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The UP Fighting Maroons can’t let up with the emerging prospect of back-to-back titles
By Gio Gloria
The UP Fighting Maroons are by and large, the best team in the UAAP this season. The Fighting Maroons have thus far absorbed the best punches of their league peers from a talent and schematic standpoint and yet still sit at the top of the UAAP Season 85 standings at 10-1.
UP’s championship run in Season 84 was a product of years of struggles and small wins along the way. Naturally stability in terms of team management has helped make them an appealing destination for prospects, but the biggest element to success has perhaps been the addition of head coach Goldwin Monteverde.
A bevy of recruits is well and good, but what good is it if it doesn’t translate to championships? Monteverde becoming a part of the Fighting Maroons proved to be the last piece needed to secure a title that had eluded UP for more than three decades. Of course, his familiarity with the likes of Carl Tamayo, Terrence Fortea, and Gerry Abadiano to name a few helped make the transition seamless, but how he has helped his players adjust to developing situations on the court is commendable.
Having finally overcome the hump of breaking a title drought, what’s next for the Fighting Maroons?
Obviously it’s a quest for another one, but the circumstances are far more distinct.
For one, UP has fully shed the underdog label not just with the resources they have, but also with their play this season.
Four Fighting Maroons are currently averaging double-figures in terms of points, but as we’ve seen in parts this season, a different player has usually answered the call. This depth was on display in UP’s most recent win against the FEU Tamaraws, where James Spencer scored a career and game-high 19 points to lead UP to its seventh consecutive victory.
If there’s anything the Fighting Maroons have to worry about, it’s themselves. Being more than a game ahead of the next team certainly gives UP some breathing room with three more games left to play. The Fighting Maroons also pretty much locked up a spot in the Final Four and the coveted twice-to-beat advantage is a win (or two) away.
However, these last three games should help UP prepare for those times when the shots aren’t falling and things just seem to be coming together for the opponents. Moreover, the Fighting Maroons turn the ball over a lot and these will matter especially when the games get together. Making the most out of their depth is one way of working on these, especially with Tamayo still recovering from an ankle injury. Even at this stage, experience is the best teacher.
Comfort is the enemy of progress and the UP Fighting Maroons currently find themselves in a snug spot with less than a handful of games left to play in the preliminary round of Season 85. The tactics and the tools are there, but games are won on the court, where it matters the most.
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‘Di bale na lang kaya: the up-and-way down season of the La Salle Green Archers so far
By Eriko C. dela Cruz
At this point, every speculation about what happened to the De La Salle Green Archers has been exhausted by everyone, whether they be an armchair analyst or a professional. To say that they are a disappointment is a massive understatement. Imagine, from proclaiming that the Green Archers are number 1 coming into the season to wishing for just one more win to save face from a season of disgrace.
We will not talk about the nitty-gritty of the basketball played on the floor. To quote a certain UAAP media personality who apparently does not watch the games when he analyzes, Hindi tayo pwedeng umasa tayo puro sa numbers. Numbers numbers numbers, naknampota.
Akala ko naman ay sigurado na ako
The expectations started for La Salle fans once they won the PBA D-League title. That win showed everybody just how STACKED this Green Archer lineup is. Schonny Winston was less of a Keyshawn Meeker and more of a Mike Cortez in the DLSU Fil-Am spectrum. Evan Nelle has the workings to be the best point guard in UAAP season 85. Kevin Quiambao is… Well Kevin Quiambao. From top to bottom, it looks like this La Salle team has all the ingredients to win the UAAP title.
Pinaasa niya lang ako
Coming into this season, Evan Nelle made a very bold statement; that they are the number one team coming into season 85. It was not unfounded bravado, mind you. This team ON PAPER is really strong. Player-for-player, you can argue that they can out-talent any team. So was Evan’s statement bold? You bet your ass it was. Was it wrong? Well, arguably not. You join leagues with the intention of winning. If this is not your goal, maybe don’t join at all. Everybody needs an alpha type on their team. Nelle is that for the Green Archers.
