Larry Brown attributed his success to the study of the Art of War. The Art of War was an ancient manuscript often attributed to Sun Tzu of China in which he details the art of engagement and how turn the tide of battle onto your favor.
Perhaps Coach Alex Compton was also a student of the Art of War. Perhaps not. But when we put it in this context, placing his team in such a dire situation to begin the game made sense.
Losing three straight games while being on the brink of ending up on the wrong end of history, it’s likely that Coach Alex Compton saw only one way to beat the team that had the Behemoth that was June Mar Fajardo—Run them dry and gas them out early.
But to do that meant that his players would need energy and inspiration beyond measure. This is where the art of war kicks in. Coach Alex Compton wanted to push his players into desperation.
Sun Tzu writes: The art of war recognizes nine varieties of ground: (1) Dispersive ground; (2) facile ground; (3) contentious ground; (4) open ground; (5) ground of intersecting highways; (6) serious ground; (7) difficult ground; (8) hemmed-in ground; (9) desperate ground.
A PBA game can easily be described as open ground. Neither team is playing on their own court, both teams have the same amount of resources and both teams have the exact same goals and court to play on.
The problem with playing on open court is that the way to play it is to take it like a chess match. Unfortunately for Alaska, while the board might be even, San Miguel had two “queens” in June Mar Fajardo, tipping the odds in San Miguel’s favor.
To regain some of that lost advantage, Compton played to his players’ strength which was passion. Alaska was one of the most passion-driven teams in the PBA at the time. When they weren’t out-classing opponents, their drive to win fueled some of the most amazing come-backs we’ve seen in the league.
But how do you create this frenzy of inspiration that would drive up their emotions?
Sun Tzu writes: On hemmed-in ground, I would block any way of retreat. On desperate ground, I would proclaim to my soldiers the hopelessness of saving their lives.
What was once open ground has turned into hemmed-in ground wherein they are not only forced to fight, but forced to fight against a force that out-strengths them. Normally, the idea here is to use strategy, go slow and hang on fight with caution. But in Game 7, there is little room for caution.
By burning three timeouts early, Coach Alex not only blocked any way of retreat, but had his players drink the “Kool-aid” in what he probably sold to them as their last valiant stand a la Leonidas and his 300 Spartans.
But why would he turn poor ground into worse?
Sun Tzu wrote: Soldiers when in desperate straits lose the sense of fear. If there is no place of refuge, they will stand firm. If they are in hostile country, they will show a stubborn front. If there is no help for it, they will fight hard.
There’s a saying that desperate times call for desperate measures, and that one must never push a man to the point of desperation because that is when he will be capable of the unthinkable. The same applies here. By taking away their timeouts, they know that if they mess up or if they start digging a hole for themselves, nobody, not even their coach will be able to come and rescue them. This triggers the “fight or flight” instinct in all of them, forcing them to play harder than they have ever played their entire lives.
Unfortunately for Coach Alex and the Alaska Aces, the initial push of inspiration simply wasn’t enough. Not to mention that the San Miguel Beermen were also on that same desperate ground, their backs to the wall with no escape in a 0-3 hole. Against a team that seemed unsolvable, could you really blame Coach Alex for trying?
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