The Week That Was Season 2: Week 12 (September 9-15)

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The events that took place this past week mixed up the NCAA and the UAAP a lot. An upset, a slam-bang scoring affair, and a slam dunk highlight the 12th installment of TWTW.

5. It's the NCAA Finals... in the V-League!

NCAA's renaissance has definitely begun, even in the Shakey's V-League

While everybody's focused on college basketball, a historic event was set up in another sport. For the first time since the institution of the Shakey's V-League, two NCAA teams clash in the Open Conference Finals there. Reigning NCAA champs Cagayan-Perpetual Help Rising Suns collide with rivals Sandugo-San Sebastian Lady Conquerors in the three-game series starting tonight. The Lady Conquerors needed a little effort before knocking off Ateneo in their semifinal showdown, while the Rising Suns upset the erstwhile Open Cup champs Army in the other Final 4 clash. You can read my take on the finals here.

4. Seriously, NU, What Happened?

After knocking the De La Salle Green Archers out of the Final 4 as it stands, the NU Bulldogs found themselves fighting the Ateneo Blue Eagles again. Looking to avenge their crushing loss in their meeting, the Bulldogs had a good first half, leading by 2 at the break. But things got nasty in the 2nd half for NU. The Bulldogs struggled all 3rd and 4th quarters long as Ateneo, thanks to big guy Greg Slaughter, pull away in the end, blowing NU out, 70-56. NU was held to only 23 points in the last 20 minutes and turned the ball over 14 times, worse than the already awful 9 they committed in the first half. Just like that, NU lost a chance to pull away in the Final 4 race as they tied La Salle again for 4th. NU will play UP tomorrow, while La Salle faces FEU in the next game. The only thing more intriguing than the final scoreline is this photo taken by Kristine Villegas:

The referees ruled that Jeoff Javillonar's shot was made in the nick of time, but
it seems like there's something wrong.

3. Spoiler Alert

Nate Matute failed to deliver in the end as Lyceum thwarted JRU's playoff plans.

Already out of playoff contention and even missing the services of six players due to either academic matters, suspension, and sickness, the Lyceum Pirates pulled off the week's biggest upset as they thumped the JRU Heavy Bombers in overtime, 69-62. Playing with nothing to lose, Lyceum hacked out a big one against JRU, who are eyeing a spot in the semifinals. Gian Mallari was the game's best player with 15 points. Although Nate Matute had a good game as well (also scoring 15), it was not enough as JRU used up all their remaining petrol in their tanks to force the extra five minutes, only to be blown out in that session by Lyceum, 13-6.

2. As It Stands, It's Letran!

Last time around, it was K-Ace. This time, it's K-Rax!

That Lyceum shocker set up Letran's successful pursuit of stealing 4th place from JRU. The Knights, my team of the week, crushed the San Sebastian Golden Stags, 82-67, earlier to put themselves a half-game clear of the Bombers for fourth. Kevin Alas exploded for 23 points before fouling out at the 2-minute warning, but it was K-Ace's support crew that made the way this time around. Kevin Racal added 18, Mark Cruz had 14, and Jam Cortes made 10 for the Knights as they bucked off a slow start to trounce the Stags, featuring Calvin Abueva's 27 points. The missing link for Baste, however, was Ronald Pascual, who was limited to only 6 points. The Golden Stags missed a chance of clinching a Final 4 berth this early. As it stands, i.e. if the season ends today, First placers San Beda, who crushed EAC in the earlier game, will battle Letran, while San Sebastian meets Perpetual Help in the other semifinal affair.

1. The Kiefer Posterizer

I don't usually put a single play as the top story of the week, but this play is too wicked that I forgot that there was a soccer game featuring the Philippine Malditas and Gilas Pilipinas vs. Lebanon in the FIBA Asia Cup. I know everyone was moved by this nasty dunk. The nastier story, it was Kiefer Ravena, who stands generously at 6'0", who turned Karim Abdul, a 6'7" big guy, into a fluke in this juncture. Even nastier than that, it came during an all-important game for both Ateneo and UST. Ateneo won the game, 68-66, to secure the twice-to-beat edge come the Final 4, but UST, thinking that a goaltending call against Abdul was a clear block, put the game under protest. Alright, UAAP Board, nullify the game if you want, but we will never forget this slam by Ravena. I found a higher quality video of the dunk. If you missed that posterizer, relive it here:

Games for the Week

Sunday (September 16)

2:00 PM-NU vs. UP

4:00 PM-FEU vs. DLSU

Monday

4:00 PM-MIT vs. UPHSD

6:00 PM-JRU vs. CSB

Thursday

2:00 PM-UST vs. UE

4:00 PM-AdU vs. DLSU

4:00 PM-AU vs. SBC

6:00 PM-LPU vs. EAC

Saturday

4:00 PM-EAC vs. CSB

6:00 PM-CSJL vs. JRU

Sunday (September 23)
4:00 PM-FEU vs. NU

The Week That Was Season 2: Week 13 (September 16-23)

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The UAAP elimination round draws to a close. That means we're now heading to the Final 4. Well, not yet for FEU and La Salle, who will dispute for the wildcard on Wednesday (more on that later). Meanwhile, NCAA's own Final 4 race tightens as playoff contender got crucial wins this past week. So presenting TWTW 2 Week 13.

