UAAP Season 76: Ateneo Blue Eagles Preview and Predictions

  

   The season starts in a couple of days, and teams are surely preparing hard for the grand chase to the Championship. The parity for the league this year is practically unheard of, with nearly every team being contenders not only for a Final Four spot, but also for the championship. 

     For my preview and predictions for each team, I will predict the team's standing (meaning the place that they will be in), and the different developments that I expect to see from the team as the season rolls on. I will also list down the key players for the team's run to the Final Four, and the players who we should watch out for developmental wise (rookies and bench players fall under this category).

  For the last post of this series, I will be analyzing the reigning and defending champions. The Ateneo Blue Eagles.

Ateneo Blue Eagles:

Season 75 Record: 12 - 2

Head Coach: Bo Perasol

Lingering Question: Can Kiefer Ravena lead Ateneo to the sixth?

Preseason Analysis:

  The preseason.. well, I can consider it a confusing one for the Blue Eagles. Things still aren't clear for the Blue Eagles because well... their preseason was confusing. How was it confusing? For one, only 2 things have been cleared out. The first thing is, undoubtedly, this is Kiefer Ravena's team now. Where Kiefer goes, the team goes. The other is, the depth of the team is certainly alarming, and you can also blame injuries with that. Well the other things... they aren't so clear. Sure, Ateneo only lost one game and that was against the UST Growling Tigers, but that really can't be a basis for things to come. If you want to look at it negatively, you could say that they showed too much by making it clear that Kiefer will be a consistent 20 - 5 - 5 performer more or less. If you look at it positively though, you could say that they didn't have JP Erram, Giboy Babilonia, Gwyne Capacio, and for part of the  preseason Von Pessumal, so maybe those guys can actually add additional firepower. 

Predictions for The Season:

  Before I start making crazy and hopefully unbiased predictions, I'll make one prediction that (I hope) no one will give me flak for. Kiefer Ravena will UNDOUBTEDLY be an MVP candidate, and heck, he could even win the MVP.

Where Kiefer goes, Ateneo goes.
(credits to sports.inquirer.net)

  Now that's out of the way, time for the bold predictions. For one, expect Ateneo to still contend. People have Ateneo at the Final Four spots, but with a mix of doubt because of the La Salles, the NUs, the UEs and even the Adamsons suddenly coming into play. In my opinion though, they will not only contend for a Final Four spot, but for the championship. Next, Frank Golla will produce not only on defense for the Eagles, but also on offense. He showed great promise during the DLSU game in the Filoil Preseason Cup hitting those mid range jumpers as if he was Nico Salva. He will slowly mold better as an offensive player as the season goes by. Maybe not in the same mold as Nico Salva in terms of amount of production, but productive either way.  

  Third, Ateneo's depth might cause their downfall, especially during the latter parts of the season. Thing is, if they weren't so injury ravaged, their depth won't be that bad of an issue, but thing is, they are. Their injuries will end up costing them thus their depth will also take quite a hit. Even Kiefer's injured (sob), but he will be fighting through it tomorrow against NU. Lastly, my boldest prediction of all; If Ateneo makes it to the Finals, all bets are off... unless they are against UST. Why? Season 73 Finals. That's all. 

Key players:

  Of course, Kiefer will be the one to lead the team in probably every statistical category. Juami Tiongson will be the one manning the point guard spot, and expect him to hit those long bombs as well. Chris Newsome will probably man the 4, and expect him to be their best perimeter defender. Buenafe will always provide clutch shots, while Frank Golla and JP Erram will be manning the front court.

Players to watch out for this season: 

  Jerie Pingoy.

  Okay that was a bad joke, especially for Ateneo fans like me. In two years I'll be saying that. Anyway, one player we should watch out for is the sidekick of Kiefer ever since their High School days, Von Pessumal. 

Von will look to support Kiefer in the back court this upcoming season.
(credits to inboundpass.com)

  Von showed great promise during the preseason, being one of Ateneo's top guns before he got injured. Many people started comparing him to Steph Curry because he practically had unlimited range during the preseason, and for good reason. He will be able to space the floor for the Eagles, thus reducing the clogging in the paint that most teams will probably do in the half court against the Eagles. He's healthy now, although question is, is his shooting touch still the same? 

  Another player who should be on the watch is Gwyne Capacio. This is actually Capacio's 4th year in Ateneo, and he was a blue chip recruit out of high school, so it's quite a shock that he's actually still a player that we should watch out for. Thing is, he got quite lost in the shuffle the past two seasons because of Kirk Long and Ryan Buenafe. Despite Buenafe's presence still being there, expect him to be a steady contributor not only on defense, but also on offense. 

Place by the end of the season: 2nd (Final Four with twice to beat advantage)

   This season will be a tougher version of Season 73. They have a sure fire star now in Kiefer, his back ups are more than respectable, although they have no presence in the low post since Erram and Golla aren't exactly known as players who can score with their back to the baskets. They will be playing with a sense of urgency, wanting to prove doubters wrong. Will they win a championship? We'll see. As I said, if they get into the Finals along with a team not named UST, all bets are off. 

To end this series, here's my final predictions concerning the standings of each team. Also included is my personal Mythical Five, and my prediction for MVP.
1st place - NU

2nd place - ADMU

3rd place - UE

4th place - DLSU

5th place - UST

6th place -  AdU

7th place - FEU

8th place - UP

Mythical Five:
Center - Too many to mention, too difficult to predict

Power Forward - Too many to mention, too difficult to predict.

Small Forward - Ray Ray Parks (NU)

Shooting Guard - Kiefer Ravena (ADMU)

Point Guard - Roi Sumang (UE)

MVP: Ray Ray Parks (NU)

Runner up: Kiefer Ravena (ADMU)