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To defend the crowndate posted: 2009-07-09 09:17:31
By Rick Olivares
UAAP Season 72 basketball preview
No longer pretenders, the Ateneo Blue Eagles know and have what it takes to once more reach the Mount Olympus of college basketball.
by rick olivares
One early evening in Jakarta, a shuttle bus containing members of the Smart Gilas Men’s National Team made its way to the Central Business District for dinner at the Shangri-La Hotel. The joy of the day’s earlier win in a FIBA tournament was palpable and it made for a buoyant setting inside the bus.
The team’s spitfire of a point guard, Andy Mark Barroca enlivened matters when he started talk of the past UAAP campaign. He was still of mind that, had his Far Eastern University Tamaraws faced the Ateneo de Manila Blue Eagles in the finals, they would have emerged the winner. Soon everyone waded in, including the players from the rival National Collegiate Athletic Association. Many picked sides. One hummed the melody of one school’s alma mater.
Throughout banter and friendly debate, one person remained quiet.
It was Christopher John Tiu, the former team captain of the Blue Eagles who was also the squad boss of the national team. He listened intently to everyone’s points and after what seemed an eternity of chatter, Barroca looked at him and paused for a second (the only time he did during the hour-long trip amidst rush hour traffic) and asked Tiu for his opinion on the collegiate wars.
The former Blue Eagle had a simple rebuttal: “Sino ba ang nag-champion?”
That elicited a cheer and snickers from many including the entourage of team officials of which six were alumni from Ateneo.
When the University Athletic Association of the Philippines opens its 72nd Season on Saturday, July 11, the rest of the seven-team field will be gunning for the champs. And months even before the actual tip off, much has been made about Barroca’s Tamaraws, bristling with dazzling new weaponry and three national players, being the favorite to unseat the Blue Eagle as king.
Champions. It has a nice ring to it especially since the school didn’t have to wait another 14 years for the next title as one rival school joked after the 2002 romp.
Fourteen years before the 2002 title, the Blue Eagles, star-studded and deep, were led by the diminutive Gilbert “Jun” Reyes. Three of the five Reyes brothers (Chot, Jun, and Billy) suited up for the blue and white but it was only he who helped the school two titles.
Jose Antonio “Jai” Reyes is well aware of his pedigree. As a full-time starter, he ably quarterbacked the team to its fourth UAAP title and 18th overall (including the 14 from the NCAA) cage crown. He’d love nothing more than to duplicate his Uncle Gilbert’s accomplishment; a fitting way to round out his career with the Blue Eagles. “When I was younger, I heard all the stories from my dad and my uncles. Payabangan din sa accomplishments. Of course, you want to be as successful as them. So it was my dream to play for the Blue Eagles. Pero I didn’t need any convincing,” recalled the point guard whose jersey bears the number “five;” the same number his Uncle Jun wore during those early years that established Ateneo as a UAAP power.
If Reyes will be concluding his dream, three others are just starting their journey.
Juami Tiongson thought he’d spend a year or two on Team B before being called up to the senior squad. “Yeah, I was surprised,” said the frosh PG with muted elation. “But I am just thankful for the opportunity. Like many others who dream of playing, I get the opportunity. The best thing about it is I am with a team that is good enough to win a championship. Isn’t that cool?”
That is exactly what fellow rookie Chris de Chavez feels like. “It’s a good situation to be in… studying in Ateneo (as he came from the United States via Benedictine International School) and playing for the Blue Eagles,” says the swingman who will be counted on to provide outside artillery.
Frank Golla, an RP Youth Team veteran and high school teammate of Tiongson is a promising and important addition to the team in the light of key losses in the team's bigs (with the departure of Jobe Nkemakolam and Mike Baldos). The team’s head coach Norman Black, describes Golla as a banger with a decent medium range shot. And the latter skill is a huge bonus as the team will need a lot of outside shooting to loosen up the shaded area. No mans land will surely be swarming with double or triple teams that will try and slow down the reigning league MVP Rabeh Al-Hussaini and Nonoy Baclao.
