AND 1: 100-25

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look, up in the sky! it's a bird!

congratulations coach norman black for winning your 100th game in the uaap as head coach of the ateneo blue eagles.

4 straight uaap titles, 3 pccl championships, a gold medal in the sea games, and other championships for the blue and white... what more can you ask for?

oh yes, there's one: another championship for the blue eagles this season!

fly high coach norman!
blue eagle, the king!

photo from sir philip sison of fabilioh.com  

FIRST 5: 5 wishes for the "Drive for Five"

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because kiefer does not stop counting at four

the 75th season of the uaap will be starting this coming weekend. hosted by national university with the theme "unbreakable", uaap season 75 promises a higher level of competition especially in men's basketball as every collegiate team in the league beefed up their rosters, gained a considerable amount of experience and learning from summer leagues and training, and prepared themselves for another intense and grueling season of the country's most prestigious collegiate league.

all eyes will surely be on the ateneo blue eagles, who are gunning for their fifth consecutive men's basketball championship this coming season. still picked as favorites, the loyola-based dribblers have performed quite well since the post-season of season 74 and continued their winning ways in the pre-season of season 75. the blue eagles placed second in the collegiate champion's league and won the university games championship, while some key players even participated in the southeast asian games and still won a gold medal for the philippines. this summer, the hail mary squad placed third in the fil-oil flying v pre-season cup and became champions of fr. martin summer league.

but it wasn't a perfect pre-season for the blue eagles, as most games were close enough to be decided in the last three to four possessions. the team took losses in the fil-oil pre-season cup against san beda (by just two points), la salle (in a game that was sent to overtime by jeron teng's 3 pointer), and nu (where a barrage of three-pointers from a lucky nu squad caught the blue eagles flat footed in the semis). some might say that ateneo took a hit with the departure of kirk long, emman monfort, and bacon austria who were considered as key cogs in the past four championship runs. but with much of the team returning for another year, new faces out to make an impact in the team, and coach norman black seeking a triumphant exit in the league before returning to the pros, the blue eagles are surely in for an exciting drive to be "glori-fived."

and so, here are five wishes that i have for the blue eagles as they open their bid to a five-peat and make history in season 75:

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the flash's grandson finally found his way "home" 

1. better point guard play. losing monfort to graduation has to be one of the bitter pills that ateneo had to swallow at the end of season 74. he is not just their steadiest ball handler last but also one of ateneo's best defenders especially against the league's top guards. his departure leaves quite a big hole in the line-up. seniority-wise, juami tiongson takes the place of monfort in the rotation. but despite his clutch shots in the finals last season, he seems to be more of a shoot-first point guard than a distributor, which point guards should be in the first place. a key addition to the team is nico elorde, a former dlsz standout (with gwyne capacio) and one-time green archer, who is more of a defensive-minded point guard and facilitator in the offense. i personally prefer elorde over tiongson to start as point guard, but i won't be surprised to see kiefer ravena getting converted into a point guard this season. this reminds me of how jai reyes, a shooting guard in high school, played started at the point in seasons 71 and 72.

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oping has quite big shoes to fill in 

2. player development. ateneo is known as one of the teams that is able to make their players improve their skills for the current season and take their game a notch higher a season later. again, finding a replacement to two solid defensive forwards in long and austria will be crucial this season. oping sumalinog, who struggled last year after taking some time off from injury, is expected to be ateneo's main defender for opposing shooting guards and wingmen. tonino gonzaga is still expected to come off the bench or even start in some games to provide the spark in both offense and defense. frank golla is known as a "wall" in the defensive side, but i hope he already developed some short jumpers and baby hook shots in the likes of doug kramer and rabeh al-hussaini. jp erram's emergence as a scorer during the univesity games and even in the pccl would be a great complement to his defensive prowess. i would also like to see capacio and von pessumal get more playing time this season.

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guess who's back... back again 

3. rookies spotlight. the blue eagles might have lost to the green archers in the jeron teng sweepstakes, but an interesting crop of rookies are joining the team this season. it was expected for the blue eagles to add big men in their line-up this season with the impending departure of greg slaughter, nico salva, and justin chua. heading the blue eagles' rookie class is kris porter, who led the ateneo blue eaglets to a final four finish last season, and g-boy babilonia, a mainstay from the philippine u16/18 youth team. though they may only have little playing time this season, it would be good to give them the much-needed exposure as they are expected to fill the hole in the middle in the next few seasons. of course, the returning ryan buenafe must not be forgotten in the equation. the finals mvp of season 73 returns with a vengeance, losing a bit of weight and bulk in his frame. his offensive ability is surely a plus to the already-potent ateneo offense, and it is my hope that his defensive skills took some polishing during the off-season.

