BASKETBALL REFLECTIONS: Of main men and supporting cast Part 2
By Randy Sacdalan, Guest Columnist
18 August 2009 11:52 AM
(last of a two-part series)
UE and UST: A few good men will bring these two teams to the final four. Very interesting to note is that both teams have a triangle of an offensive arsenal.
In the games UE has won, Llagas, Espiritu and Lee would show the way. In the games that UE lost, at least one of the three is inconsistent and missing from the firing line.
In the case of UST, Ababou, Mirza and very recently Jeric Teng comprise their version of the three cornered offense. When UST lost to FEU in the first round the formula was no secret – take out Ababou and Mirza in the equation and you’ve got UST down to its knees!
It will take more than three main men to carry these two traditional powerhouses beyond Final Four. The supporting cast must be ready to take a starring role and unburden the over exposure of the main men.
DLSU: Perhaps the most inconsistent Final Four candidate, the Archers are tops in terms of bench scoring because their starters are no better than their bench players. They are still looking for some people to take the spots of JV Casio and Rico Maierhofer.
For a while they look like they’re a shoo-in for the Final Four but looking at their 4-5 win –loss record, two more losses in the second round may kick them out of the final four scene for the first time since the format was introduced in 1994.
Joshua Webb is slowly shaping up as their hero but this hero has to check his energy level to become consistent and dependable. If their starters, particularly the veterans, could rediscover how to shoot the basketball with better accuracy, the Archers may yet avert a disastrous campaign and the epilogue sooner than the final chapter of the season.
NU, UP, and ADU: All three teams have registered two wins each. And in those two wins, a concerted effort involving the bench fabricated the victories. A long winding road ahead that seem impossible but still probable to go to the big dance await the Bulldogs, Fighting Maroons, and Falcons.
Lester Alvarez is the main character for the Falcons, Mervin Baloran for NU, and Woody Co for UP: these are the main men for the teams at the bottom.
Where’s the supporting cast? Exactly that’s the question so far for these teams. The supporting casts are watchers from the bench and from the floor except during the two games each of them have won. Cheering your teammates is ok as long as you do your job on the court. Leave the cheering to your pep squads. It will really take a lot of hard work and some luck to get things done for these three teams. Their fortunes are now dependent on the saga of the teams on top of them. Their casts maybe headed for a similar ending same as season 71 and their mindset beyond chapter 72.
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Jessica Mendoza with Oping Sumalinog & Noy Baclao after Ateneo won the PCCL title
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Ateneo coach Norman Black answers questions from a pack of reporters after Game 2 win in PCCL Finals
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Eagles & Tams got entangled in a close match in Game 1
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Noy Baclao teaches the ropes on up-and-coming Justin Chua during ADMU-SBC PCCL Final Four game
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FEU's Paul Sanga exchanges words with SSC's Pamboy Raymundo in the heated PCCL Final Four battle.
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catch Nico Salva's breakout game in PCCL
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