Skip to main content

UAAP Season 79 Juniors Basketball Day 1 Round Up

SJ Belangel has established himself as one of the favorites for MVP.
(Photo Credit: Joji Lapuz, Fabilioh)

Results: 


Ateneo Blue Eaglets def. UST Tiger Cubs 79-73

FEU Baby Tamaraws def. DLSZ Junior Archers 66 - 56 

AdU Baby Falcons def. UPIS Junior Maroons 82-59

NU Bullpups def. UE Junior Warriors 104-54

Notable Performances:


SJ Belangel (ADMU): 20 points, 15 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals

Kenji Roman (FEU): 8 points, 16 rebounds, 7 assists

Inand Fornillos (UST): 16 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists

Juan Gomez de Liano (UPIS): 18 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists 

Carl Tamayo (AdU): 14 points, 11 rebounds

John Lloyd Clemente: 21 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists

Key Storylines

The dominance of the Adamson Baby Falcons

When I had ranked the Baby Falcons as my #1 team for the upcoming UAAP season, a number of pundits were surprised. After all, they didn't have any notable blue-chip names in the level of SJ Belangel and Juan GDL. Against Juan and the rest of the UPIS Junior Maroons, the Baby Falcons showed just how good they were of a team.

Against the Junior Maroons, Adamson led by as much as 30 points. Mind you, UPIS is led by arguably the best player in the league today in Juan Gomez de Liano, yet somehow, Adamson still managed to win by a huge margin. Consider this game as an introduction of sorts by the Baby Falcons. They're ready to take the league by storm, with a title in their mind.

The revelation of the UST Tiger Cubs and Inand Fornillos 

I placed the UST Tiger Cubs under the "Hoping to Surprise" tier. Surprise they did, giving the talented (albeit young) Ateneo Blue Eaglets all they could handle for their first game of the season. At the forefront of UST's rise was Inand Fornillos.

Even before the game, Coach Joe Silva already expected Fornillos to contribute given his team's general lack of experience. Inand certainly contributed, dominating the interior with multiple second chance opportunities, and blocking the shots of the taller Blue Eaglet bigs. 

The Tiger Cubs may have been overlooked before the season, but expect teams to take note of them now after how they gave Ateneo a challenge to start off the season. 

Next Schedule of Games:

November 15, 2016 Tuesday (All at the San Juan Arena):

9:00 AM: DLSZ vs. UPIS

11:00 AM: AdU vs. FEU

1:00 PM: UE vs. UST

3:00 PM: ADMU vs. NU 



Comments

Popular Posts

Troy Mallillin is a Blue Eagle. Now what?

(Photo Credit: Janine Torre, The GUIDON) Against the JRU Heavy Bombers, Troy Mallillin finally made his much awaited debut as a Blue Eagle. Just seeing him in uniform was already enough for fans of the Blue Eagles to go wild. Seeing a NCAA Juniors MVP wear an Ateneo jersey feels weird, for any fan. Seeing a former La Salle Greenhills player wear the blue and white? It's like an Ateneo High School boy wearing a La Salle jersey. Oh.. wait... Obviously, any Atenean is brimming with excitement right now after managing to secure (or is it really secure?) the services of the former NCAA Juniors MVP. But what else are the other implications of Troy Mallillin taking his talents to Katipunan? Let's break it down: In the short term Right now, don't expect Troy to get a lot of minutes. As mentioned before , Ateneo is filled with a number of forwards in Mike Nieto, Vince Tolentino and Raffy Verano. Shaun Ildefonso is no longer in that fray of forwards after taking his talen...

Scouting the Opposition: Is Jonas Tibayan ready for the college game?

(Photo Credit: FIBA) Basic Information Name: Jonas Tibayan Age: 18 School/Team: CKSC Blue Dragons Years of eligibility left: 0 (Graduating)  Committed to: NU Bulldogs Height: 6'3" Position: Power Forward Projected Position: Combo Forward Quick Hits Strengths: - Strong body - High Basketball IQ - Very coachable - Is a great team player Weaknesses: - Limited upside - Still relatively raw - No clear position yet in collegiate basketball Only a select few people are given the opportunity to play for the National Youth Team. It's a honor anyone would grab in an instant. To be named a Batang Gilas standout is something special. But to be named a Gilas Cadet member at the tender age of 17? It's something else. At first glance, it means that you're a player who's more than ready to make it to the big leagues. You're not just expected to do well in the collegiate level. Some expect you to go ahead and dominate in an instant. Jonas Tibayan...