Then the season started. Boy, they showed their might indeed. Their opening day game was a rematch from that hot Final 4 encounter against the UP Fighting Maroons. A lot of people were also speculating that this may be a very early finals preview, considering the firepower of both teams. Evan Nelle hit a potential game-winning three-pointer with six seconds left but committed a turnover that eventually spelled doom for La Salle. But hey, that is a loss everyone would take. For a lot of stretches in that game, they looked like they were the better team.
Then came the game against the Ateneo Blue Eagles. This season is the perfect chance to get their first win against them in five years. After all, a successful season is nothing without a win against their archrivals. Matalo na sa lahat, ‘wag lang sa Ateneo. Tormentors of seasons past like Gian Mamuyac, Tyler Tio, and SJ Belangel are now playing professionally, and the replacements still seem to be very raw. Win that game they did, on the back of a 25-point midrange master class by Schonny Winston, with Nelle pumping 10 points of his own. The Green Archers also flexed their bench, with guys like Raven Cortez and Earl Abadam getting significant burn.
With this, La Salle was in a three-way deadlock with Ateneo and NU for second place. La Salle lost against UE which came out guns blazing, but it was just a bump on the road considering the advantage the Green Archers had in their next three games.
Bitin na bitin ako
Then the fall came harshly. Since the game against Ateneo, they have won just once. The FEU Tamaraws, who were still struggling to find their identity that time, fell prey to the hungry La Salle team. La Salle then proceeded to lose against NU and Adamson, both games they had the lead for most of the game but could not hold on to it. The Adamson game particularly must have been painful since they lost that game twice. Once in regulation when Kevin Quiambao missed the potential game-winning basket, and another in Overtime where Evan Nelle failed to show the composure of training locally and winning the D-League title and sealed the win for the Soaring Falcons. These, however, on top of losing Schonny Winston indefinitely, are just the tip of the iceberg of a shit sandwich they are in now.
Hindi ko na alam kung makakaya ko pa
If DLSU’s losses against Adamson and NU were disappointing, their next two losses against the FEU Tamaraws and the Ateneo Blue Eagles were downright disgusting.
Look, if you are a team as deep as DLSU, losing key personnel should not be a problem given how deep your lineup is. At the very least, it should give you a win no matter how ugly it is. But imagine not using the personnel you have. Raven Cortez was not even fielded in to relieve the hole Mike Philips left in that game. Mark Nonoy was quite ineffective to relieve Evan Nelle. This team went from the most talented roster, to a team that would go as far as Schonny Winston will take them. And their woes would be even more compounded against Ateneo.
The Green Archers actually started the game well against the Blue Eagles. The Green Archers capitalized on the break and timely passes gave them a 6-0 lead. Every shot by the Blue Eagles had a Green Archer counter waiting for it. At the half, it was all tied despite their best player and MVP not being there. All things were under La Salle’s control until the Blue Eagles remembered they had a third-quarter switch and flipped it. The final score read 64-50 in favor of Ateneo. From ANIMO F’IN LA SALLE to the sound of crickets.
They have been very uncharacteristic. Instead of matching Ateneo skill for skill, a lot of energy has been wasted on flopping. Kevin Quiambao is a wunderkind. His court vision and passing make him a special talent even as a rookie. He does not need to act like he suffered a myocardial infarction.
Mike Philips is strong and athletic as all hell (some would even call him a finesse player which is totally wrong but still). He can take Ange Kouame without flopping.
As of now, La Salle is not out of the Final Four picture. But the margin of error for the Green Archers would make every one of their next five games a must-win. They would also need a lot of luck on their side, hoping those in contention for the fourth slot to slip. It’s a tall order for La Salle, and it’s very easy to abandon their plans and say ‘di bale na lang kaya. Knowing the ANIMO that these players have, however, as well as the legions of fans that love and support them, the Green Archers will not quietly go into the night. They just have to start somewhere, and the FIBA break seems like a good time to do that.
Ngunit mahal ko siya.
