The beat of the drums start to fill the ears of basketball fans, while Philippine Basketball Twitter is at its peak from 2pm up to 8pm. Students from different schools debate on who the best team is in the league. Players start to jaw at each other in order to get an edge on the basketball court. Of course, there's the sound of the alumni, with their finger pointed towards the referee as they shout "HOY REF, FOUL?!?!?!"  It's been a while, UAAP. We missed you. It's that time of the year again. To jump start the coverage for this season, we'll be previewing the eight teams by discussing a question that's of utmost importance for each one. This can be something that matters in the long-term or in the short-term. As long as it's something that can be a topic of discussion, we'll talk about it on this space.  Aside from the previews for each team, there might also be other companion pieces discussing the rookies and whatnot. For the fourth ...

(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...

(Photo Credit: SLAM Philippines) If you're a fan and somehow you manage to sneak your way into the backstage, chances are, you're going to run towards the locker room more than anything else. I can't blame you if you were to do that. It's in that room where all of the stars, coaches and top management are. If you want a place to get to know your stars even better, that's the place to go to. But if there's a room that is incredibly underrated, it's the press room. It's in that room where members of the media discuss a number of things related to sports. There's discussion of facts. Of course, rumors are thrown into the fray, with most of these being pure speculation. Then, there's the #MAMARU analysis of the members of the media. Inside the Press Room hopes to get you fans closer to the discussions which the media have. What this part of the blog hopes to bring are those three things which I mentioned above: The news regarding a partic...

(Photo Credit: SLAM Philippines) Basic Information Name: Troy Mallillin Age: 18 School/Team: LSGH Greenies Years of eligibility left: 0 (Graduating)  Committed to: None (Choosing between UST, NU, Ateneo) Height: 6'3" Position: Combo Forward Projected Position: Small Forward/Shooting Guard/Point Forward Quick Hits Strengths: - Strong, college-ready body - Athleticism is off the charts - Speed is already fit for his ideal position - Versatile thanks to blend of size, athleticism, and skill - Very high upside Weaknesses: - Relatively raw - Has to work on his jump shot - Handle needs improving but is workable - Effort on defense is inconsistent Troy is best known as the NCAA MVP, but receiving the title of MVP is a tricky thing. Just because you were the MVP in the High School division doesn't mean that you'll be able to replicate those feats on the collegiate level. Former NCAA Juniors MVP Prince Rivero is undersized compared to other college big...

The NBTC All-Star Game was a rather memorable one. (Photo Credit: Winston Baltasar, Sports5) High School All-Star Games should never be the main basis of a person with regards to his/her assessment of a player. It’s too different of a setting compared to an actual game, and of course, it’s too small of a sample size. Despite that, High School All-Star Games are still a decent enough medium to use when assessing players. Not only is it a stage that’s more accessible to many, but it’s also a good test of how players will manage to mesh with their equally talented peers in such a short amount of time. The NBTC held the Division 1 All-Star Game last March 16 at the Mall of Asia Arena. Encho Serrano of the North team was named All-Star MVP, but he wasn’t the sole player who impressed during that game. There were other prospects who were as good (or some were even better) as Serrano, yet they weren’t able to receive as much recognition as the Adamson Baby Falcons standout. ...

We're just living in Troy Mallilin's world at this point. (Photo Credit: Josh Albelda, ABS-CBN Sports)  Current Standing Arellano Braves           8-1 San Beda Red Cubs     8-1 Malayan Red Robins   7-2 LSGH Greenies           6-3 Lyceum Junior Pirates 5-4 Letran Squires             4-5 UPHSD Altalettes       4-5 JRU Light Bombers    2-7 SSC-R Staglets           1-8 EAC Brigadiers          0-9 Top in Stats after Round One: Troy Mallilin, LSGH 21.8 PPG Aaron Fermin, Arellano 11.1 RPG Joel Cagulangan, LSGH 4.7 APG Joel Cagulangan, LSGH, 3.6 SPG Aaron Fermin, Arellano, 2.0 BPG