What We Learned From the FilOil and AsiaBasket Finals
For hoops fans who are starving for UAAP action, the preseason games are a tasty Caesar’s salad. Thank God for this much-needed appetizer!
Before the main course is served in September, we have tournaments to satisfy our craving for UAAP content. Imagine if we didn’t have preseason games to get us through this stretch—we’d be angrier than a 6-foot-8 hulk whose dunk attempt got called for goaltending! (Too soon?)
This past weekend, AsiaBasket and the FilOil EcoOil Preseason Cup held two championship games featuring four of the best collegiate teams in the country. While these games aren’t exactly the most sought-after item on the local basketball menu, they were nevertheless nourishing for all parties involved.
Fans got entertainment value, no doubt, but the players and the coaching staff of all four teams got to work on the execution of their plays and experiment with their lineups. Though UST, Adamson, UP, and NU certainly didn’t unleash their full arsenal this past weekend, there are certain observations that we just can’t ignore. Here’s what we can glean from the AsiaBasket and FilOil finals.
Adamson: Underestimate at Your Own Expense
Let it be known, ladies and gentlemen of the basketball community, that Adamson’s had enough of your disrespect.
Alright, I’ll come clean—our disrespect. On the July 28 episode of The Navs Effect podcast, I didn’t rank the Soaring Falcons among the five best teams in the UAAP today.
For a team that has made the Final Four twice in the last three seasons, Adamson has been constantly overlooked, underrated, and cast aside as a playoff contender. But, last Friday, they secured something that goes a long way in silencing critics: a championship.
As a sign of how repentant I am, I won’t put the words “preseason” and “championship” beside each other. There’s no devaluing going on here: In the winner-take-all matchup of the AsiaBasket International Invitational, the Soaring Falcons—or, should I say, the undefeated Falcons—looked extremely sharp, displayed exceptional poise, and overcame the pressure of the moment to become champions.
There are two things that excite me the most when it comes to Adamson this coming UAAP season. One of them is the Falcons’ improved execution on offense, particularly in the halfcourt. Whereas their production seemed to hinge on their outside shots in Season 87, Adamson displayed mastery of the midrange game in their win over the Growling Tigers in the AsiaBasket final.
These are not flashy Falcons. These are fundamentally sound Falcons who make crisp passes and sound decisions that lead to high-quality shots in both the perimeter and the paint. Head coach Nash Racela, himself an underappreciated mentor at times, deserves plenty of credit for his young wards’ growth.
Speaking of youth, I’m also excited for the future of this UAAP team. While the Baby Falcons diaspora of 2024 leaves us with a number of what-ifs (as in, “What if Tebol Garcia and Vince Reyes had stayed in San Marcelino?”), this year’s recruits from the Adamson juniors program have a pretty high ceiling. The twin towers, Jireh Tumaneng and Allen Perez, showed glimpses of what they could do as wide bodies in the paint. And, against UST’s veteran backcourt, rookie Earl Medina showed zero nerves as he scored 16 points en route to winning AsiaBasket Finals MVP.
So, does anyone care to underestimate Adamson now? Probably not a good idea.
UST: Matchup Nightmares Galore
Koji Buenaflor is going to be a problem. Let’s get that out of the way.
Sooner or later, opposing defenders in the UAAP seniors division will have their hands full as they try to contain this 6-foot-6 youngster. Close out too hard on him, and he’ll put the ball on the floor and make a play. Give him space to operate, and he’ll shoot reliably from the outside. (Kevin Ferrer vibes? Yep, Kevin Ferrer vibes.)
In my eyes, Buenaflor—who scored six points on 2-for-3 shooting in the AsiaBasket final—exemplifies UST’s special weapon this season: a subset of matchup nightmares that should bamboozle guards and big men alike.
I’m talking about Gelo Crisostomo, who put up 12 points, eight rebounds, and five assists in the latest chapter of his transformation into a stretch four. I’m talking about Mark Llemit, who continues to punish smaller guards with his combination of size and scoring prowess. To a certain extent, I’m also talking about Amiel Acido, another big backcourt dude who displayed an inside-outside game against the Soaring Falcons.
While there’s no doubt that UST has multiple Swiss Army knives on their roster, the AsiaBasket final shed light on two key roles that they need to revisit in the short-term and long-term future.