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Allow Ange Kouame to Reintroduce Himself
Ange Kouame has not looked right all season long. The eye test showed it, but it was at its most evident statistically when the Ateneo Blue Eagles lost to the NU Bulldogs last November 2, 2022.
Two points. Four rebounds. 1/4 shooting. The last time Ange Kouame had a game that poor was during his debut in the UAAP four years ago, in Season 81, when he scored only one point against the Adamson Soaring Falcons. The difference was, unlike the Adamson game — which was attributed to inexperience and championship pressure — his poor performance against the Bulldogs was tied together to the ACL injury he sustained during the offseason.
Just how healthy is Ange?
Arguably the more pressing question in the minds of Ateneans: Just how valuable is an Ange who isn’t 100 percent?
It may sound like unfounded criticism, but it’s valid. Even Coach Tab Baldwin echoed similar thoughts in an episode of the Call to Arms podcast by Nikko Ramos. “He’s somewhere south of MVP-form. How far? He needs binoculars to see it, that’s for sure.”
In case you needed a reminder of what MVP-form Ange was like, a short description:
- Incredibly mobile and active on both ends of the floor
- The league’s premier play finisher
- A gravity-bending force when rolling to the rim
- A game-changing, two-way force
MVP-form Ange Kouame was arguably the greatest foreign student athlete of all time, only rivaled by De La Salle Green Archer legend Ben Mbala. He was THAT good. He was THAT dominant. Season 85 Ange hasn’t been at that level.
Ange’s drop-off in play has been most evident in the offensive end. His raw scoring averages are still within range, but his load on offense has dropped off significantly. A good way of measuring this is by using the Offensive Load statistic of Ben Taylor. Long story short, the stat gives us an idea of how much a player carries the offense of a team. Ange’s number has dropped by quite a lot compared to previous years.
Ange Kouame Offensive Load Ange Season Offensive Load Season 81 34.2 Season 82 34.9 Season 84 31.7 Season 85 27.1 Stats courtesy of Stats by Ryan
It becomes even more concerning when you see how Ange’s Offensive Load compares to the rest of the Blue Eagles. Then you realize he just won MVP. Plus, the Blue Eagles just lost their star starting point guard to
poachinga greater opportunity abroad. Now it becomes downright maddening.Players Per 30 (Pace) Offensive Load Forth Padrigao 46.79 Dave Ildefonso 43.39 Kai Ballungay 31.78 BJ Andrade 29.17 Gab Gomez 28.98 Ange Kouame 27.11 Chris Koon 26.98 Josh Lazaro 21.57 Geo Chiu 20.15 Stats courtesy of Stats by Ryan
Among the Ateneo Blue Eagles’ main rotation players, Ange ranks just SIXTH in terms of Offensive Load. That in itself is already surprising. Even more surprising is how the Season 85 Blue Eagles’ leader in Offensive Load has a higher number when compared to Season 84 SJ Belangel and Season 82 Thirdy Ravena.
Does this mean the Blue Eagles have an offensive system problem? Not exactly. It would be unfair to frame it as such, because even Coach Tab Baldwin knows Ange’s injury still lingers until today.
“Speaking about Ange, people just have to realize that he’s not getting practice time. We have to really take care of that knee,” said Baldwin after the Blue Eagles’ game against La Salle last Saturday. “The game that he played against NU, he didn’t practice on the day before and he had a Gilas practice the night before. We just can’t do that to him. He’s not the Ange that we have had in the past.”
More than system, it’s a problem of circumstance. Ange’s current limitations prevent the Blue Eagles from preparing in such a way that heavily involves him. It’s most felt in the offensive end because offense requires more chemistry and familiarity between teammates. An extra asset — the basketball — is involved. You need to be a bit more careful, and logic would dictate a team to not heavily rely on a player who hasn’t been practicing as much.
It’s a tricky balancing act, but the scales tipped to the wrong side during that game against the Bulldogs. It was a two-way problem; Ange wasn’t as aggressive then and the Blue Eagles weren’t giving him as many looks as well.
