UAAP: Tams charge into UAAP Finals

Tams charge into UAAP Finals

By Josiah Israel Albelda

16 September 2010

Terrence Romeo was still sweating profusely as he entered the press room. He just came from a battle that was not only bruising --- but draining as well. It was too much for a rookie. Too much for an 18-year-old.


Luckily for Far Eastern University, Romeo --- all five feet and nine inches of him --- was more than up to the challenge.


The newly-minted Rookie of the Year delivered in the clutch as the Tamaraws ousted host De La Salle University, 69 - 59, to barge into the Finals of Season 73 of the UAAP men's basketball tournament Thursday before a wild crowd at the Araneta Coliseum.


In a match that looked more like a slugfest in the early goings, Romeo showed the composure of a champion, draining a trey in the dying moments of the fourth quarter and leading the Morayta-based five's charge in overtime as they returned to the Finals for the first time since 2005.


"Masaya talaga ako dahil nakapasok na kami sa Finals," the Cebu native told reporters. "Hindi ko pa naranasan ito dati."


It was actually sweet revenge for Romeo, whose Baby Tamaraws were swept in the Final Four last season by the De La  Salle Zobel Junior Archers.


"Gusto ko talaga sila bawian," quipped the freshman, who finished with 12 points, five boards and two steals.


With the hard-earned win, FEU is on track to bring back home the trophy they have copped a record 19 times in league history.


It also brought four-year coach Glenn Capacio closer to his dream of getting a UAAP championship.


"Masarap pala makapasok sa Finals," the former PBA ace shared in jest. "Ipinakita talaga ng mga bata yung puso nila sa laban na ito. Hindi ako masaya sa officiating pero hindi ako bumitaw para sa kanila."


The game was so hotly contested that ace Tamaraw and Smart Gilas standout JR Cawaling was thrown out of the game in the second quarter after his shoving of Simon Atkins earned him an unsportsmanlike foul and a subsequent technical foul after warding off a referee who was calming them down.


Cawaling will likely be suspended for the first game of the Finals, which starts next Sunday.


Even Capacio lost his cool early in the fourth quarter, almost throwing a punch on a referee, that cost him a technical foul as the Green Archers took a 49-42 lead with around seven minutes remaining.


The Taft-based squad inflated the lead to nine at 51-42 before the Tamaraws came back charging behind Romeo and designated gunner Paul Sanga to send the game into extension at 55-all.


Then FEU took it from there, limiting La Salle to only four points in five minutes while scoring 14 themselves to set up a date with either defending back-to-back Ateneo de Manila or Adamson next week.


League Most Valuable Player Ryan Roose Garcia was dismal in his second Final Four stint as the Archers' pesky defense limited him to 11 points on a horrible five-of-19 shooting. He also had four turnovers in a back-breaking 40-minute turn.


The Zamboanga native, however, had nine rebounds as the Tamaraws defined board domination with 64 to their foes' 46.


Reil Cervantes pulled down a career-high 19 rebounds (eight offensive) while Aldrech Ramos grabbed 10 (four offensive).


Spider Webb tallied 15 points for the hosts, which have had a memorable season stopped short. No other player scored in double digits for La Salle.


Archer sharpshooters were terribly off-target with Simon Atkins, Samuel Marata and Joseph Tolentino combining for three-of-24 from rainbow territory. They shot five-of-34 overall.


Atkins bade goodbye to his UAAP career with seven points, four assists, three steals and a mind-boggling seven turnovers.


"We actually had control of the game," said Coach Dindo Pumaren, who admitted that his wards' relative inexperience and youth showed out in the endgame.


"But I am proud of my boys," he added. "Nobody expected us to be here but we almost got to the Finals. We had a dream but we were not able to fulfill it. I hope that next year we could get our act together."


The scores:


FEU (69) - Romeo 12, Sanga 12, Garcia 11, Ramos 9, Cervantes 9, Noundou 8, Mendoza 2, Bringas 2, Knuttel 2, Exciminiano 2, Cruz 0, Cawaling 0


DLSU (59) - Webb 15, Mendoza 7, Atkins 7, Andrada 7, Tolentino 6, Marata 6, Dela Paz 5, Vosotros 2, Tampus 2, Villanueva 2, Paredes 0, Ferdinand 0


Quarterscores: 20-12, 26-32, 40-44, 50-55, 69-59

Blog Survey #3: FEU, mangunguna sa UAAP elims

Kahit nasa PBA na ako, #1 pa rin kami - Arwind Santos

Tams, mangunguna sa UAAP elims

Ni Josiah Israel Albelda

Larawan ni Karl de Leon

Pose ni Arwind Santos

Halos tatlo sa apat na Bilog ang Bola readers ang nagsabi na ang Far Eastern University Tamaraws ang mangunguna sa pagtatapos ng 73rd UAAP men's basketball tournament elimination round.

