think rainbows

Now that the first round of eliminations is over, I'd like to share a few thoughts about the different teams and how they fared during the first round. We've seen upsets, huge wins and heartbreakers, but the real battle begins as the second round of action starts this Saturday.

First up, here's the team standings after the first round of eliminations:

Ateneo  7-0
AdU          5-2
FEU          4-3
DLSU  4-3
UST          3-4
NU          2-5
UP          2-5
UE          1-6


As expected, Ateneo's dominating all other teams with an unblemished record of 7-0. I am particularly excited for their rematch with Adamson, since the Falcons were the only team that they beat with a single digit winning margin, 55-51. All the rest, the Blue Eagles have beaten by more than 10 points, some even by 20 points or more. Yes, they are good. Yes, they're definitely the team to beat, and yes, they will be in the UAAP Season 74 Men's Basketball Finals. It's obvious that they've got golden recruits in Greg Slaughter and Kiefer Ravena, though I'd prefer the latter than the former. Their veterans are always reliable and are just the right amount of leadership and versatility on court. They are beatable though, as even Batman and Superman have their own weaknesses too. What remains to be seen is who will be able to do it, how will they be able to do it, and when.

The Falcons are definitely soaring high this season. Probably Coach Leo Austria is tired of hearing all the meltdown stories that are being linked to his team. This time, he wants to prove something to the rest of the UAAP Men's Basketball world that they are worthy of their second place position right now, and that they definitely are worthy of (finally?) a finals spot. It shows in how his team is playing, on how his players are improving, and how their games are looking. They've started to have the habit of posting huge leads in the first half, and being able to keep it until the final buzzer sounds, except for the game against NU. As what they say, there's always an exception to every rule, right?

On the other hand, last year's runner-up hasn't really been showing off. Their first game against Lasalle was great, but their succeeding games after that were 'just enough'. They lost to Adamson, Ateneo, and UP, and barely got out with a win against UST and NU. I'm not really sure what's the problem here. Terence is on a bit of a slump, I haven't heard much of him. RR? Cawaling? If their games continue like this, they might suddenly find themselves on a very unusual position in the team standings. I'm pretty sure their coach is doing something about it.

After starting the season on a 0-2 note after losing to FEU and archrival Ateneo, Lasalle bounced back and won their next three assignments against UP, NU and UE. Adamson dealt them their third loss as the Archers on the other hand dealt the Tigers their fourth loss, to stay in the top 4 of the standings. I know Coach Dindo Pumaren is one of the few coaches who really uses all his players in every game. Sometimes it works, but sometimes it doesn't and almost costs them the game. Has he finally found the perfect combination? So far, they're doing okay as they are tied with FEU with a 4-3 standing.

Was it all just hype? NU is one of the most awaited teams here in the 74th season of the UAAP mainly because of Bobby Ray Parks, Jr. But what they've shown so far isn't exactly what spectators were expecting. Yes, Parks has been playing good, he's been getting his numbers, but they aren't exactly always converted into wins for his team. A case of one-man team? I don't think so. It's more of a rely-on-one-man team. What happened to Mbe? I don't know either. Although recently he's been finally helping out his team. NU needs to step it up big time if they want to make it at least to the fourth spot.

Ah, UP. 0-14 no more. Although, at 2-5, there's still lots to do. Just like NU, they need to step it up big time as well if they want a spot in the final four. They won their first game against UE and everyone rejoiced. Then a series of loses came after, but a huge upset against FEU got the Maroons celebrating again, just to be halted by the Tigers and the Falcons. For their past two games, they weren't even able to reach 50 points for the entire game. Their players have been inconsistent after that huge FEU win, and they cannot play like that continuously if they want to add more W's in that record.

At least, no team is to finish without a win in this season of the UAAP. The UE Red Warriors were looking like they were going to be the new victims of the 0-14 curse. But then again, the unpredictability of this game has been very obvious this season, as they were able to score a win against NU. Hard work. Determination. It was a great way to end the first round for UE, especially for their new coach and for Zamar. UE is obviously in a rebuilding mode, and time will come that they'll be out of the cellar once again. But of course, just like any other team, they won't go down without a fight. So we all better watch out still.

UP beats last year's runner up FEU. Then UST defeats UP. UE then steals a win against NU. As NU gets away with a win against Adamson. Wow UAAP, your unpredictability has really shown itself. Everyone's instilled the season's theme in them. All out. All heart.

P.S.
Maybe we just need to work on the officiating now. KTHNKSBYE.

P.P.S.
The Growling Tigers on my next post! As well as some UAAP Cheerdance Competition stuff. :))