PCCL Finals: Ateneo, Jai Cap Dream Season

Yesterday, the Ateneo de Manila Blue Eagles won their 2nd Champions League title in school history and 3rd title in this year's basketball season. The Eagles also won this year's UAAP and Unigames titles, making it almost equivalent to the PBA's Grand Slam. They won a close 74-70 decision in their best-of-3 series for the PCCL title with the FEU Tamaraws who staged a late rally and took the lead deep into the fourth quarter. However, it was guard Jai Reyes who stood atop everyone as he bailed Ateneo out to tie the ballgame at 70 with his 4th three, gave the go-ahead assist to Oping Sumalinog, and won the Finals MVP award in his final tournament ever in an Ateneo uniform. For Reyes, an Atenean for 17 years, 16 years a varsity athlete, you could not have written a better script - back-to-back UAAP Champions, Collegiate Grand Slam and Finals MVP in his final year. You could say that he can hang up his jersey, that familiar Reyes #5, without any regrets.

Claiming the final gem in their cap this year wasn't just a Jai-namite show though, it took more of a team effort to buck the challenge of the Tamaraws. JR Cawaling, Aldrech Ramos and RR Garcia led a furious rally in the 4th quarter which utilized their superior length and athleticism on the boards to inch their way to the lead. The Ateneo offense sputtered to a halt and almost seemed to crumple to the floor along with Eric Salamat and his cramps. By the way it it looks too, Ateneo will be playing off Salamat next year, and teams will be more zoned in on stopping him to stop the Eagles.

In Game 2, seemingly reading some pages off 40 Minutes of Freedom, Salamat and Nico Salva led a 90 - 67 beatdown with their 26 and 20 points, respectively. Without a doubt, these 2 will be Ateneo's 1-2 punch next year as they are the best inside and outside scorers. But, by losing Rabeh Al-Hussaini and Nonoy Baclao on the frontline, playing faster will be key for the Eagles whose Grand Slam defense starts the next time they hit the practice floor of the Moro Lorenzo Sports Complex. As for FEU, RR Garcia will undoubtedly be the #1 guard of the Tamaraws and we will see them more ripe and hungrier to finally claim the UAAP title they hoped to gain so much this year. For the Eagles though, it seems that big man duties next year will be a job done by committee as Salva, Chua, Golla and Sumalinog have all spent time at the 4 and 5 in this last tournament. Sumalinog will be a crucial piece as he can play at the wing and a bit in the post.

So, that's a wrap for the collegiate basketball season for 2009. Let's just wait for 6 more months until the drums start beating again.

PCCL Finals: Tams could be Best PCCL Team Ever, Eagles could Collapse Again

The Philippine Collegiate Champions League has finally reach the Finals. Bucking some unexpected excitement that went on in the earlier rounds, it was still Metro Manila that stood tall atop the tournament. More specifically, the UAAP clearly demonstrated that it is still the number 1 collegiate basketball league in the country. With the Finals being contested by Ateneo and FEU, the UAAP will have it's seventh (7th) championship since the tournament's inception. Simply put, the UAAP has won and will win all the PCCL Crowns to date.


After this year's edition, win or lose, FEU will be the tournament's most successful team. The Tamaraws have won twice ('04 & '05) and lost in the Finals once ('03). With a win later today, they could be the first three-time champions, breaking the deadlock with UE (won in '03 & '06, Runner-up '05). Based on how they were playing earlier, we could see that they should already be favored to win next year's UAAP title. RR Garcia has been great and even without the full participation of the Gilas boys (Ramos & Cawaling), they're already looking like Barroca wasn't lined-up this year.

The Ateneo de Manila Blue Eagles are the third-most successful team in the history of the PCCL. They won in 2007 against the only non-Manila finalist ever, University of Visayas, and were second to DLSU last year. Now, on the verge of losing another PCCL title with another loss, the Eagles look to tie UE for second-best ever. It's been also very clear that they become pretty lost after winning the UAAP as they begin to transition to next year's system almost right away with their choice not to field their Championship team's graduating cornerstone (Tiu & Al-Hussaini).