Walong (72%) boto ang nakuha ng Morayta-based team habang tatlo (27%) naman ang naibigay sa defending champion Ateneo de Manila University sa botohang naganap sa Bilog ang Bola.

Wala namang pumili sa De La Salle at Adamson, na kumumpleto sa Final Four cast ng liga.

Ngayong linggo, ang botohan sa Bilog ang Bola ay tungkol sa paparating na UAAP Cheerdance Competition.

Matatandaang nakuha ng FEU Cheering Squad ang kampeonato noong nakaraang taon habang pumangalawa naman ang Ateneo Blue Babble Battalion at pangatlo ang UP Pep Squad, na nanguna mula 2007 hanggang 2008.

UAAP: Tams punish Maroons

Tams punish Maroons, inch closer to top seed

FEU bench shames UP's, 36-4

By Josiah Israel Albelda

5 September 2010

No upset this time. Call it no mercy.


Far Eastern University inched closer to securing the top seed after crushing still-winless University of the Philippines, 70 - 48, for their 11th victory in the 73rd UAAP men's basketball tournament Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum.


There was no letting up for the Tamaraws as they bucked a slow start to drop a crippling 24-2 bomb bridging the first and second quarters that took the fight out of the luckless Fighting Maroons, which crashed to their 13th straight loss.


The win, likewise, served as a buffer for the Morayta-based five, who will meet rival and defending back-to-back champion Ateneo de Manila on Saturday.


"Mahirap pala if you play a non-bearing game and you have four players running for the Mythical Five," coach Glenn Capacio told reporters of his team's lackluster start.


"Nawala kami sa sistema."


Leading MVP candidates Ryan Roose Garcia and Aldrech Ramos, and standouts Terrence Romeo and Reil Cervantes are all slugging out for awards this season.


Fortunately for the Tamaraws, their bench, spearheaded by Gryann Mendoza and Pippo Noundou, stepped up big time and outscored the unproductive Maroons second-stringers, 36 - 4. 


"Happy ako kase nag step up ang second stringers ko," Capacio added.  


UP's four bench points was the lowest in seven years, the last when National University managed only two markers against the Blue Eagles in August 28, 2003.


The Maroons didn't help their cause by shooting awfully awful from beyond the arc, draining only two of 23 attempts in the worst shooting performance of the season.


Also reflecting the Diliman squad's struggles is the fact that only five out of the 12 players who entered the game broke into the scoreboard.


Now, they face the prospects of yet another fruitless season. As a matter of fact, they are staring at the reality of a second 0 -14 card in four years.


UP locks horns with a rejuvenated University of the East side next Saturday as they try to avert a sweep - a complete turnaround after not a few pundits put them into Final Four consideration in the preseason.


Injuries, bad luck and a horde of other reasons, however, sent the Maroons into their worst year in recent memory.


Four players did not dress up for the game due to - you got it right - injuries: Mark Lopez, Woody Co, Carlo Gomez and Miggy Maniego.


The scores: 


FEU (70) - Garcia 12, Cervantes 9, Mendoza 8, Noundou 8, Romeo 7, Bringas 6, Ramos 6, Knuttel 6, Cawaling 5, Guerrero 2, Exciminiano 1, Cruz 0, Sanga 0


UP (48) - Padilla 17, Sison 14, Reyes 9, Pascual 4, Juruena 4, Silungan 0, Saret 0, Manuel 0, Evangelista 0, Reyes 0, Hipolito 0, Gingerich 0


Quarterscores: 7 - 8; 28 - 18; 47 - 36; 70 - 48

UAAP: Ano raw? #2

Ano raw?

23 August 2010

(Over) heard by Josiah Israel Albelda

Photo from spot.ph

#3 "Ep-Ee-Yu! Ep-Ee-Yu! Ep-Ee-Yu!" - the throng of FEU supporters chanted as rookie Terrence Romeo drained a triple that gave the Tamaraws a good lead over UST in the middle of the final quarter.


#2 "Mga bakla! Mga pangit! Mga supot!" - a La Salle fan at the Lower Box section shouted when the Blue Babble Battalion delivered its halftime routine during the Ateneo-La Salle tussle yesterday.


#1 "Mga sexy!" - the same Archer fan screamed when cheerdancers from La Salle's Animo Squad jumped their way into the court. He added a toot of his vuvuzela for good measure.

UAAP: Ramos rediscovers sharp form, Acibar is a monster

Acibar is a monster;

Ramos rediscovers sharp form

By Josiah Israel Albelda

21 August 2010

Two long-armed, high-flying and reed-thin post players grabbed the spotlight at the UAAP wars today. 