During the game against La Salle, it looked like that problem would continue until their second quarter. The Blue Eagles suddenly involved Ange more, and it jump started the Blue Eagles’ rout of the Green Archers.
Injured or not injured, Ange remains a premier finisher when given good positioning in the post. Once he establishes positioning off a roll, there’s very little the defense can do.
There’s one other thing you can pick off from the clip: his gravity. His roll to the rim immediately attracts three players to the paint; Mike Philips (switched to Ange), Bright Nwanko (forced to recover to Ange), and EJ Abadam (forced to switch to Geo Chiu).
The La Salle defense is jumbled up off Ange’s activity and opportunities are created. Dave is open at the top of the key, and if Mark Nonoy tries to help off that, Chris Koon could have been free at the corner.
It’s not just in pick and rolls where Ange attracts gravity. Ange has also become a magnet when positioned in the low block. Fairly reasonable, considering Ange has displayed a reasonably improved post-game since.
Every time Ange would get the ball in the post, La Salle would crowd him as if he was June Mar Fajardo. Season 81 Ange might fumble on those opportunities. But he’s matured since then. Good post offense isn’t just about scoring, it can also be about creating for others. Ange’s lone assist of the night is a perfect example of that.
This was a recurring theme throughout the night and the Blue Eagles made the most out of it during their vintage third quarter run. Aside from Ateneo getting stops which led to easy transition looks, they involved Ange more in their half-court sets.
He doesn’t always have to finish. His mere presence and involvement create opportunities and it’s just a matter of the team maximizing those looks.
Technically, this swing should have finished in a three from the right wing by Chris Koon. Not the first time Forthsky Padrigao’s made a questionable decision, but the Blue Eagles will take that made three which extended their lead to 15.
By the end of the final buzzer, Ange Kouame had a stat line that looked more familiar: 11 points on 55.6 percent field goal shooting, 14 rebounds, three steals, and five blocks. Arguably, the more critical number: nine shot attempts, tied for fourth most in the team. It isn’t a catch-all statistic, obviously, but him getting more scoring opportunities is a decent indicator of his involvement with the Blue Eagles’ offense. He got more chances. The more scoring chances he gets, the better it is for Ateneo as a whole.
Ange Kouame still has not looked right, even after his breakthrough performance against the Green Archers. But here’s the harsh reality the Ateneo community faces this season; he’s probably not going to look right this whole season. It’s not because he isn’t trying or the Blue Eagles are doing something inherently wrong. The present circumstances they’re in simply suck. Knee injuries suck. Injuries suck. The very fact that Ange is even playing at a Top 3-level is an achievement in itself.
Ange may not look right, but he doesn’t have to look 100 percent right. His game against La Salle was a reintroduction of what he can bring even with a bum knee. He just needs to be involved in what the Blue Eagles do, especially on the offensive end. When we get down right to it, despite all the limitations, Ange Kouame is still the Ateneo Blue Eagles’ best and most valuable player.
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Let’s Try to Fix The UAAP MVP Race
Yesterday, October 30, 2022, the UAAP released a statistical summary, detailing the first round of action for Season 85. At the bottom of the report was a table listing down the Statistical Points race in the league. It came out with these eleven players on top.
- Schonny Winston
- JD Cagulangan
- Forthsky Padrigao
- Evan Nelle
- Carl Tamayo
- Ange Kouame
- Luis Villegas
- Jerom Lastimosa
- Dave Ildefonso
- Malick Diouf
- Kyle Paranada
It came as a surprise for many to see three point guards in the top five. Last season, the Mythical Five was littered with bigs, so what happened? Turns out, there was a change in the formula used for the MVP Race. Long story short, assists and steals were given extra importance as compared to previous years.
Fans have longed for change with the formula used for the MVP Race, but this move felt like a massive over-correction by the league. While bigs are no longer rewarded for rebounding the ball a lot, guards are rewarded far too much for dishing out assists and stealing the ball. There was no step forward with this move. One may argue it was even a step backward.