- One of them is court general. News flash: Forthsky Padriago is in his final year. Say what you will about his shooting struggles last Friday (4-for-11 shooting, to be exact), you’d be hard-pressed to find a point guard with passing skills and basketball IQ that can outshine the former Mythical Team member. The UST braintrust better have a succession plan for the starting point guard position.
- The other role is closer. Nic Cabañero didn’t play in the final against Adamson, and in the last two minutes of that game, the Growling Tigers struggled to buy a crunchtime basket. The reality is, Cabañero is another player who’s competing in his final year, which means that UST needs to find their next closer in the near future. Will it be an individual (like, say, Crisostomo) who will be given the keys to the kingdom? Or will the team employ a committee approach?
NU: Will the Real Main Man Please Stand Up?
Speaking of keys to the kingdom…
Less than three minutes into the third quarter of Sunday’s FilOil final, Jake Figueroa found himself open for a baseline jumper. Instead of shooting the rock, the fifth-year player decided to put the ball on the floor and move closer to the rim.
Seconds later, Figueroa stopped in his tracks. He’d been called for a traveling violation.
This moment is a snapshot of NU’s performance in this past weekend’s 79-65 loss: filled with hesitation and wasted potential. I realize that I sound like—what’s the word—a hater with that last statement, but truth be told, the fact that NU has not lived up to their championship potential against UAAP competition is quite disappointing.
Disappointment stems from expectations, and I’d like to think that my expectations of the Bulldogs in the past few UAAP seasons have been rooted in genuine respect. Since Jeff Napa took the helm as head coach in Season 84, the NU program has been a benchmark of player development and impeccable execution on both ends of the floor.
This season, you have big men like PJ Palacielo and Kenshin Padrones who are simultaneously big bruisers and 21st-century centers with a soft touch. You have an athletic freak like Jolo Manansala whose second jump is just as good as his initial leaping action. Plus, you have a dependable facilitator in Steve Nash Enriquez, scoring threats like Reinhard Jumamoy and Gelo Santiago, and a pro-ready, extremely ripe Figueroa.
So much talent, yes, but this past Sunday’s beatdown showed a clear lack of a figurehead. I found myself asking: Who is the real main man among these Sampaloc boys?
I’ve always been in awe of NU’s system ball—quite frankly, it’s better than what I’ve seen in some PBA teams—but this approach clearly has a ceiling. Maybe it’s time for the Bulldogs to start turning to a well-defined go-to guy who will anchor their offense, especially in times when scoring is so hard to get by.
I’d love to end this section on an open-ended note, but I think my vision for NU is crystal clear. The guy who hesitated to shoot a baseline jumper and got called for steps? He shouldn’t be hesitating. At all.
I say: Let Jake Figueroa be the main man. Maybe, just maybe, that will help NU finally get over the hump.
UP: Have the Defending Champions Finally Fixed Their Glaring Weakness?
Look past the three-peat, the ECJ Perpetual Trophy, and all the fan celebrations online. Just like all the other teams that joined the FilOil tournament, the UP Fighting Maroons had a burning question to address over the past two months. What are our areas for improvement, and how do we actually improve?
Let’s put it this way. Throughout the course of their FilOil games, the Maroons were able to explore a committee approach to address the JD Cagulangan-sized hole in their lineup. Also, while they lost a highly athletic, rim-running Francis (Lopez), they found themselves another highly athletic, rim-running Francis (Nnoruka).
By the time they walked into the FilOil championship game, UP had one roster need that they still hadn’t quite addressed. I’m talking, of course, about the loss of Quentin Millora-Brown, their elite rim protector from UAAP Season 87.
Proving once again to be the master of halftime adjustments, head coach Goldwyn Monteverde and his trusted defensive coordinator Tom Chua came up with a tactic to offset the lack of a next-level individual defender in the paint. In the second half of the championship game, UP’s big men (such as Sean Alter and Mark Belmonte) blindsided NU’s post players with double-teams that also involved the long wing span of Nnoruka.
This defensive adjustment by UP forced a number of stops and turnovers on the NU side. In particular, bigs like Padrones and Palacielo struggled to create scoring opportunities in the post. With this key source of production being shut off by UP, the Bulldogs could not efficiently get buckets, leading to a wide deficit that stretched to 21 points in the second half.
Can the Fighting Maroons utilize this rim protection strategy on a consistent basis in the upcoming UAAP season? That remains to be seen. For now, UP fans will have to settle for the appetizer served in San Juan.