5. La Salle Tested Our Math Skills

Thanks to Almond Vosotros' hot night, we had the wildest UAAP playoff race
in years.

For mathematicians and statisticians/sports analysts like me, Pong Ducanes, and others, that La Salle win over FEU last Sunday tested our computing skills. The win by the Green Archers opened a possibility of a 4-way tie for 2nd. It led to us posting the possible scenarios (16 in all including the possible order of the Ateneo-UST replay) in our blogs. In the end, however, UST took second place without going to a possible best-of-3 clash (more on story no. 4), NU getting third spot (more on story no. 2), and the Archers (with a win against Adamson last Thursday) and the Tamaraws meeting again on Wednesday to determine the wildcard finishers.

4. Bad News, Good News

Jeric Teng (L) and Roi Sumang engaged in a scoring battle in their game last
Thursday.

Now about the Growling Tigers, they entered the game hearing the bad news that their protest regarding their loss to Ateneo that Commissioner Ato Badolato initially vetoed was junked in the TechCom. No problem! UST was still able to clinch a semifinal berth with an 87-75 thrashing of also-ran UE Red Warriors. The Tigers exploded for 32 4th quarter points, even bucking a slow start for the quarter, en route to this win. Jeric Teng led UST with 26 points, and Karim Abdul added 22 and 9 rebounds. Roi Sumang finished his UAAP season with a bang with a 22-point output for UE.

3. Big NCAA Playoff Implications Week

Josan Nimes dished off to Mike Parala for an easy deuce as Mapua defeated
Perpetual Help last Monday.

The lone NCAA story in this almost all-UAAP weekly recap is the events that transpired over the NCAA week. The Letran Knights made those who watched the UAAP Cheerdance Competition remember that the NCAA is not yet done with a 70-59 crushing of the JRU Heavy Bombers. In the earlier game, the EAC Generals kept their playoff hopes alive with their own 73-64 win over also-ran CSB Blazers. San Beda eliminated Arellano, 82-75, in a Thursday game that knocked the Chiefs out and gave the Red Lions the twice-to-beat edge come the playoffs. The biggest story of the NCAA week was Mapua's 74-71 stunner against the Perpetual Help Altas. The Altas, citing spotty officiating as a ground, protested the game, but the NCAA board denied the appeal. Perpetual Help will enter their Tuesday game at the Subic Bay Freeport Gym in Olongapo against Lyceum needing to win it to pull away from the other contenders. In the first game, Mapua will try to keep their already too slim playoff hopes alive against San Beda.

2. Bulldogs Take the Replay

Ray-Ray Parks looked up to the sky as his teammates mobbed him after NU
beat FEU in overtime.

The main reason why I included the game last night here although it should have been included for nest week is that it's the final game of the elimination round of the UAAP. This is the ordered replay of the FEU-NU game that was omitted from the records because of the inconclusiveness of RR Garcia's game-winner the last time out. This time, it was Ray-Ray Parks who took the matters. Trailing 73-79 with less than 3 minutes left in the overtime session, capping a 17-2 run by the Tamaraws that forced overtime, Parks utilized his leadership skills well in the end as he, Emmanuel Mbe, and Mark De Guzman closed the game on their own 11-2 run to steal the win. Parks finished with a game-high 27 points, including the Bulldogs' last 5 points to seal the win. FEU dropped to a tie for 4th place (actually a 3-way tie for 3rd but NU takes the 3-seed due to superior quotient) with De La Salle. The Archers and the Tamaraws dispute the last Final 4 spot on Wednesday.

1. It's Cheerdance Time!

The hot ticket of the week!

The top story of the week: definitely the UAAP Cheerdance Competition! A mob of 19,505 paying patrons trooped to the Mall of Asia Arena for the first staging of a cheerleading tilt in the said arena. These people also witnessed what might be the most dramatic finish ever in the history of the UAAP Cheerdance Competition when the UP Pep Squad, who committed a big error in the end of their freedom-themed performance, won for the 3rd straight time against the FEU Cheering Squad, with a jungle-themed cheerleading stunt of their own. I have my own account of the story, and I have it here.