We can’t really do much about it, we aren’t the league’s board of managing directors. What we are, however, are mamarus. What we are, are hot take artists (responsible ones, at least we try!). So we’ll act like mamarus and make hot takes by making our own formula for the MVP Race!
Let’s try to fix the UAAP MVP Race, shall we?
The Formula
We’re going to treat this like grading a student for his class, because of course! The actual formula is quite easy to do. The rationale behind it is where things get a bit tricky.
SP (Statistical Points) Grade (50%) + Team Value Grade (30%) + League Value Grade (20%) = HB MVP Grade
Let’s break down each part.
SP (Statistical Points) Grade (50%)
This is essentially the current SP of the player divided by 85 (because Season 85! Right?). We do this so we get a grade for each player that’s within 0-100. Why are we allotting 50 percent of the grade to this? Well, we have to respect the current formula somehow, so let’s give it half of the grade.
Now, we get to the fun part.
Team Value Grade (30%)
In short, when it comes to how the team runs, just how important is this player? If you take this person out of the team, or if this player has a bad game, how low do they go? You could even go as far as to call it the “2016-2017 Russell Westbrook” grade.
League Value Grade (20%)
You could call this the “Unique Selling Proposition” grade. Just how different is a player relative to the players he shares positions with? Does he bring anything unique to the table that his team could use to win? For instance, if we were grading Ben Mbala in Season 80, he might just be a 100.
For your reference, these are how I categorized per numerical grade I gave out for this exercise. If you have any disagreements with how this was done, then good, there’s a reason why I don’t teach for a living. This is purely just for fun.
Letter Grade Numerical Grade A+ 99-100 A 93-98 B+ 87-92 B 80-86 C+ 74-79 C 67-73 D 60-66 F 59 below Before we start with the rankings, let’s lay down some ground rules, shall we?
- We’ll only limit this list to the top 10 players in the statistical race. I don’t have time to rank all players in the league for his exercise, I apologize.
- To qualify for the top 10, a player should have played at least 4 out of 7 regular season games. Sorry, JD Cagulangan.
- For the League Value Grade, I made sure players of the same position weren’t categorized under the same letter grade. For example, if Ben Mbala and Ange Kouame ever went up against each other for the MVP award, one would have received a grade in the A range, then the other would have settled for a B+. Where it balances out is with the specific numerical mark. I could give, say, Ben a 93 (technically an A!) but give Ange a 92 (technically a B+!).
- Again, this is just for fun. Don’t take things so seriously! Relaxation and hearts only. Chillax.
We’ll be giving quick summaries for the bottom 5 of this list, then do deeper dives for the upper 5. Alright, let’s begin!
10. Kyle Paranada, UE Red Warriors
SP Grade (50%) Team Value Grade (30%) League Value Grade (20%) TOTAL Kyle Paranada 74.96 88 78 79.48 He’s been fiery for UE, but he takes a hit because of his overall value. Still fun though!
9. Malick Diouf, UP Fighting Maroons
SP Grade (50%) Team Value Grade (30%) League Value Grade (20%) TOTAL Malick Diouf 77.82 95 92 85.81 I expected him to come out higher with the new formula, but being teammates with Carl Tamayo and having the same position as Ange Kouame pulled his grade down. He’s extremely underrated and my made up formula rates him low.
8. Dave Ildefonso, Ateneo Blue Eagles
SP Grade (50%) Team Value Grade (30%) League Value Grade (20%) TOTAL Dave Ildefonso 79.83 91 95 86.22 He’s far and away the best small forward in the league, and he’s the Blue Eagles’ best creator on offense. He’d be higher on here if only he’s had a better season, but alas.
7. Forthsky Padrigao, Ateneo Blue Eagles
SP Grade (50%) Team Value Grade (30%) League Value Grade (20%) TOTAL Forthsky Padrigao 90.08 85 83 87.14 It feels improper to talk about him in the context of basketball given everything that’s happened off of it. More than a game. So, no comment.
Disclaimer: Aforementioned off-court incidents did not affect his Team Value Grade and League Value Grade.