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nickobe tries to make it 5-for-5 

4. last hurray for the graduates. i hate to burst the bubble as early as now, but this season will be the last for a lot of key players who played a crucial role in all four title runs. gone after this season would be slaughter, chua, salva, sumalinog, and gonzaga. slaughter decided to take his final year of eligibility to contribute to the blue eagles' drive for five. salva, last season's finals mvp, has developed his mid-range and even outside game, and he is surely making the most of what kobe bryant taught him during the latter's trip in the philippines. chua took the sacrifice of riding the bench last season but embraced that role and such paid dividends for him and the team. sumalinog and gonzaga had their respective stories of emerging as impact players off the bench as they solidly contributed to the team whether in stats or in basketball's intangibles. this season is their last chance to don that blue and white jersey, and they might as well make the most of it. if things fall into its proper place, they could earn the very rare distinction of winning championship in each of their playing years, not only in the ateneo but even in the uaap. they might as well give their all in season 75.

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one more gatorade bath for black 

5. 5peat. the feeling of winning never gets old, and if you're an ateneo fan, the past four seasons have just been gratifying. it's always enjoyable to hear or even say the words "see you in the annual bonfire!", but there won't even be one without the architect behind the championships that the community enjoyed in the past four years. coach norman black has done a tremendous job of drawing plays and making key adjustments during game in his 6 years as head coach. more than that, his work of motivating the players and keeping them focused and hungry for a championship year after year is just superb. though he is bound to leave the team after the season and even if he will remain as a fixture in the ateneo bench for the next two seasons as a consultant, a 5th straight championship is indeed the perfect finale that coach norman could have. for now, nothing is for sure what beholds the team beyond the norman black era, but it is important to focus on the task-at-hand. expect the blue eagles to go all the way this season to write a new chapter in the ateneo basketball history.

the drive for five begins this sunday at 4pm as they tackle the adamson falcons in a rematch of last season's "one biggest fight", where the birds of san marcelino broke their 29-game losing streak to the blue eagles and similarly deprived ateneo of sweeping the elimination round. despite ateneo winning the championship and adamson losing their flight in their final four match-up against feu, somehow the loss still has to be avenged. with a new season coming up, we do not have an idea what will happen until the final buzzer sounds. and so, the time has come for the blue eagles to give their best shot and push the pedal to the metal in their quest for a fifth straight championship.

GO ATENEO!
ONE BIG FIGHT!
BLUE EAGLE, THE KING!

One (more) Big Fight for the Big Fella

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it's confirmed. greg slaughter is staying with ateneo for his final year of eligibility, according to a news report from aktv.

the 7-foot slaughter, who already played three years of collegiate basketball for the university of visayas lancers, was one of the vital cogs of the ateneo blue eagles during their campaign in the uaap, where they annexed their fourth consecutive championship. with slaughter in the middle, ateneo has so far won the major collegiate basketball tournaments thus far, including fil-oil pre-season cup and uaap. he was also part of the sinag pilipinas team that claimed the gold medal for men's basketball in the 26th southeast asian games. currently, he is part of the blue eagles who are aiming for their third consecutive philippine collegiate champions league title.

this surely comes as an early christmas gift for the ateneo faithful, who have been expecting him to stay for his final year of eligibility despite his refusal to comment about it during the bonfire celebration last october. ateneo remains solid for season 75, with kiefer ravena hoping to grow a few more inches and add a few more moves in his arsenal, and graduating players nico salva and justin chua looking to bring another uaap title - their fifth in all their five playing years - to the blue side of katipunan avenue.

but then again, ateneo's "one big five" won't be a walk in the park next year, as teams have also improved vastly in terms of manpower, recruitment, and player development. for now, we have the pccl to watch, with the blue eagles looking to get into the finals with a game on friday against san beda red lions.

