It took four months en route to a most fitting ending to the men’s basketball tournament of University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 77. A fitting ending that would change college basketball, or to a greater scale, Philippine basketball.
Forget the ephemeral novelty charm of the Dream Finals—that there is no De La Salle or Ateneo de Manila in the Finals for the first time in twenty years, that there is no superstar in the mold of a Ravena or Teng to speak of, that finally the U-Belt community has a series to cheer for, that this year’s finals drew the biggest crowd in the history of the UAAP, on and on.
The men’s basketball finals duel between Far Eastern University (FEU) and National University (NU) goes beyond being the finals of the underdogs. That storyline has expired for it has been proven, based on the quality of play in the finals, that both squads are the best in their league.
And that is precisely the point: FEU and NU have the best basketball teams in the UAAP right now and by their being the best they will bring radical change in Philippine basketball not only for next season’s college wars, but for the national basketball program as well.
How? Because as what I have said in my previous column, they have brought basketball back to the UAAP—basketball that is based on teamwork, hard-nosed defense, ball movement, and well-grounded philosophy.
On one hand, we have a Bulldogs team that has lost its core from last year, a core which is composed of then the country’s best collegiate player in Ray-Ray Parks, the hulking African import in Emmanuel Mbe, clutch shooter Dennice Villamor, and former youth standout in Jeoffrey Javillonar. That the Bulldogs had to make do with the pass-first Gelo Alolino, rookie import Alfred Aroga, the mercurial Glenn Khobuntin, and Mbe’s second fiddle in Troy Rosario made them a pushover team prior to Season 77.
But lo and behold, this starless team exemplified defense with a capital D, coupled with a double-post offense that defied the small ball convention of Philippine basketball. Needless to say, this Bulldogs team needs no leader because all of the core players are leaders of their own right. I must say, Rosario, Alolino, and Khobuntin might make it to the next Gilas team not because of individual talent, but because they are the best team players in the amateur ranks. Much credit must also go to Khobuntin for displaying topnotch discipline by being more composed and more tactful, nevermind if he will never be the high school standout he was with Letran.
On the other hand, we have a Tamaraws team who plays the best running game in the UAAP. And by running game, I do not mean the kanya-kanya ballgame of the bygone Terrence Romeo-RR Garcia era, which puts premium to dribbling than shooting. We now see a disciplined core of Mike Tolomia, Mac Belo, the blossoming Achie Inigo, and Roger Pogoy, which is an unstoppable core of human thoroughbreds that can run on the floor and share the ball with precision.
What is delightful about the Tamaraws is that they are also a team that needs no single leader for everyone in their core can step up at any given time. We have seen Belo dominate De La Salle in the Final Four but in Game One of the finals, it was Pogoy who showed his wares. And of course, all season long we have seen Tolomia being the anchor of their offense, as the once devil-may-care guard has developed his game for him to become both a pass-first playmaker and a streak shooter. In addition, their role players are a perfect complement for their core players for they ably deliver the roles assigned to them.
Premises considered, both NU and FEU will blaze a new chapter in Philippine basketball by popularizing a type of ballgame that is not aimed solely to market individual players, but a type of ballgame that highlights the collective spirit team of teamwork. This type of basketball is badly needed for our national team to recover from its lackadaisical performance in the FIBA World Cup and the Asian Games. This type of basketball that is not dependent on an Andray Blatche may be the real start for the resurgence of quality basketball in the Philippines.
This type of basketball exemplified by NU and FEU might even impact society. That in a country wherein its masses look up to individual heroes for their salvation, FEU and NU have shown that big problems can be overcome by the collective whole and not by a go-to-guy. It is also good that the resurgence of both schools came in time when our dragonboat and cheerleading teams are making a great mark in the global stage since these are sports that put emphasis on teamwork and collectivism.
Indeed, basketball has returned to the UAAP, thanks to both NU and FEU. And hopefully, this Finals series would also inspire change.
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I’ll take this space to send my loudest shoutout to Ms. Lian Ramirez, a stranger who shared her umbrella with me when I was soaking wet stranded in Mall of Asia due to torrential rain after Game 1 of the Finals. In helping a stranger, she embodies the collective spirit which we Filipinos must uphold. And as a final end note, she is a La Sallian. 😉
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