Games for the Week

Tuesday (Non-televised)

4:00 PM-SBC vs. MIT

6:00 PM-UPHSD vs. LPU

Wednesday

4:00 PM-FEU vs. DLSU

Thursday

4:00 PM-LPU vs. AU

6:00 PM-SSC-R vs. JRU

Saturday

12:00 PM-UST vs. NU

4:00 PM-TBA

The Week That Was Season 2: Week 14 (September 24-29)

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Before we prepare ourselves for an Ateneo-UST UAAP Finals, let's recap what happened in the UAAP Playoffs and also check the scenarios in the NCAA as the elimination round there is approaching its final week. Simply speaking, it's playoff time here on TWTW.

5. NCAA Invades Subic!

San Beda's Ola Adeogun scored inside against the defense of the Mapua Car-
dinals in their NCAA game in Olongapo.

There were no games last Monday, but that was done to have more preparation for the next day's NCAA spectacle in Olongapo. In the first game, the San Beda Red Lions made easy work of the Mapua Cardinals, 65-41, to secure the top seed in the Final 4, eliminating the Cards in the process. The Red Lions will face either the Perpetual Help Altas or the JRU Heavy Bombers in the Final 4 as it stands. In the nightcap, the Altas whipped the Lyceum Pirates, 64-53, to eliminate the EAC Generals from playoff contention.

4. Like UAAP, Like NCAA

John Villarias' heroics against San Sebastian last Thursday set up a possible
fatal 4-way for the other twice-to-beat advantage.

Back in San Juan, the JRU Heavy Bombers built a cushion large enough to withstand a late San Sebastian rally as the Bombers trounced the Golden Stags, 82-74, last Thursday. The big win by JRU now puts the Bombers, the Stags, the Altas, and the Letran Knights (with a win against also-ran EAC) in a scenario the same as the De La Salle Green Archers, the UST Growling Tigers, the FEU Tamaraws, and the NU Bulldogs after the Archers' win over the Tams: a possibility of a four-way tie for second. More on that in an upcoming Do The Math post.

3. Heartbreak

A three-game losing streak ended the FEU Tamaraws' season
in tears and questions.

For the FEU Tamaraws, the past two weeks would seemingly be something to forget. After the cheering team lost to the UP Pep Squad in the one of the tightest UAAP Cheerdance Competition yet, the men's basketball team suffered big heartbreaks. From a team who were in a good position to at least force a best-of-3 2nd seeds vs. 3rd seeds semifinal clash, FEU lost both their last games to NU and La Salle, booting the Tams out of the Final 4. For the green-and-gold, they never saw it coming. For Coach Bert Flores, he thought the loss to NU screwed them. With Flores and even RR Garcia's respective careers in jeopardy (Garcia can opt to skip his final year and declare for the draft), we don't know what lies ahead for FEU.

2. Payback!

Despite struggling the entire game, Baser Amer banked key shots in to help
San Beda outlast Perpetual Help.

The San Beda Red Lions avenged their super wild overtime loss to Perpetual Help as they escaped with a 60-53 win last night. This time around, San Beda tried to make sure the victory will be theirs. But the Perps rallied late to come within four, setting up another wild finish. But the Red Lions got the better in the end last night due to timely clutch baskets. The loss sent the Altas to a tie for fourth with JRU, but the Perps can still take second place. Refer to the Do the Math post coming up.

1. It's Ateneo vs. UST!

The top story of the week is the UAAP Final 4 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night. In the matinee game, the UST Growling Tigers banked on their defense in the end to stop the NU Bulldogs, 63-57. Kevin Ferrer scored all but two of his 17 points in the first half to pace the Tigers in scoring before putting his best defense up against fellow former youth team member and soon-to-be-crowned back-to-back MVP Ray-Ray Parks. Parks, the Bulldogs' spark plug, was limited to only 12. In the nightcap, Kiefer Ravena exploded for a college career-high 28 points, 12 rebounds, and 7 assists as Ateneo came back from a late deficit to defeat De La Salle, 66-63, setting up a rematch of the 2006 Finals, where UST stunned Ateneo in three games.

Games for the Week

Monday

4:00 PM-MIT vs. LPU

6:00 PM-AU vs. CSB

Thursday

4:00 PM-JRU vs. EAC

6:00 PM-UPHSD vs. SSC-R

Saturday

4:00 PM-ADMU vs. UST

4:00 PM-CSJL vs. AU

6:00 PM-MIT vs. CSB