Getting my Ateneo fix

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with still a few more days from the start of the pccl final four, i decided to get my ateneo fix by watching the volleyball game between the lady eagles and the ue lady warriors at the blue eagle gym this afternoon.

i'm not really much of a volleyball fan, but i do watch volleyball games... well, women's volleyball games. i myself tried playing volleyball when i was in the minor seminary, to no avail. hahaha! but watching women's volleyball live is an entirely different experience from that of men's basketball: drums and cheers only done during dead ball, not so much complaints from the crowd on the ref's calls, and no fabilioh.com to pose for. but the "oohs" and "aahs" for every attempt from the blue and white keep the eagles' spirit alive.

it was also nice seeing my professor in philosophy during my college years in the venue. he was there to support his daughter, who is currently the captain of the team. well, so was i. hahahaha!

speaking of getting our ateneo fix, we will be seeing the blue eagles play once more to defend their pccl championship and have the mvp perpetual trophy (that's what it's called) stay in katipunan. here's the schedule:

taken from the pccl website

this will be an interesting pccl final four as ateneo is the only uaap team standing, as they are contending for a record three straight national championships with san sebastian golden stags (luzon-mm regional champion), san beda red lions (ncaa champion), and university of cebu webmasters (visayas-mindanao champion).

the blue eagles have been quite productive after winning their fourth consecutive uaap championship. coach norman black and his core players greg slaughter, kiefer ravena, emman monfort, and nico salva are coming off a gold medal finish with sinag pilipinas in the 26th sea games. the rest of the blue eagles and some "team glory b" players won the university games basketball title last month. if they get their acts together and shake the proverbial ring rust off, then the blue eagles are aiming to complete another "grand slam" of sorts by adding the pccl to their already championship-laced 2011 (which also includes the fil-oil pre-season cup).

as usual, there will be interesting match-ups to behold in this tournament. the university of cebu has man-mountain junemar fajardo, who have waged countless basketball wars in the visayas with greg slaughter. there's also the pinatubo trio of ronald pascual, ian sanggalang, and calvin abueva for san sebastian whose physical style of play might pose match-up problems with our starters. and of course, san beda would like to get some retribution from the blue eagles after losing to them in the fil-oil pre-season cup last march.

with a round robin format in the final four, it will be more interesting to find out who gets to play in the championship game, as it seems that the quotient system will be used to break ties in the standings. according to the ever-reliable chinoy hoops fan: "The team at the end of the round-robin phase with the highest record gets twice to beat in the Finals versus the team with the next highest record."

while everyone is waiting for nba to open in 26 days, we still have college basketball to watch and the ateneo blue eagles to root for in the pccl.

Gold shines for Sinag Pilipinas

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sinag pilipinas captured the gold medal in men's basketball last night as it trounced thailand, 85-57, in the 26th southeast asian games in indonesia.

uaap standouts greg slaughter, rayray parks, rr garcia, and kiefer ravena scored in double digits to lead sinag's rout against the more experienced thailand squad. the 7 foot behemoth from ateneo finished with 16 points, the reigning uaap mvp scored 15, last year's uaap mvp had 12 points, while the uaap rookie of the year made 10 points. this is the first game sinag pilipinas scored below 100 points, and the 28 point lead was the closest winning margin sinag had in all its 5 games in the competition.

bucking the absence of garvo lanete, sinag slowly pulled away from its thai counterparts in the third quarter. emman monfort and chris tiu facilitated excellent ball movement for the team as its scorers finished strong inside and outside the shaded area. the thais might have scouted some of sinag's plays, but coach norman black stuck to his game plan to distribute the ball efficiently and run the break frequently.

there were moments in the game when i saw sinag execute plays from the blue eagles' playbook in the uaap. perhaps it was a "low scoring game" because sinag also intended to keep it as such, thus dictating the tempo for the game. it's not a surprise after all, as coach black wanted the players to adjust to his system more than it adjusting to them.

to all the haters out there, you should have seen the gold medal game as it proved why attending practices and adjusting to coach norman black's system matter the most for sinag. he did not want to rely on star players who will chalk up big stats but resilient players who are willing to take up roles in the team and execute that role effectively. i personally think the composition of this team is good enough for a future training ground for "gilas 2.0" but if the players who were conspicuously absent in the line-up would be willing to embrace coach norman's system, then international competition and exposure are waiting to be written in their basketball resume.

in the end, the future looks bright for philippine basketball. imagine kiefer ravena gaining a bit more height and arsenal in his offense and defense. imagine greg slaughter continuing to learn under the tutelage of coach norman black and improve his footwork on the post. imagine rr garcia playing as a natural point guard that can fire away if the play calls for it. imagine rayray parks slashing against china's big men for an and-one play. imagine cliff hodge and chris ellis becoming defensive stoppers that can guard korea's three point shooters. the sun shines bright for philippine basketball and i cannot wait to see more of this team improve and gain exposure in international competition. and who knows, they might just be the team we've been waiting for to barge into the olympics and world championships.

