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).
Let's start by writing about the much revamped UP Fighting Maroons.
UP Fighting Maroons
Season 75 Record: 1 - 13 (8th in the league)
Head Coach: Ricky Dandan
Lingering Question: How will their newcomers impact the team?
Preseason Analysis:
The preseason for the Iskolars wasn't that eventful actually, and I'm pretty sure that they're actually pretty used to it. They got to cop Andre Paras, son of PBA legend and UP alumnus Benjie Paras, and Kyles Lao, a former youth team standout from Xavier. Not much was expected from UP, and for good reason. Even Coach Ricky Dandan admitted that UP is in a rebuilding stage of sorts. There are 8 newcomers in the team, and most of these guys are either transferees, or under the radar recruits. The players who emerged as the leaders and the stars for the team were former La Salle standout Sam Marata and big man Raul Soyud. Marata lead the charge for the Iskolars in terms of scoring and play making, while Soyud lead UP's front line with his rebounding.
Season 76 Predictions:
Well, one prediction that I can assure you is that UP will be last place. Probably last season, this would have hurt more, but for this year, it won't hurt, at all. As Coach Ricky Dandan said, the team is in rebuilding mode, meaning, it won't focus on contending as much. The Iskolars will focus on developing its young players, namely Andre Paras and Kyles Lao, arguably the two best players they got from this year's recruiting class.
The veterans of the team will put up a fight though. Sam Marata wants to prove that he can actually be the focal point of the offense of a team, and he's proven that he can do so based on his Filoil performance. Raul Soyud will want to stamp his class this year, since he is graduating. He would surely want to graduate with a bang, by contributing big time for UP.
UP is playing without any pressure, and this could prove beneficial for their growth as a team. I expect them to surprise some teams, since they aren't that feared of a team. They will play with an attitude that practically shouts "I have nothing to lose, let's do this". Will they get into the Final Four? I don't think so. But can they upset a team just like what the 2008 UP team did against Ateneo? Honestly, I think they will.
Key players:
As stated above, Sam Marata and Raul Soyud will lead UP's run to the Final Four for this year. Expected to also lead the team's charge are emerging sophomore Henry Asilum, Fil American Chris Ball, and former Ateneo standout Paolo Romero. Mikee Reyes will also provide ample firepower off the bench for UP, Moriah Gingerich could actually turn some heads this season.
Players to watch out for this season
I've already named two in Andre Paras and Kyles Lao. Andre has the athletic genes from his father, plus, he has a reliable mid range jumper and his basketball IQ is pretty high. Despite all of these though, he is still quite raw. With some exposure with the more physical style of play in the seniors ranks, plus some training from his dad, he could eventually emerge as a top big man in the league.
Kyles Lao is actually quite an interesting case. He isn't exactly as well known as Andre, since he came from Xavier, which doesn't participate in the top two amateur leagues in the country; the NCAA and the UAAP. Despite that though, he has made waves in Philippine hoops. People have said that he is a prolific scorer who prefers to drive a lot. Think Manu Ginobili 2.0. He's also deadly in the fast break, plus, his outside game has slowly been improving. Despite all of that though, his body is still quite thin for the seniors ranks, so expect him to bulk up more as the season goes on.
A veteran bench player who we should also watch out for is Mark Juruena. Many of you may wonder, who the heck is Mark Juruena? Well, he was the Season 71 UAAP Rookie of The Year, and he was quite a dominant force during his Juniors days. The same cannot be said though for his current stint as a college player. He's been mostly in the bench, and when given the opportunity to play, he hasn't produced. This is his 4th year in the UAAP, and for sure, he's sick and tired of not being to produce as well as he did during his high school days. Will he break out and emerge as a top player in the league? Maybe not. But expect him to produce quality minutes for UP.
Place by the end of the season: 8th (Last place)
As I said, expect UP to be last place once again this year. Talent wise and chemistry wise, they're probably the weakest in the whole league (especially talent wise). This year won't be of waste though. This year starts the development of the future stars of UP Basketball, so you guys so watch out for that. No where but to look UP for the Iskolars.
The next team that will be analyzed is the UE Red Warriors.
Season 76 Predictions:
Well, one prediction that I can assure you is that UP will be last place. Probably last season, this would have hurt more, but for this year, it won't hurt, at all. As Coach Ricky Dandan said, the team is in rebuilding mode, meaning, it won't focus on contending as much. The Iskolars will focus on developing its young players, namely Andre Paras and Kyles Lao, arguably the two best players they got from this year's recruiting class.
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| Watch out for this kid, ladies and gentlemen. (credits to slamonline.ph) |
The veterans of the team will put up a fight though. Sam Marata wants to prove that he can actually be the focal point of the offense of a team, and he's proven that he can do so based on his Filoil performance. Raul Soyud will want to stamp his class this year, since he is graduating. He would surely want to graduate with a bang, by contributing big time for UP.
UP is playing without any pressure, and this could prove beneficial for their growth as a team. I expect them to surprise some teams, since they aren't that feared of a team. They will play with an attitude that practically shouts "I have nothing to lose, let's do this". Will they get into the Final Four? I don't think so. But can they upset a team just like what the 2008 UP team did against Ateneo? Honestly, I think they will.
Key players:
As stated above, Sam Marata and Raul Soyud will lead UP's run to the Final Four for this year. Expected to also lead the team's charge are emerging sophomore Henry Asilum, Fil American Chris Ball, and former Ateneo standout Paolo Romero. Mikee Reyes will also provide ample firepower off the bench for UP, Moriah Gingerich could actually turn some heads this season.
Players to watch out for this season
I've already named two in Andre Paras and Kyles Lao. Andre has the athletic genes from his father, plus, he has a reliable mid range jumper and his basketball IQ is pretty high. Despite all of these though, he is still quite raw. With some exposure with the more physical style of play in the seniors ranks, plus some training from his dad, he could eventually emerge as a top big man in the league.
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| Is he the future of UP Basketball? (credits to ph.sports.yahoo.com) |
A veteran bench player who we should also watch out for is Mark Juruena. Many of you may wonder, who the heck is Mark Juruena? Well, he was the Season 71 UAAP Rookie of The Year, and he was quite a dominant force during his Juniors days. The same cannot be said though for his current stint as a college player. He's been mostly in the bench, and when given the opportunity to play, he hasn't produced. This is his 4th year in the UAAP, and for sure, he's sick and tired of not being to produce as well as he did during his high school days. Will he break out and emerge as a top player in the league? Maybe not. But expect him to produce quality minutes for UP.
Place by the end of the season: 8th (Last place)
As I said, expect UP to be last place once again this year. Talent wise and chemistry wise, they're probably the weakest in the whole league (especially talent wise). This year won't be of waste though. This year starts the development of the future stars of UP Basketball, so you guys so watch out for that. No where but to look UP for the Iskolars.
The next team that will be analyzed is the UE Red Warriors.
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