Baclao’s defense helps fuel the team’s cherished fastbreaking offense. And opposing teams would love to jam the outlet to try and take the Blue Eagles out of their forte.
Were it that easy.
This team can run or play the half-court set as well as anyone. With Eric Salamat, Ryan Buenafe, and the up and coming Tonino Gonzaga who can all break down their guard off the dribble and create shots for themselves or teammates, Ateneo can hurt foes in so many ways.
The magnitude of the loss of former captain Chris Tiu cannot be fathomed until the team is in a clutch situation where someone clearly has to strap the team on his shoulders and be willing to take that last shot. Tiu was not only Mr. Clutch but also a La Salle killer with many a late game heroics.
Although Baclao has stood up in terms of leadership, the last shot will come down to possibly four players – Al Hussaini, Salamat, Buenafe, or Reyes. “That is a luxury the team has,” said Assistant Coach Jamike Jarin who believes that the team is not lacking in weapons of mass destruction.
Every team in the league has upgraded their line-ups with the sole purpose of knocking off the Blue Eagles off their rarefied perch.
Far Eastern University in particular with its plethora of national players and factory-assembled big men have in fact been installed as favorites to win it all.
De La Salle University is easily fielding a team that resembles the RP Youth Team of which Golla was a member. Aside from the Atenean, only two notable cogs of that team aren’t with the Green Archers – FEU’s Ryan Garcia and Letran’s Kevin Alas. Others like former Jose Rizal Light Bomber Keith Agovida are said to be coming up with the La Salle squad for next season.
The University of the East Red Warriors still pretty much has the same team from the last few years and they are clearly hungry for post-elimination round success.
The University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons is a dark horse favorite with the addition of talented rookies in Alvin Padilla (from San Beda), Mark Juruena, the MVP of the UAAP Juniors Division from Adamson, and Mikee Reyes, a point guard from La Salle Greenhills. Now the Diliman team has more firepower to bring.
Black doesn’t mind others being installed as favorites. “No one has won it on paper. We still have to settle things on the basketball court.”
If the American sounds fully confident, then it is well founded. After years of simply being one of college basketball’s elite, the Blue Eagles finally vaulted to the summit of Mount Olympus as the UAAP is regarded as the most prestigious and best league in the country today.
Previously, the team drew from inspiration and fuel from their failed drives most notably in 2006 when they fell unexpectedly to the UST Growling Tigers. Now they know what it takes to be a champion, they can draw from their vast reservoir of experience and talent and try to be the sixth Ateneo team to win back-to-back crowns.
The coaching staff is sticking to the same routine that got them to where they wanted and they aren’t looking too far ahead. “One game at a time,” cautions Black. “We’re not thinking of a sweep or anything. We cannot get caught up in all the hype and thinking we’ve got this won. We have to earn everything and you can be sure that everyone will be gunning for us.”
The other squads may have the more “name players,” but as Black points out, what he has is a team. “Everyone will have to pitch in and step up. We’re counting on everyone from Justin Chua, Nico Salva, Oping Sumalinog, Kirk Long, and well, as I said, everyone Even the team captains cannot do it alone. I think everyone has an understanding of what it takes now. Certainly the mental challenges are different, but that’s life. That’s basketball.”
“Hopefully, it will end the same way it did as last year.”
The 2009-10 Ateneo Blue Eagles
Rabeh Al-Hussaini
Bacon Austria
Nonoy Baclao
Ryan Buenafe
Vince Burke
Justin Chua
Chris De Chavez
Frank Golla
Tonino Gonzaga
Kirk Long
Emman Monfort
Jai Reyes
Eric Salamat
Nico Salva
Oping Sumalinog
Juami Tiongson
Coaching Staff:
Norman Black
Sandy Arespacochaga
Gene Afable
Jamike Jarin
Gabby Severino
Jon Jacinto
Dennis Aenlle
Chester Tiongson
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