Based on the participation of Ramos and Cawaling on the other end, it is clear that Coach Rajko Toroman and the SBP allow the Gilas players to join their mother teams to help validate the tournament. So, it can be assumed that not playing Rabeh is a choice done by Ateneo. They're trying to hand the reins over to the undergraduates right away, but they also keep some seniors (Jai Reyes & Nonoy Baclao) to make sure that they play decently. Their loss in Game 1 of the Finals showed this very blatantly. The gamble didn't pay off this time.

It is crystal that next year's Eagles team will rest heavily on the shoulders of Eric Salamat. While he might not become the Eagle's leading scorer next year (as I predict that Ryan Buenafe will have that role), he will be their playmaker throughout the year. His defense on the perimeter will set the tone and his slashing will be the main weapon on offense. If you're an Eagle fan, you might a bit nervous though as Salamat seems to disappear during the big games. He really hasn't played great in any Finals appearance and that was true again in this year's PCCL Game 1.


Another cause for concern, I feel has been the lackluster play of Nico Salva. With Rabeh out of the games, one would think Salva would begin exerting himself underneath with his high-post moves creating baskets or baiting fouls. He, however, has been very tenative. He's been floating too much to the perimeter, breaking spacing to ask for the ball. Naturally, since he is out of position, giving him the ball often just leads to isolation from the perimeter - the biggest killer of Ateneo's offensive efficiency. His floating to the perimeter 1) leaves Baclao as the only rebounder, 2) get everybody out fo the proper spacing and rebounding schemes and 3) leaves him vulnerable to frustration when he cannot get his offense going. Ateneo fans should hope that he doesn't try to freestyle too much as they can't be careless with their offensive possessions and waste possible scoring chances against this FEU team later today.

My prediction is that the Eagles will tie the series up. They take less shots from the perimeter, less turnovers and better offensive execution can be seen. Look for Salamat to be more present in the lane, kicking out to Reyes and Long for the outside shots. Also, Garcia will probably have Kirk Long in his face for most of the game. So, it could be a grind next game from beginning to end. Ateneo by 4.

PCCL Day 2: CSJL vs DLSU & ADMU vs. Lyceum

I finally was able to catch the PCCL games today and it's time for some thoughts on the games:

Letran vs La Salle

> Both teams played with about just 70% of their mother league line-ups. Letran was missing Jazul, Guevarra and Dela Paz, while La Salle didn't have Mangahas, Malabes and Co. (Not that La Salle was actually going to use this guys ever anyway.

> I was hoping that Franz would put the 4 RP Youth Boys (Tolentino, Marata, Banal & Andrada) some decent burn together and probably put them in with Bringas so we could see what DLSU has in store for the future. But it didn't happen...

> Somehow, Franz looked a bit disinterested in coaching what they were hyping to be his "last game." One of the commentators slipped too when he said that Franz would come back after the elections. We all know he's coming back anyway. If he weren't, DLSU would be in some deep trouble because they wouldn't be able to recruit.

> Belencion hits 10 threes. Damn!

> I don't know if anybody noticed but Jameson Cortez seemed to be wearing a different color uniform because his seemed a darker shade of red than everybody else... It's either a different colored uniform or the dude just really sweats a lot!

> New PCCL Champion!


Ateneo vs Lyceum

> I was expecting that Ateneo would actually not play Baclao since he's on duty with the Philippine Patriots, but they didn't have Al-Hussaini instead. For some reason, I was hoping that the Gilas boys would actually be present during games. Hopefully, they had practice or something, and that's why they missed attending the game.

> It was funny how Norman Black was put into a tight spot by Job De Leon. He was revealed to have not prepared at all for Lyceum. I bet he even forgot that they played them in last year's PCCL in the same game.

> As expected, Ateneo dominated the game, and was a bit careless in the latter portions. But again, too much talent for Lyceum to handle.

> Lyceum actually qualified because University of Manila fielded in ineligible players for the Zonals. They should be penalized by SBP just to send a message that they wouldn't be taking anything lightly from any team.