Behind the Scenes: Fr. Martin's Cup II

Earlier today, the semifinals of the Fr. Martin's Cup II was held in the FEU Gym in Morayta. The league has been going on quietly for a while, under the radar with all the UAAP and NCAA hype that's gone on. For those unfamiliar, the Fr. Martin's Cup II features the Team B's of major colleges. Often you can see future Team A recruits serving out their residencies and familiarizing themselves with the school's systems... This year is no different.

The semis match-ups were FEU vs UP and Arellano vs Ateneo, and the finals will be some time next week.

Results:
FEU def. UP by 30+
Arellano def. Ateneo by 8

Some notes:
> FEU features another African, not mention great recruits from all over the country. They'll be loaded for the next couple of years, so they should be considered as the title favorites for next year (again).
> UP also featured its own African recruit as well as their prized Fil-foreigner recruit. Expect them to improve on this year's UAAP performance, assuming their players and their coaches get their act together. Something's not right in the land of State U.
> Following the "Sam Ekwe Trend," Arellano also had 2 African recruits - both raw and super athletic - hopeful for inclusion in next year's NCAA still. If they don't, I wonder how they could manage keeping the two.
> Ateneo (which does not have an African. hehe) played with the 2 players Norman Black mentioned to be in consideration for Team A - Escueta and Erram. For Blue Eagle fans, you have to hope that Norman Black can develop these boys alongside Salva, Chua, Burke and Golla because they aren't ready to resemble Baclao and Al-Hussaini's roles. You have to hope that Salamat and Buenafe can carry the team to the Three-peat.

Next week, the Unigames will be played in Iloilo. I'll try to get some info on what happens. But for now, you have to expect a UAAP or NCAA school will champion this meet. After all, everybody needs all the good press they can get in preparation for the PCC.

Tip Off

First entry time... So why 40 minutes of freedom?

For those non-basketball fans out there, 40 minutes is the regulation length of an amateur basketball game. If you've heard of FIBA rules, that's it!

So if you haven't figured out by now, this will be a basketball blog (most of the time). But I will post and link up anything that I feel is worth noticing. You might see some videos, some scouting reports, etc. I'll try to keep the rumors to a minimum though so that this would have some credibility. Hehe

Anyway, I'll probably skip the UAAP since it's done, and everybody's written about it already. If there's something I hear for the Philippine Collegiate Championships though, I'll drop something about the UAAP and NCAA schools without hesitation. Watch out for my PBA predictions and news while we're all waiting for the NBA to kick-of again. I'll also try to look into the ABL (ASEAN Basketball League) and give you a heads-up on what's going on there.

Now, time for tip-off!