After posting career-highs of 18 points, 20 rebounds and three blocks in a loss to league-leading Far Eastern last week, Ken Acibar showed how he can dominate anew, scoring 15 markers, hauling down 16 rebounds (seven of which are offensive) and blocking four shots as the University of the East sent Adamson crashing back to earth with a 71 - 63 upset earlier today at the Philsports Arena.


The six-foot-five Acibar drained six of his 14 shots and was most efficient player on the court (21). The only knock I see on this guy's game is that he takes too many perimeter shots. Acibar is lanky and quick on his feet, thus, he might have a higher shot percentage (a respectable 43.1% in the first round) if he decides to drive hard to the hoop.


Likewise, he commits a lot of turnovers. After averaging 1.7 turnovers in the first round (second only to Paul Lee's team and league-worst 3.7), Acibar had six turnovers in this match.


Smart Gilas national developmental team standout Aldrech Ramos, meanwhile, displayed the deadly form that earned him raves last season, where he placed second in the Most Valuable Player.


Playing under the radar for the first eight games, Ramos exploded in their 76 - 67 victory over the toothless Santo Tomas. The six-foot-seven center had 21 points, 15 rebounds (seven of which are offensive), six assists and two blocked shots. 


With this awesome performance (he also shot 10-of-14 from two-point range), Ramos built a strong case for his own MVP run. At the end of the first round, he was actually third in the race, having a total 58.43 SPs.


Teammate Ryan Roose Garcia led with 64.71 SPs while King Warrior Paul Lee had 60.29 SPs.


What's good for the Tamaraws is that Ramos is just heating up, still trying to fit in Coach Glenn Capacio's new system after being with Smart Gilas for seven months.


"Nahirapan pa talaga ako mag adjust sa bagong system namin," he said. 


And with this comes a warning that the rest of the UAAP land should be careful because a loose Tamaraw is on the prowl. ###

UAAP Sunday: Ano raw? #1

Ano raw? 

15 August 2010

(Over)heard by Josiah Israel Albelda

Starting today, I'll be posting some of the things I (over)hear at the UAAP games I cover. It may come from the players themselves, their coaches, fans, referees, janitors and even scalpers. 


#3 "@$%^*!@(!)__(*#&**@()!#$@!(*# mo! Walang kwenta kang tao!" - UE supporter after Tamaraw Reil Cervantes slammed Warrior Paul Lee hard to the ground in overtime. Lee crashed with a thud, prompting the whole UE "community" inside the Philsports Arena to point their index (some used the middle) finger onto the Zamboanga native.

#2 "Go Adamsoooonnn! Pag nanalo tayo, magpapaka lalake na akooo!" - gay Adamson student as the Soaring Falcons forced overtime before winning it after two extensions against the UST Growling Tigers.

#1 "Reeeeffff! Reeeeeffff! Kung may sama ka ng loob sa FEU, sa akin mo na lang ibunton! Sa akin mo na lang ibunton! Saaaaaaaakeeeeeen!" - FEU fan early in the fourth quarter of their game against UE.

UAAP: Capacio rues officiating, calls for changes

Capacio rues officiating, calls for changes

Montinola says no to elevating issue to UAAP Board

By Josiah Israel Albelda

An obviously dejected Far Eastern University coach Glenn Capacio walked into the press room, still reeling from a bruising match his Tamaraws just had with a resurgent University of the East side.

The ex-PBA defensive ace didn't wait for reporters to ask questions and minced no words.

"Wala ba kayong magagawa para mag-improve ang officiating sa UAAP?" he rued. "Kase kawawa yung coaches dito e. Nagpreprepare ka for ilang months tapos gaganituhin ka lang?"

"Hindi biro-biro yung stress na binibigay nila sa amin niyan."

Capacio didn't hide his frustration, citing that the game was actually over in the first half but the referees allowed the Red Warriors to slowly climb back into the game and get a shot at pulling the rug from under the referees.

"Di ko alam kung anong plano nila," he said. "Alam naman ng lahat ng nanonoood kung ano yung nangyayari. Kaya sana may magawang pagbabago para gumanda yung liga."

"Naaawa lang ako sa players ko, nagpapakamatay sa loob ng court," added the three-year coach. "Kulang na lang sipain kami sa loob bago matawagan ng foul."

Even with what was happening, Capacio said that he just told his players to focus on the game, give their best and simply not mind the "bum calls."

The Tamaraws, especially birthday boy Reil Cervantes, responded well, canning two crucial baskets in overtime as the league leaders upended the Red Warriors, 83 - 77.

FEU team manager Anton Montinola, meanwhile, told Bilog ang Bola that he is not keen on elevating the issue to the UAAP Board.

"The game is over," he shared. "The commissioner is highly competent. He will review the tape and act accordingly." 

There is no report yet if the Commissioner's Office will mete suspensions on the team of referees led by Arnulfo Bermeo as it did earlier in Season 73. ###