After an eventful offseason, the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Men’s Basketball Tournament is back. This season preview will analyze the current state of the Ateneo Blue Eagles as they look ahead to their Season 86 title defense and a chance to win a fifth championship in the last six seasons.
IN THE final two games of UAAP Season 86’s opening round, the Ateneo Blue Eagles sparked their first back-to-back winning stretch this year. The Blue and White finished the round with two big wins against the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers and the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons.
It was by far the most impressive week for the Blue Eagles this season, as Head Coach Tab Baldwin’s crew scored an average of 98 points en route to an average winning margin of 15 points in the two games.
In their matchup against bottom-ranked UST, a second-half explosion by two-thirds of the “Ateneo pillars”—Joseph Obasa and Chris Koon—catapulted the Blue and White to a comfortable twenty-point victory, 97-77. Meanwhile, in the much-anticipated Season 85 finals rematch against league-leaders UP, rookie sensation Mason Amos exploded for 19 points to deal the Fighting Maroons their first loss of the season in overtime, 99-89.
At the conclusion of the first round, Ateneo improved from sixth to third place, tallying a 4-3 win-loss slate and a head-to-head tiebreaker advantage over the De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Archers. The Katipunan-based squad will be looking to pick up where they left off as the second round commences today.
- Making the ROY case for Mase
Gershon: With the first round already in the record books, we have reached that point of the season where people start to have discussions about their picks for Most Valuable Player (MVP) and Rookie of the Year (ROY). After outclassing fellow ROY candidate Francis Lopez in their recent win against UP, Amos has now officially entered the debate for the league’s best rookie.
Starting the season relatively slow, Amos picked up the pace in the last two games to finish the first round with averages of 10 points on 40% shooting from three, and 4.4 rebounds in only 15 minutes of playing time. The sweet-shooting big has only started once for Ateneo, but made the most of that opportunity during their victory against the Fighting Maroons in which he played a season-high of 24 minutes.
The highly-touted first-year player chose the perfect time to play his best game in an Ateneo uniform. The Fil-Australian bigman led the way for the Blue Eagles with a game-high 19 points—seven coming in overtime—10 rebounds, two assists, and a +13 efficiency during Sunday’s Battle of Katipunan clash.
Based on his efficient performances in limited playing time, Amos’s minutes in the following round of games is definitely expected to rise. As the season progresses, the talented rookie is only expected to get better, especially now that Coach Baldwin already has seven games of intel to figure out how to incorporate the stretch four into the Ateneo system.
With a Statistical Point (SP) value of 41.57, Amos is currently ranked third in the ROY race after the first seven games. The rookie Blue Eagle is trailing University of the East’s Precious Momowei (62.14) and UP’s Lopez (58.57) for the coveted award. However, at the rate he’s playing, the 19-year-old sniper has more than enough time to catch up and snatch the top rookie award when the season concludes.
- The unsung heroes of Ateneo
Gershon: Every great team needs a reliable role player, someone who is comfortable playing in the shadows of star teammates. In the fortunate case of Ateneo, veterans Sean Quitevis and Jason Credo fit that role to perfection.
The stat sheet will not tell you this, but these two swingmen have been pivotal in the Blue Eagles’ season so far. In the Katipunan derby matchup, the defensive-minded duo helped limit UP star guards JD Cagulangan and Harold Alarcon to a miserable shooting night, hitting only four of their combined 21 attempts from the field. Credo was effective on both ends of the floor as he tallied an impressive all-around effort of eight points, seven rebounds, two steals, and two blocks in 21 productive minutes during the Sunday showdown. Meanwhile, co-captain Quitevis contributed three boards, four assists, and one steal, while pesking the hot-shooting of UP Captain CJ Cansino in the make-or-break minutes of the fourth quarter and in overtime.
At the climax of the heated battle with the score tied in the dying seconds of regulation, Quitevis’s crucial defensive stop on a go-ahead Cagulangan drive helped prevent an imminent UP comeback win. The six-foot Cebuano’s defense ultimately resulted in the contest extending for five more minutes, where Amos and the boys finished the job in style.
The two veterans also played a crucial role in the UST blowout game, limiting main adversary Nic Cabañero to a -15 efficiency on the court. Quitevis recorded three assists and three steals on +8 efficiency, while Credo pitched in with three boards, one steal, and two blocks on +11 efficiency.
With veteran role players like them who can excel outside the limelight and consistently succeed in their respective tasks, the Ateneo “stars” will not be forced to carry such a heavy load. Ultimately, a combination of good performances between the stars and these scrappy energy-guys will lead to more harmonious contributions and an influx of victories.
- Parity within the league
Euan: After extinguishing the Fighting Maroons’ fiery start, the Blue Eagles regained the once-lacking confidence in themselves after halting the first-seeded team from sweeping the first round. Coach Baldwin admitted that the win was vital for the defending champions’ Basketball program, while Amos believed that every team is considered beatable this Season 86.
The rookie’s statement remains credible, especially when we look at the last set of games before the conclusion of the first round. Before last Sunday’s marquee matchup, the struggling Growling Tigers finally broke their 19-game dry spell against the Far Eastern University Tamaraws.
The Tamaraws were fresh off a two-game winning streak prior to their fifth loss, besting Ateneo and the fifth-seeded Adamson Soaring Falcons. The Tamaraws also brought the Fighting Maroons to the edge during their first-round match, sending the Season 84 champions to its first overtime period for the season.
The Fighting Maroons also demolished the second-seeded National University Bulldogs during the second half of their round 1 matchup after a tooth-and-nail first half. The Bulldogs’ win against the De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Archers came from overtime as DLSU failed to convert five of their six free throws during the dying seconds of the fourth period and overtime.
The Green Archers then had to erupt in the third quarter against the Soaring Falcons just to get by, while the Soaring Falcons almost blew a 15-point advantage against the University of the East Red Warriors. Finally, the Red Warriors were one of the six teams that pummeled UST to round up the competitive circle of Season 86.
With that being said, seven teams realistically have a chance to hoist up the trophy by the end of the season given the right amount of luck, preparation, and execution. Hence, a squad like Ateneo—who toppled an undefeated squad but succumbed to a winless squad—should treat every game with the same mindset in order to follow through with their retention bid aspirations.
This week’s games:
Wednesday, October 25, 4:00 PM, vs. Far Eastern University Tamaraws (2-5) at the Mall of Asia Arena
Sunday, October 29, 6:00 PM, vs. University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons (6-1) at the Smart Araneta Coliseum
Current Standings (W-L)
- UP Fighting Maroons (6-1)
- NU Bulldogs (6-1)
- ATENEO Blue Eagles (4-3)
- DLSU Green Archers (4-3)
- ADU Soaring Falcons (3-4)
- UE Red Warriors (2-5)
- FEU Tamaraws (2-5)
- UST Growling Tigers (1-6)
