(Photo Credit: @dbuzzketball) Getting to see the NCAA Juniors Basketball Tournament get going just felt right. It's been a while ever since High School basketball was talked about in the country, so just seeing the top Juniors teams slug it out was refreshing. It just felt right. There was a buzz in the air which surrounded the Letran gym as San Beda and San Sebastian opened Juniors basketball action for this season. By all accounts, High School basketball was back. Fans expected usual High School basketball action. Fast-paced action between two young teams trying their best to run their respective systems. Once play started, that's exactly what we go. Action was incredibly fast. But we also saw some of the warts of High School basketball. The players playing are kids. For this go around, we saw some first game jitters get into players. When you look at the stat sheet, it's easy to let out a groan once you look at the percentage. Basketball was far from efficient...

(Photo Credit: Filoil Flying V Sports) I first watched the NU Bulldogs of 2012 durig the Filoil Flying V Preseason Cup. They were up against the Ateneo Blue Eagles. It was a clash that a number of people were highly anticipating considering the amount of talent which both teams have. At the end of it all, it was the talent of the Bulldogs which reigned supreme, as they thoroughly crushed the Blue Eagles during that very same meeting. I remember feeling incredibly scared for the rest of the UAAP after that very same meeting between Ateneo and NU. An Ateneo team that featured Greg Slaughter, Nico Salva and Kiefer Ravena received quite the beating against Bobby Ray Parks and crew. It was difficult to imagine such a thing from happening. So much emotions were swirling inside my head. Fast forward to a couple of months later and Ateneo and NU once again faced off, this time in the Mall of Asia Arena. A blowout was the result of this game, except this time, it was the Blue Eagles...

(Photo Credit: Filoil Flying V Sports) When you talk about NCAA teams in the Filoil Flying V Preseason Tournament, the Lyceum Pirates and the JRU Heavy Bombers are the ones who have stood out thus far. The Heavy Bombers have shown that they're a team worth keeping an eye on after their opening day upset victory against the heavily favored De La Salle Green Archers. Ever since that victory, they've performed admirably led by their big gun in Teytey Teodoro.  The Pirates have started to receive comparisons to the Letran Knights team that surprised everyone during NCAA Season 92 thanks to their unorthodox press, and their high-octane attack. They've been extremely tough to stop, and a big reason for that is none other than the Baby Beast himself CJ Perez.  As both teams continue to make noise, all of a sudden, a loud roar is heard. The Heavy Bombers and the Pirates stand still. San Beda emerges and tells both teams as if they're Madison Montgomery from Amer...

It's been a while since we've had a rundown. With the SEABA tournament out of the way (congrats Gilas!), it's time to go back to some Collegiate Basketball action. So, what's happened in the Filoil Flying V tournament in the past week? La Salle and UST had a (kind of) brawl! Just last week, Marvin Lee and new Green Archer Ramil Tero were nearly involved in a brawl in the blowout win of La Salle against the struggling UST Growling Tigers. The worst part in all of this is how the brawl happened near the end of the game, where the result of the game was set in stone already.  This is a very bad look for a UST team that looks like it's going to struggle immensely this upcoming Season 80. Frustrations are only going to boil even further as they try to find ways to win, and with the personnel that they have, it's going to be quite the task. For the case of La Salle, this should serve as a lesson for them. They're a dominant team entering the up...

(Photo Credit: Filoil Flying V Sports) Being unbeaten usually means something good is happening. That's true, for the most part. You're winning, the result teams desire to get when they play basketball games. The Adamson Soaring Falcons happen to be a team that's unbeaten in the Filoil Flying V Preseason Cup. Does that mean that they're doing good things? Yeah, they are. They're a team that's utilizing their depth and talent extremely well to be able to eke out victories. But that's exactly the problem with these Soaring Falcons. They're just barely escaping with wins instead of blowing teams off the roof with the amount of talent that they have. The reality of it is that, if a team wants to be able to blow teams off the roof, talent's isn't enough (unless the disparity is THAT big). A team has to be able to mesh that talent well in order for it to work like a well-oiled machine.  Right now, the Soaring Falcons have really great pa...

