It’s game time! Diehard UAAP fans, particularly avid basketball fanatics, flocked in droves to the Big Dome over the weekend to witness the opening of Season 87. The initial salvo of fireworks featured my twin alma maters, the preseason favorite UP Fighting Maroons and the hard luck Ateneo Blue Eagles.

As expected, the fully loaded Maroons smashed to smithereens the undermanned Blue Eagles by a whopping 16 points, 77-61. But before we get to that story, let’s find out what makes the Maroons the hands down oddsmaker’s choice to give the defending champions Green Archers a run for their money this season.

First off, a burning desire to erase the stigma of two consecutive heartbreaking losses the past two seasons after a glorious decades-long wait for the championship in Season 84. There’s nothing like an itch that needs to be scratched for it to go away and finally have satisfaction.

Now, let’s take a look at the line-up. High-flying Francis Lopez, who should have been flying wearing the Blue and White jersey of the Eagles but chose instead the Maroons, will be an unstoppable force in the lanes once he sees a crack in the frontline defense of any opposing team. Then the Maroons have their graduating senior, the hero of their win against the Blue Eagles in Season 84, point guard JD Cagulangan who never hesitates to take up the cudgels when the rest of the Maroons falter, particularly in the endgame.

Ably helping Cagulangan are several dependable guards, namely, Gerry Abandiano who can shoot the lights out from afar; fearless penetrator Harold Alarcon who just as easily can take over the shooting duties of JD; former NU Bullpups champion scoring machine Terrence Fortea who has the complete confidence of his erstwhile Bullpups coach Goldwin Monteverde who now calls the shots for the Maroons; and scrappy rising playmaker Janjan Felicilda, another NU transferee.

However, there are a few gaping holes that need to be plugged following the departures of center MVP Malick Diouf and sweet shooting forward CJ Cansino. To cover these key departures, particularly the critical center position, the Maroons now have Nigerian newcomer 6-9 Kingsley Onyedikachi Ududo, a recruit from Guang Ming Colleges, who averaged 21.5 points, 10 boards, 2.5 steals and 1.5 blocks in the pre-season FilOil EcoOil summer tournament; and recent prime recruit from the US NCAA Division One, Fil-Am 6-10 Quentin Millora Brown who averaged 11.5 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2 assists for The Citadel Bulldogs in South Carolina. For the shooting forward slot, UP has Gilas Youth standout Fil-Am Jacob Bayla who averaged 8.2 points and 4.8 rebounds during the FIBA Under-16 Asian Championship to rely on.

The totally unexpected move of Gilas forward Fil-Aussie sniper Mason Amos to De La Salle has unfortunately made the Eagles’ comeback journey even more formidable.

With such a formidable lineup, the result of the match-up against the Blue Eagles was a no-brainer. After all, Ateneo is supposed to be in a rebuilding mode after losing the likes of UAAP Season 85 championship team Eagle stalwarts Ange Kuoame, Dave Ildefonso, BJ Andrade, Geo Chiu and Kai Balungay. The totally unexpected move of Gilas forward Fil-Aussie sniper Mason Amos to De La Salle has unfortunately made the Eagles’ comeback journey even more formidable.

The only bright spot for the Eagles this season is the recruitment of prized rookie, the most sought after Jared Bahay from Ateneo Cebu who has all the makings of another Kiefer Ravena or LA Tenorio. The remaining bulwarks of the fabled 85 team are Chris Koon and Joshua Lazaro, both of whom still have to display their full potential. The rest of the team I would categorize under “keeping our fingers crossed” in the hope that some would catch fire to help the Eagles’ mission this year of barely staying afloat and hoping against hope for a shot at another Final Four appearance.

As far as the rest of the field is concerned, the weekend’s results gave us a glimpse of what will transpire this season. One, DLSU’s Kevin Quiambao, who practically singlehandedly rescued the Archers from an opening day loss to NU, will surely bag once more the MVP plum. Two, UST will surprise a lot of pundits and will be a strong contender for a Final Four slot. Three, the Adamson Falcons and the NU Bulldogs will fight it out for the last Final Four slot with the edge going to NU.

Of course, the above is just my crystal balling and with the UAAP, we know that anything can happen!

Until next week… OBF!

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