The Scores:

Philippines (85) - Slaugther 16, Parks 15, Garcia 12, Ravena 10, Monfort 8, Tiu 6, Marcelo 6, Pascual 5, Hodge 5, Salva 2

Thailand (57) - Kaedum 17, Sangthong 11, Mertmalaiporn 11, Kongkum 8, Apiromvilaichai 6, Klahan 2, Ghogar 2

Quarter Scores: 21-17, 44-25, 61-42, 85-57

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also, congratulations to discovery perlas ng pilipinas for winning the silver medal in the women's basketball competition. they were like 3 seconds away from the gold medal until a series of unfortunate events took place. nonetheless, great job to the girls of perlas! and i really want to kill that mosquito that bit cassy tioseco.

Sinag goes for gold

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sinag pilipinas had scary moments through three quarters of the game until they get their composure back and defeated malaysia, 103-74, to advance to the gold medal match against thailand.

ateneo blue eagle greg slaughter led sinag's scoring with 16 points, as malaysia had problems challenging the big man down the paint. cliff hodge and chris ellis, the duo from the nlex road warriors, combined for 19 points for sinag pilipinas. collegiate standouts rr garcia, jake pascual and nico salva remained steady in the offensive front as they scored 11 pointd apiece.

however, garvo lanete suffered a shoulder injury during the game. he might miss the next game against thailand, which will be for the men's basketball championship in the biennial meet.

there were times in the game when malaysia even took the lead from the philippines and sinag just can't pull away earlier in the game just like they did against cambodia, vietnam, and thailand. but consecutive three point plays from chris tiu and jake pascual early in the third quarter sparked a 15-3 run that helped the team claim the victory.

in fairness to malaysia, which fielded players from the westport kuala lumpur dragons of abl fame, they were aggressive in offense through three quarters - attacking the rim, exploiting height mismatches against smaller and younger filipinos, and getting the shots from both the three point range and the charity stripe. in fact, they had more free throw attempts than sinag throughout the game. it seems that the malaysians did their homework by scouting sinag pilipinas well. however, the adjustments made by coach norman black after three quarters caught them by surprise and eventually held them to just 14 points in the final quarter.

once again, every player in sinag's rotation scored in this game. but i give credit to chris tiu for his leadership on court especially in those stretches when malaysia was threatening to upset sinag. since kiefer ravena was mismatched against older and taller malaysian guards, tiu used his experience in international basketball against his malaysian rivals. he might have only scored 7 points in this game, but it was that and-one play and three pointer that bolstered sinag's play in the fourth quarter.

i fell asleep by the end game (with all the work we did for the alumni homecoming) when sinag already led by 15 points midway through the fourth quarter. but i read in the news that a malaysian player hit kiefer ravena with a closed fist in the head towards the end of the game. these malaysians might have just fueled the fire for the philippines' drive for gold as they take on thailand next game.

what could be a concern for sinag pilipinas in their gold medal match is the spotty officiating in the past two games. the number of free throw attempts by their opponents may point to two things: it's either the opponent attacked the rim a lot or the referees blew their whistle too frequently in the game. discovery perlas ng pilipinas, their female counterparts, fell prey to some interesting calls in the endgame of their gold medal match against thailand, including the three pointer at the buzzer which they claim should have only been a two as the thai player stepped on the line. referees and their calls are part of the proverbial breaks of the game, but if philippines want to win it clean, they have to come out the locker room with guns ablaze and thrash thailand on sunday. they might as well avenge perlas' loss to the thai women's basketball team in the process.

The Scores:

Sinag Pilipinas 103 – Slaughter 16, Hodge 12, Garcia 11, Pascual 11, Salva 11, Parks 8, Ellis 7, Tiu 7, Lanete 7, Monfort 6, Ravena 5, Marcelo 2.

Malaysia 74 – Batumalai 24, Kwaan 11, Ooi 10, Wee 8, Ng 7, Chee 5, Kuppusamy 5, Loh 2, Wong 2, Lau 0, Ong 0, Kuek 0.

Quarters: 23-19, 44-41, 73-60, 103-74

IMBA pa rin

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sinag pilipinas rolled past its opponents in the men's basketball competition in the 26th southeast asia games with two resounding victories in the past two days.

yesterday, philippines led more than vietnam scored, 107-53. greg slaughter, the tallest basketball player in the competition, scored 20 points, hauled 6 rebounds, and had 2 blocks. rayray parks, reigning uaap mvp, was also impressive with a 19 point performance.

we all know that basketball is not (yet) vietnam's sport, but most of the players in their national squad will be part of the team called saigon heat in the forthcoming asean basketball league season this january. still, sinag, bolstered by collegiate and pba-dl standouts, outworked the taller and older opponents from the other side of the sea.