(Photo Credit: Filoil Flying V Sports) It's been a while since CJ Perez was under the spotlight. After deciding to leave the San Sebastian Golden Stags in the NCAA, the Baby Beast decided to take his talents to the Ateneo Blue Eagles. He sat out one year to undergo residency, and while doing so, he dominated competition in smaller leagues like the Fr. Martin's tourney and the Milcu Got Skills Challenge. CJ Perez vs. Ben Mbala? It was a match-up that was to die for. Sadly, we weren't able to be witness to that match-up, as Perez decided to leave Ateneo because of issues with academics. After waiting for one year to get his shot at redemption, his comeback tour was derailed once more. He took his talents to Intramuros with Lyceum, where he was reunited with former head coach Topex Robinson.  It looks like he's finally found a home in LPU. Guys like Ben Mbala and Teytey Teodoro have dominated headlines with regards to the Filoil tournament, but CJ Perez ...

(Photo Credit: Filoil Flying V Sports) Evan Nelle had a bad season last year. Even if he himself didn't admit it explicitly, you could see with the way he played and with his body language that he was not content with how he was performing. San Beda still managed to make it to the Finals, but Evan going MIA during the Finals didn't help with their chances of completing an 8-peat. It got even worse for Evan. After being named as practically a shoo-in in the SLAM Rising Stars Classic, he wasn't even considered in the all-star game. He was able to make it to the NBTC All-Star Game, but in the rankings made by coaches and analysts, the Red Cub was ranked 25th out of 26 players. From being one of the top prospects in High School Basketball, to an afterthought. Immediately, Nelle went to work. Agains the Ateneo Blue Eaglets, all that work showed. There weren't any drastic changes to his game or his body. He was still his usual lanky self, with some added muscle. N...

(Photo Credit: Dante Peralta, Spin.ph) There's almost always been a tinge of doubt when it came to the performance of the Ateneo Blue Eagles last season. Some analysts and fans view the Blue Eagles as a team that was lucky to not have that much competiton during Season 79, which led to them making it to the Finals against the La Salle Green Archers. It was all about luck. The same can be said about Mike Nieto's performance. He was arguably the most consistent player for the Blue Eagles, scoring in double digits for a number of games. However, fans still doubted his capabilities, with some even going as far as to call him a system player. Alright, sure. Mike is a system player. But I think it's time to give him some credit. Being a system player isn't always a bad thing, as shown by how good Mike has played. It isn't just a matter of following a system. It's a matter of following the system in place, but at the same time, knowing how to make good b...

(Photo Credit: Filoil Flying V Sports) It's easy (and fun!) to throw in hot takes every now and then. It creates discussion between people, and well, it gets you attention. Screw the context of whatever is happening. I have a hot take, so here. But, we have to remember that context still matters. Right now in the Filoil Flying V Tournament, it's important to temper our expectations with regards to how teams perform in this tourney. After all, succeeding (or failing) in the Filoil tourney has never been a sure-fire way of determining whether a team is good is not.  Remember the Season 75 NU Bulldogs and Season 76 UE Red Warriors? They dominated competition, but they failed to contend for a title during the UAAP season. What a shame. The collegiate basketball season is back! Fun times. But temper your expectations. This train is just getting started once more. With that, here's the rundown.  Hump Day Scores: UST Tiger Cubs def. JRU Light Bombers 79-71 ...

Ah, the first day of school. It's quite the mixed bag. For one, there's that feeling of excitement. After either slacking off on your own or with some friends, you're exposed to the community that you were with before summer. It's a welcome sight. New year, new start right? Then, after the adrenaline of the excitement passes by, the creeping feeling of nervousness starts to creep in. It's a new year. IT'S A NEW YEAR. Fresh start. Which also means there's always that risk of this new year turning into trash for you. Before the Filoil Flying V Preseason Cup games began, that swirl of excitement around the air was evident. Players were smiling, interacting with some of the rivals who they're set to compete with during the regular season. But then, when the games began, those smiles turned into growls or frowns. For JRU, Lyceum and Adamson, that good start teams aim for to start the college season was achieved. For La Salle, Ateneo and Arellano, a...