UAAP Season 76: An opening weekend of jitters, thrillers, domination and hope

  Well, that was quite an opening weekend.

  The UAAP has officially started, and the results for opening weekend were rather interesting. I won't be able to give out an extensive report of each game (probably the only game I could fully analyze was the Ateneo game, obviously), so I'll just present to you guys the summary of the games based from news reports and what I can get from these reports as well.

First day of Opening Weekend: June 29, 2013

FEU Tamaraws beat UE Red Warriors 88 - 74

Terrence Romeo just proved me wrong. For one game at least.
(credits to fullcourtfresh.com)

   I was only able to catch the first half of this game since I had to do some errands afterwards. For the first half, it was practically a mirror image of what I expected from both teams. UE had a good flow of the offense, and their defense was particularly disruptive. Charles Mammie was in foul trouble, but guys like Ralf Olivares and Lord Casajeros gave the Red Warriors a big lift. Roi Sumang was amazing to say the least. For the FEU side, RR Garcia was visibly lost in the flow of the offense, not having as touches as he would want to. Christian Sentcheu and Anthony Hargrove were getting abused in the boards. Terrence Romeo.. well, I think he was aiming to build a house with all those bricks he was putting up. UE ended the half up by 5.

  Then, UE didn't know what hit them. They'd end up losing 88 - 74. A 19 point turnaround after a half.

  I won't give too much analysis concerning the second half since I wasn't able to extensively watch it, but here are some things that I got not only from reports, but also based on the stats that showed;

  First, Roi Sumang needs help, and it can't come from only Charles Mammie. Ralf Olivares did a great job of helping Sumang, but more guys need to step up.  Chris Javier was particularly a no factor in this game, and Gino Jumao - as didn't help much for UE's cause. They'll definitely need to step up for UE to succeed.

  Second, Charles Mammie must calm down and just play. He was obviously excited for this game, and he couldn't contain it. He was in foul trouble the whole game, thus resulting to less opportunities for him to score. His inside presence is key for UE's hopes, so he better calm down.

  Lastly, Terrence Romeo better continue this so that he can continue shutting me and other critics up. I never doubted his ability to score, I just hated the way that he does it. All of a sudden, he produces a MONSTER line of 23 points, 9 rebounds and 12 ASSISTS. Yes, 12 ASSISTS. He can pass, and he did a good job of doing so. Keep it up, seriously.

UST Growling Tigers beat De La Salle Green Archers 63 - 58 in OT

Jeric Teng outplayed his brother in a showdown of Final Four contenders.
(credits to fullcourtfresh.com)

  I wasn't able to watch anything concerning this game, but I picked up a couple of things in this game.

  First, La Salle, don't panic. UST didn't win this game. It was more of you guys losing it. It was an ugly game based on reports, but 24 TURNOVERS?! Are you kidding me? La Salle can seriously take care of the ball better than that. Most probably if they took better care of the ball, they could have won the game. Despite the game being more of La Salle losing it and not UST winning it..

  Second, UST shut me up again, and I'm damn proud of it. These guys will definitely wreck havoc come Season 76. The composure during overtime, it was extraordinary. They were in that situation practically because of a ballpen, yet, they composed themselves and they were able to pull it off. These guys are going to be a force to be reckoned with. I still have doubts about Abdul, but for Teng? None at all. Kid can ball. 

Second day of Opening Weekend: June 30, 2013

Adamson Soaring Falcons beat the UP Fighting Maroons 79 - 67

Jericho Cruz will surely light up the league this year.
(credits to inboundpsas.com)

  I think everybody expected an Adamson win here. Again, I wasn't able to watch the game as extensively because I had guests to entertain to since it was my brother's birthday but I did pick up some things.

  First, UP will always come to fight this year, no matter who they are facing. UP was bound to lose this game. They were no match for Ingrid Sewa. The guy is too huge. They were undersized. They were over matched. Yet, they came out fighting. If there is one team that can surprise anyone this year, it will be UP. Watch out guys.

  Second,  Sam Marata has to stop ball hogging. Seriously. It was a nightmare to watch. He forced too many shots. He didn't keep his team mates too involved. If he really wants UP to win, and to get his stock up for the PBA Draft even if he plans on applying, ball hogging won't help. At all. 

  Third, Ingrid Sewa and Rodney Brondial will wreck havoc into this league. Sewa is huge. Brondial is finally playing his natural position at the 4. Sewa is slowly improving, while Brondial is proving quality minutes for the San Marcelino based squad. They are a front court to be reckoned with, and the league better watch out.

NU Bulldogs beat the Ateneo Blue Eagles 64 - 54

Even Juami Tiongson was left to ask Ray Parks what hit them.
Ray Parks doesn't know.
(credits to Sir Arvin Lim)

  Good loss. 

  As an Atenean, this game was frustrating to watch. It's been a while ever since we received this bad of a shellacking. Yet, after a while, I was actually happy that they received that bad of a beat down. Heck, it wasn't that bad actually. Why was it a good loss?

  First and foremost, it was a wake up call for the Blue Eagles. They have to learn how to play without Kiefer, and this wasn't the way to do it. They weren't executing well, thus resulting into turnovers. They were also killed in the rebounding battle. I kind of expected that already, but a 24 rebound disparity? That is unacceptable by all means. Despite that though..

 Second, they showed a champion's heart, albeit late. When Ateneo made that run during the 4th quarter, I kept on telling myself, "Win or lose, I'll be happy." And happy I was. The Blue Eagles have to show more of that heart not only during the wanning moments, but during the whole duration of the game. They can't do a Ginebra, where they purposely play bad so they can go on a comeback in the end. Ateneo did a Ginebra last Sunday, and they can't afford any of that if they want to win a championship again.

  For NU, it was definitely a good win for them. Their shots were falling, and everyone was involved, not just Parks. As expected, Emmanuel Mbe and company owned the rebounding battle, and Ray Parks was his usual all around self. They have to avoid collapses like that though in order to succeed even further.

  Before I end this post, I'd like to inform you guys that the only games that I will cover will be the main games for each day's match up (this means the 4pm games), since I am only a high school student, which means I don't have too much time to burn to write extensive articles regarding the games. If time permits though, I will also write about the 2pm game, if and only if time permits me. Highly touted games (meaning games such as UE - FEU, AdU - UE, DLSU - FEU) which will be played at 2PM will also be covered. The same system will apply for the PBA games that I will be covering come August. I will also be posting a UAAP player of the week every Sunday as well, so watch out for that!

The next games for the UAAP will be on today at the MOA Arena. The games are the De La Salle Archers against the UP Fighting Maroons, and for the day's main serving, the Ateneo Blue Eagles will look to bounce back against the FEU Tamaraws.