6. Evan Nelle, De La Salle Green Archers
SP Grade (50%) Team Value Grade (30%) League Value Grade (20%) TOTAL Evan Nelle 86.59 88 89 87.49 Being teammates with Schonny Winston hurts him, and being in arguably the most loaded position in the UAAP also does not help. But don’t get things twisted, Evan has been tremendous this season.
Now, to the Top 5!
5. Luis Villegas, UE Red Warriors
SP Grade (50%) Team Value Grade (30%) League Value Grade (20%) TOTAL Luis Villegas 82.86 95 91 88.13 Team Value Grade – If Villegas was not with the Red Warriors, UE might be closer to UST than the race for the Final Four slot. He has been that instrumental to what they do, and it’s only fitting his TVG ranks closely to the giants in the league. He is the glue that keeps the Red Warriors together.
League Value Grade – Carl Tamayo is clearly the league’s premier power forward, but Villegas isn’t that far behind. He makes up for his lack of offensive creation with a versatile skill set that would fit in any UAAP team. He would be a luxury to have as a second option of your team. He has everything needed to make your team win. He’s that good.
I was pleased to see Villegas rank this high with my silly formula. He deserves it. He’ll be a damn good pro after college and we should savor every minute we have of watching him play in the UAAP.
4. Jerom Lastimosa, Adamson Soaring Falcons
SP Grade (50%) Team Value Grade (30%) League Value Grade (20%) TOTAL Jerom Lastimosa 81.01 100 94 89.30 Team Value Grade – You wanna talk about the “2016-2017 Russell Westbrook grade”? This was made for Jerom Lastimosa. Quite literally, without him, Adamson’s in absolute trouble. He has an argument for being the league’s best floor-raiser. It only felt proper to rate him as such, because he is THAT valuable to the Soaring Falcons.
League Value Grade – He’s been the best point guard in the league, but he hasn’t been significantly ahead of Evan Nelle. Again, playing in the deepest position in the league hurts you here. Jerom is excellent, but his competition happens to be really good as well.
The Team Value Grade definitely boosted Jerom’s grade by a lot, and you know what, he’s earned it. You could argue he should be lower and I wouldn’t mind.
3. Carl Tamayo, UP Fighting Maroons
SP Grade (50%) Team Value Grade (30%) League Value Grade (20%) TOTAL Carl Tamayo 85.55 92 95 89.37 Team Value Grade – Believe it or not, he isn’t UP’s most valuable player. That goes to Malick Diouf, who isn’t only a superior defender, but a great passer as well who helps the UP offense. That’s not to say Carl isn’t important. He’s the team’s go-to player in the clutch, and he can be a singular offensive hub when need be. Honestly, it’s unfair UP even has those two in tow.
League Value Grade – He’s the clear-cut best power forward in the league, and his offense helps with this by a lot. He doesn’t exactly have the tools that screams Defensive Player of the Year, but he does just enough that he isn’t a training cone on D by any means.
Carl probably has the most balanced and least controversial grading sheet among the players in this list. He’s undoubtedly excellent, and it’s unfair he’s still in college basketball. He is THAT good.
2. Ange Kouame, Ateneo Blue Eagles
SP Grade (50%) Team Value Grade (30%) League Value Grade (20%) TOTAL Ange Kouame 84.20 97 96 90.40 Team Value Grade – Ange is one of those players that basketball nerds might over-value. I’m a basketball nerd, so apologies if I may be over-valuing him. But man, he is THAT valuable to the Blue Eagles. Elite finishing and insane gravity pull when rolling to the rim, and defense that continues to be top of his class. Has he fallen off? A bit. Getting injured doesn’t help. But he’s unquestionably Ateneo’s MVP. It isn’t even close.
League Value Grade – There probably isn’t a better two-way player in the league than Ange Kouame. His sheer impact on both ends of the floor cannot be stated enough. He’s never been the next Ben Mbala, he’s always been the only Ange Kouame. An absolute force of nature.