and today, philippines beat perennial contender thailand, 103-69. the 34 point lead is the slimmest margin so far among sinag's games. this time, it was cliff hodge's time to lead the team in scoring with 15 points. kiefer ravena continued to provide numbers that would bring smiles to fantasy basketball gms: 14 points on 6/9 field goal shooting including 3 treys, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals. the thai national team was composed of players from the chang thailand slammers in the abl but are still outplayed by the younger and faster filipinos.

as i mentioned in a previous post, i'm still looking forward to see "real" competition to test the team. i would love to see how coach norman black's system has been adapted by players coming from various collegiate teams as well as two additional d-league players. but since this is the sea games, we will most likely be dominating like a big fish in a small pond. it may take a little more time and development for us to play with the rest of the ocean predators in asia and the world.

The Scores: 

November 15, 2011

Philippines (107) - Slaughter 20, Parks 19, Ellis 11, Lanete 11, Marcelo 9, Pascual 8, Ravena 8, Hodge 8, Salva 4, Tiu 4, Monfort 3, Garcia 2

Vietnam (53) - H. Nguyen 11, N. Le 10, Trieu 8, Doan 7, Duong 7, Hoang 6, Ngo 2, Vu 2

Quarters: 32-4, 59-23, 84-41, 107-53

November 16, 2011

Philippines (103) - Hodge 15, Ravena 14, Salva 12, Slaugther 11, Ellis 11, Parks 10, Lanete 8, Garcia 7, Monfort 6, Tiu 6, Marcelo 3

Thailand (69) - D. Apiromvilaichai 12, Klahan 11, Kaedum 8, Kongkum 8, Jantuma 7, Sangthong 6, Lertmalaiporn 5, Kruatiwa 5, Dasom 3, D. Apiromvilaichai 2, Ghogar 2

Quarterscores: 37-21; 54-34; 75-49; 103-69

IMBA

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sinag pilipinas, the philippine basketball team competing in the 2011 southeast asian games, razed its cambodian counterparts with a 59 point blowout, 127-68.

the team shot a blistering 71% from the field, with every member of the lineup lighting up the scoreboard, 7 of them even scoring in double figures. kiefer ravena led the pack with 17 points on 8/8 shooting as rr garcia, garvo lanete, nico salva, dave marcelo, chris ellis, and rayray parks also scored in double figures for sinag pilipinas.

it was a delight watching sinag play together, despite only practicing with each other for only three weeks. competing against professional basketball players from their asean counterparts, this team is relatively young yet loves to run and has an advantage in terms of basketball iq. under coach norman black, defense is the forte of the team, and such is evident in the manner they outrebounded, outran, and outhustled the opponent.



of course, one can say that "it's just cambodia", but this game served as a good preparation for sinag as they face "tougher" opponents in the competition. it would be nice to see them play against "real" competition though in the years to come.

finally, it was nice to see an all-ateneo five on the floor at one part of the game: greg slaughter at center, salva at pf, chris tiu at sf, ravena at sg, and emman monfort at pg. though armchair coaches in the internet have raised eyebrows on the number of ateneo players in the line-up, i have to say that these players have been well-accustomed with the coach's system. they might not have much offensive firepower as others, but they follow the team concept of playing. besides, statistically, these players are quite efficient - in scoring, fg%, assist-turnover ratio, etc. - compared to other players who can score chunks yet can throw more bricks along the way. in the end, it's about efficiency and team play that will lead this team to another gold medal finish.

The scores:

Philippines (127) – Ravena 17, Garcia 16, Lanete 15, Salva 14, Marcelo 12, Ellis 12, Parks 10, Tiu 9, Hodge 9, Pascual 6, Monfort 2.

Cambodia (68) – Sophoeun 24, Pek 24, Boroth 15, Kim, V. 3, Kim 0, Sovann 0, Meas 0, Monh 0, Lov 0, Chom 0.

Quarterscores: 35-20; 61-39; 93-56; 127-68

11 basketball wishes for 11/11/11

 

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today is november 11, 2011 - or in pop culture, 11-11-11. i'm not really a fan of superstition and numbers, but some people consider this day to be a lucky one, while others don't really give a damn. nonetheless, this phenomenon won't happen again in a century, and that perhaps is the reason why a lot of people are making a fuss out of it.

they say 11/11/11 is a good day to make wishes. this might just be my lucky day to wish some things for the love of basketball, and lady luck might just smile upon me. who knows? anyway, here are 11 wishes - all basketball-related - that i have for 11/11/11.