UE Warriors
The UE Warriors are officially in rebuilding mode after having lost 8 players from last year – Lee, Martinez, Acibar, Reyes, Resopa, Razon, Ayala, and Hernandez. It will be particularly difficult to replace Lee, Acibar and Martinez, who were among the best shooters in the Warrior lineup. UE failed to make the playoffs last year. The Warriors seem to have a smallish lineup, so expect them to play an uptempo game with lots of small-ball lineups.
What happened last year?
We easily clobbered UE in the first round, 82-63, dominating all the way to win comfortably. However, the Warriors turned the tables on the Archers, 74-80 as UE caught fire in the final quarter. The Archer defense took a break and allowed UE to make 7 out of their 8 4th quarter field goal attempts.
How do we measure up against them?
Without the prolific duo of Lee and Martinez, the Warrior offense loses some of its punch, and the departure of the veterans Reyes and Acibar further weakens the Warrior lineup. UE’s lineup also doesn’t seem to have any pure centers, so we should win the battle of the boards. On the bench, Coach Dindo faces his former Purefoods teammate Jerry Codinera, who is making his collegiate coaching debut. We will most likely take both games against UE.
UE lineup:
Guard: CASAJEROS Lord, CHAVEZ Von, SUMANG Roi, SUMIDO Jay-ar, TAGARDA Lucas, ZAMAR Paul, ZOSA BJ
Guard/Forward: ENGUIO Biboy, SABANGAN Jessmar
Forward/Center: DE LEON RR, JAVIER Chris
Forward: DURAN Erwin, FLORES Jairold, MONTELIBANO Nico, NOBLE JM, SANTOS Adrian
Head coach: CODIÑERA, Jerry (1st season)
FEU Tamaraws
The Tamaraws started off really strong last year, made the finals before falling to eventual champion Ateneo. They were solid in the front court, with Noundou, Cervantes, Ramos, Sanga, and Cawaling while the backcourt was led by MVP RR Garcia backed up by Terence Romeo. This year sees some changes, notably the absence of Noundou due to injury, and Sanga as well. Noundou’s absence in particular puts the pressure on Ramos to play more minutes, and Sanga’s loss reduces the perimeter shooting threats of the Tams. However, Garcia has shown that he can sometimes singlehandedly carry the team, as he did in the Filoil tournament where he had a spectacular shooting game against us in the knockout stage.
What happened last year?
We faced FEU 3 times last season, and all of these games were memorable. In the first round, we lost out 80-84 in double overtime when end-game errors and free throw misses allowed FEU to tie the game in the last 9 seconds of regulation. Nerves and fatigue got the better of the Archers as they lost to a more composed Tamaraw squad. However, it was a different story in the second round, when the Archers routed FEU 80-66 behind a great 4th quarter. FEU went on to take the top playoff spot while we landed in 4th, to set up a third meeting, which went into overtime before FEU prevailed 59-69 as behind Noundou, Sanga, Cervantes, and Romeo. Interestingly, 3 of these Tams who carried their team to victory in our playoff game are no longer with them.
How do we measure up against them?
FEU has 4 players who can man the post, so they still have the ceiling, but without the physical presence of Noundou, our bigs should stand an equal chance in the paint. At the guard posts, FEU has a slight edge with the explosive duo of Garcia and Romeo, but if they are controlled, the Tamaraw forwards may find it hard to buck the loss of Sanga. At the worst case, we will split our assignments against FEU in the elimination rounds.
FEU lineup:
Guard: EXCIMINIANO Chris, FABIAN AA, GARCIA RR, KNUTTEL Jens, ROMEO Terrence, TOLOMIA Cris
Center: FORONDA Clarence, CRUZ Carl Bryan, RAMOS Aldrech, SENTCHEU Christian
Forward: BRINGAS Mark, CAWALING JR, ESCOTO Russel, GUERRERO Jolas, MENDOZA Gryann, POGOY Roger
Head coach: FLORES, Bert (3rd season)
Ateneo Blue Eagles
The 3-time defending champions look to extend their dominance this year as they field another strong and well-trained lineup. The Blue Eagles are a mix of experienced veterans and promising newcomers, and will be counted on pull out all the stops in their pursuit of that rare 4-peat.
Missing from last year’s team are Salamat, Buenafe, and dela Cruz who all played key roles in the playoffs last season. Also gone are Escueta, de Chavez, and Balmaceda, but stepping into their places are former DLSZ player Capacio, Blue Eaglet standouts Ravena and Pessumal, plus towering Slaughter who was deemed eligible by the board, Cipriano and returnee Sumalinog. Ravena and Slaughter are expected to play major roles, together with Salva, Long, Chua, Monfort, and Austria.
What happened last year?
The Archers pulled off a shocker of sorts when they upset the heavily favored Eagles, 66-63 behind an improbable come-from-behind victory fuelled by pure emotional energy at the end. Our chances for a victory were practically nil when we trailed by 9 with 4 minutes left, but the Archers exploded in a 13-1 burst to shock the blue supporters. The win broke a losing streak against our greatest rivals spanning a couple of years. However, in the second round, Ateneo handily took the rematch, 57-74 when an early scoring explosion by the Eagles enabled them to seize the momentum late in the first quarter. Brimming with confidence, the Eagles kept our team at bay to coast to the victory. In the offseason, though, the Archers got back at their rivals in an exhibition game in Dubai, 62-59, and again in a game they needed to win to make the playoffs in the recently concluded Fil-oil tournament, 66-61.
How do we measure up against them?
The Blue Eagles still have an edge in experience, and the confidence gained by winning the Fil-oil tournament makes them a very formidable team. However, these intangibles don’t count for any points during the game, and our players have shown that they are not far behind in terms of talent, teamwork, and desire.
Ateneo’s frontline is still solid with the addition of Slaughter, and our bigs will be hard-pressed to keep them away from the paint. We will counter that height disadvantage with our much-improved forward line led by Papot Paredes, Yutien Andrada, Maui Villanueva, Jovet Mendoza, and rookies Norbert Torres, Arnold Van Opstal, and Ponso Gotladera. While Ravena is certainly going to be a major cog in Ateneo’s machinery, there are no direct replacements for the loss of veterans Salamat and Buenafe. Our guards are bolstered by the return of LA Revilla, the addition of Dan Sara, and the marked improvements shown by Almond Vosotros, and Luigi dela Paz.
At the start of the season, Ateneo may have a slight edge, but as the season progresses, the Archers will start to peak in time to make the playoffs. Our coaches already have a strategy for the season, which they will fine tune as they learn more about the opposition. Our bench tacticians are a match for the Ateneo coaching team. We will probably split our games with Ateneo.
Ateneo lineup:
Guard: CIPRIANO Bon Jovi, MONFORT Emman, PESSUMAL Von, RAVENA Kiefer, TIONGSON Juami
Guard/forward: AUSTRIA Bacon, GONZAGA Tonino, LONG Kirk,
Forward: CAPACIO Gwyne, GOLLA Frank, SUMALINOG Oping, SALVA Nico
Center/forward: CHUA Justin
Center: ERRAM JP, ESTRADA Jeric, SLAUGHTER Greg
Head coach: BLACK, Norman (7th season)