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 my second to the last post of this series, I will be analyzing the forever underdogs; the UST Growling Tigers.
For my second to the last post of this series, I will be analyzing the forever underdogs; the UST Growling Tigers.
UST Growling Tigers
Season 75 Record: 10 - 4
Head Coach: Pido Jarencio
Lingering Question: Who will be their primary play maker, and most importantly, their leader?
Preseason Analysis:
The preseason wasn't filled with much pressure for the Tigers. It was filled with questions, and quite a lot of them. The main question that was and is still is; Who will be their primary play maker? It was between Ed Dacuiaog or Tata Bautista. Jamil Sheriff even joined the conversation but the two are the prime candidates. Despite the two month preseason, there is still no specific starter. Both players have been pretty on - off, plus they actually both play similarly. Choosing which one, and a consistent one will be a problem for UST come the season.
Jeric Teng emerged as the top scorer for the team, even scoring 27 points in one game. Aljon Mariano remained his usual steady and clutch self. Karim Abdul was a revelation, the bad kind. He played the during the preseason, for his standards of course. Did he nurse an injury, or did he just take it easy? Kevin Ferrer was solid not only as a defender, but also as a scorer.
Predictions for the season:
To be honest, I'm pretty 50 - 50 with UST. For one, they still have most of their core, with only Jeric Fortuna as their loss (albeit a huge loss). Jeric Teng will lead this team with their offense, and expect him to take the clutch shots when needed to. Aljon Mariano will always be there to provide great contributions on offense, plus, he can take over during the clutch as well. Kevin Ferrer will definitely provide elite perimeter defense, and offensive firepower as well. Personally, the player I'm most worried about is Karim Abdul.
Jeric Teng emerged as the top scorer for the team, even scoring 27 points in one game. Aljon Mariano remained his usual steady and clutch self. Karim Abdul was a revelation, the bad kind. He played the during the preseason, for his standards of course. Did he nurse an injury, or did he just take it easy? Kevin Ferrer was solid not only as a defender, but also as a scorer.
Predictions for the season:
To be honest, I'm pretty 50 - 50 with UST. For one, they still have most of their core, with only Jeric Fortuna as their loss (albeit a huge loss). Jeric Teng will lead this team with their offense, and expect him to take the clutch shots when needed to. Aljon Mariano will always be there to provide great contributions on offense, plus, he can take over during the clutch as well. Kevin Ferrer will definitely provide elite perimeter defense, and offensive firepower as well. Personally, the player I'm most worried about is Karim Abdul.
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| Was the pre season a sign of things to come? (credits to interaksyon.com) |
I know I will get a lot of flak from this, but hear me out. Abdul may have had an MVP type of season last year, but the thing is, the batch of big men for this year is crazy. Last year, the only ELITE big man he had to contend with was Greg Slaughter. This year, he has to contend against Charles Mammie, Jason Perkins and Alfred Aroga to name a few. How do I think will Abdul perform this year? Not as good as last year, but he will still contribute a lot.
For the point guard spot, it will be a problem that won't be solved even until the end of their season. Ed and Tata are both so inconsistent that you have no clear idea on who you should use. UST will surely miss not only Jeric Fortuna's top tier play making ability, but also his ability to bail UST out of games with his clutch threes. Despite Jeric's loss though, one thing will never be lost from UST this year, and that's HEART. Their heart and determination can bring them to great heights, but can it bring them to that this year?
Key players:
Karim Abdul and Aljon Mariano will lead the front court of UST, with both being very much versatile. Kevin Ferrer will be the lead swing man for the Espana based players, and he will lead UST's perimeter defense as well. Jeric Teng will always be there to hit the long bombs for UST, and he will be their main scorer for this year.
Players to watch out for:
Honestly, there are really no players to watch out for in UST's campaign this year. They will rely heavily on their veterans, so their bench players won't get so much playing time. I originally wanted to add Tata Bautista on this list, but I realized that he's already pretty well known in the league so never mind.
Place by the end of the season: 5th (will not make Final Four)
Among all my predictions, this is the one I have the least confidence in. In short, if they actually do end up making the Final Four, I actually won't be shocked. I just have this itching feeling that the lack of depth of UST will end up hurting them by the end of the season. I will ensure one thing though; If there is one team that will surely give Ateneo the fits not only during the regular season, but also during the Final Four and the Finals, it's them.
The final team that will be analyzed for this series will be the Ateneo Blue Eagles.
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