If there’s a player who was affected the most by the new formula, it’s Ange. Tamayo over him? Acceptable. But Nelle and Padrigao being ranked higher than him? That’s unacceptable. He’s still a top 2 player in the league, and you could argue he shouldn’t be 2. But then…
1. Schonny Winston, De La Salle Green Archers
SP Grade (50%) Team Value Grade (30%) League Value Grade (20%) TOTAL Schonny Winston 99.33 95 96 97.36 Team Value Grade – He isn’t La Salle’s best passer by any means. He might not even be their best pure creator. But boy, his sheer scoring ability makes him so important to La Salle’s championship hopes. If he’s not getting buckets, La Salle isn’t getting buckets. An oversimplification? Maybe. But it’s justified because Schonny has been THAT good for them.
League Value Grade – He’s the undisputed best shooting guard in the league. Granted, there isn’t much competition (aside from Nic Cabanero, but even then). Yet, even if you compare him to players from other positions, the value his scoring brings still cannot be stated enough.
He’s having the best non-Mbala season since Season 77 Kiefer Ravena. You could even argue he’s been better than MVP Kiefer Ravena this season. If we’re talking about this season alone, Schonny has been HIM. He deserves to be on top of the MVP Race, new formula or mamaru formula.
Overall
SP Grade (50%) Team Value Grade (30%) League Value Grade (20%) TOTAL Schonny Winston 99.33 95 96 97.36 Forthsky Padrigao 90.08 85 83 87.14 Evan Nelle 86.59 88 89 87.49 Carl Tamayo 85.55 92 95 89.37 Ange Kouame 84.20 97 96 90.40 Luis Villegas 82.86 95 91 88.13 Jerom Lastimosa 81.01 100 94 89.30 Dave Ildefonso 79.83 91 95 86.22 Malick Diouf 77.82 95 92 85.81 Kyle Paranada 74.96 88 78 79.48 UAAP Formula Rank HB Mamaru Formula Rank Difference Schonny Winston 1 1 0 Ange Kouame 5 2 3 spots up Carl Tamayo 4 3 1 spot up Jerom Lastimosa 7 4 3 spots up Luis Villegas 6 5 1 spot up Evan Nelle 3 6 3 spots down Forthsky Padrigao 2 7 5 spots down Dave Ildefonso 8 8 0 Malick Diouf 9 9 0 Kyle Paranada 10 10 0 Some takeaways…
- UAAP’s new formula really catered itself to guards who heavily dish out assists. I’m really not a fan of that, because there’s more to a point guard’s value than the sheer number of assists.
- The new formula really catered itself the most to Ange and Lastimosa, and maybe deservingly so. Those two bring insane value to their respective teams.
- Malick Diouf really should be higher. His poor SP dragged him down. If not for that, he’d be a Top 5 MVP candidate, easily.
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The Bad Guy: On the UST Growling Tigers’ struggles as a basketball program
Three years ago, a basketball fan base was forced to splash water on its face every morning, so they could look at the mirror and ask themselves, “Are we the bad guys?” After years of being the underdog, holding bonfires to celebrate singular wins, and writing books about second-place finishes, fans of this basketball team were forced to reflect and ask whether those days of being the Cinderella story were over.
That fan base was the rabid community of the UP Fighting Maroons. Expectations were suddenly heightened for that team during Season 82. Game after game, fans were forced to debate themselves over whether they’d be happy over cardiac wins, or if they could actually demand for more. In short, they had to ask whether they were the bad guy.
For years, two teams have represented the bad guy in the UAAP: the Ateneo Blue Eagles and the De La Salle Green Archers. These two teams have been viewed as the bad guy because they presumably won championships because they paid players to join their basketball teams.
Kiefer Ravena, Greg Slaughter, Jeron Teng, and Ben Mbala do not go to Katipunan and Taft respectively SOLELY because of school pride and education. One of the reasons those players went to play for their respective universities is because of money. It’s okay to admit that, it’s 2022.
Well, it isn’t okay for everyone. It wasn’t okay for the fan base of the UP Fighting Maroons three years ago. But after a program re-haul and a series of miraculous shots in arguably one of the greatest UAAP Finals games in history, UP fans have learned to accept that. Carl Tamayo, Zavier Lucero, and Terrence Fortea do not go to Diliman SOLELY because of school pride and education. Money played into the conversation. Again, that’s fine. Basketball players deserve to get the bag.
That makes it three teams who are now viewed as the bad guy in the UAAP; Ateneo, La Salle, and now UP. Three out of the Big Four, maximizing money coming from their donors and various corporate sponsors.
What gives with the fourth member of the Big Four? What’s up with the UST Growling Tigers?
They finished the first round of Season 85 at 1-6, the worst record in the entire league. Their lone win was on opening day, and they’ve lost six straight games since. There are no silver linings here. It’s an extremely grim time to be a fan of the UST Growling Tigers.
Yet, despite the struggles of the Growling Tigers, what triggers extreme emotions in fans hasn’t been its program directors or school administrators. We’ve got two words for you, CJ Cansino.
The surrounding belief is, Cansino’s expose of the Sorsogon Bubble caused the downfall of the program of UST. To an extent, there’s truth to that. But there was a bigger problem exposed out of that entire issue. To quote a part of my piece two years ago on this issue:
CJ Cansino delivered a pipe bomb. A can of worms was opened. There is a flawed system that has negatively affected our athletes, the ones who are supposed to be the primary beneficiaries of the UAAP. Something must be done. This issue must have your attention now.
This issue was the commercialization of amateur basketball. Before you comment, “See, money bad!”, allow me to be more specific.
This issue was how the commercialization of amateur basketball went against the safety, well-being, and interests of its most valuable commodity, its athletes. The UST basketball program then led by Aldin Ayo put CJ Cansino and its players in danger by holding an unsanctioned basketball bubble at a time when COVID-19 was still at its very peak. Why hold that bubble? To win. Why win? Because money.
It’s a can of worms. A lot of worms. This column won’t be enough to completely give us answers over what is truly right or wrong with the issue of the Sorsogon Bubble.
There are also plenty of emotions involved with the debacle, especially on the end of the fans. The UST community lost its best shot at building a sustainable, championship-level program because of all that. Not only did they lose Cansino, but they also lost Abando, Nonoy, and Chabi Yo, the cornerstones of their program then. You can’t blame Thomasians for having such strong feelings over the incident. Sports do that to you, for better or for worse.
But it can’t just be all about feelings. Reason needs to come into play, and if there is one thing that should be treated as a fair takeaway out of that, it’s this: If you don’t give your players the best care — whether that’s through money, a winning program, perks, and benefits — they will make the move to greener pastures.
If they’re talented enough, they will have options of greener pastures to go to. It happened to CJ Cansino. It happened Kean Baclaan. If they’re not careful, it might happen to Nic Cabanero after Season 85.
To be fair to the Growling Tigers, they were supposed to have a stronger roster than what they currently have, even with the departure of Baclaan. Losing Sherwin Concepcion and Bryan Santos hurt the depth and talent in their roster. A core of Nic Cabanero-Adama Faye-Concepcion-Santos could have caused problems in the league. Not exactly championship-level, but good enough to join the current Final Four carambola that we have.
But at this point, focusing on that what if is throwing the UST program a bone. For an institution so rich with alumni and history (trivia: they’re one of the oldest universities in Asia! That’s supposed to matter!), slotting them as just a competitive team feels insulting to their ceiling as a program. The program and its fan base have long relished being underdogs.
They were the PUSO team of the UAAP for years. But in the modern age, PUSO simply won’t cut it. It doesn’t work for Gilas. It won’t work for the Growling Tigers. They should be a powerhouse, not a mere Final Four contender. The only way they’ll reclaim championship glory is if they learn to be comfortable with being the bad guy.
Splash water on your face, look in the mirror, and tell yourself, “Yup, I’m the bad guy.” It’s okay to be the Salt of the Earth, especially if it means winning diamond rings.
Championship rings.
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