Taking a look at the Opening Day of UAAP Season 73

Taking a look at the Opening Day of UAAP Season 73

With some 30 minutes before showtime, I bumped into Brother Bernie Oca, FSC, President of De La Salle University and the UAAP, and offered congratulatory marks in advance. “I hope we pull it off without a hitch,” he quipped while trying to hide his nerves.

And personally, I thought that the host school DLSU achieved that and more.

I am not much of a fan of song and dance numbers for events like these because it reminds me of noontime show banality, but on top of the opening ceremony being short, simple, and devoid of histrionics, it was fun and entertaining. No long and rehashed speeches. Quick to the point to let the action begin.

The theme of the season, “Where heroes are made,” was constantly pointed out from the well-done superhero short movie to the prayer for the nation led by DLSU alum Ogie Alcasid, the rendition of the National Anthem by the La Sallian Youth Orchestra, and to the multi-media presentation of the UAAP’s athletes heroes that had fans of the schools cheering wildly. And there was the fantastic “Hataw na” number by the tireless Gary Valenciano.

I’m really not sure how that looked on television but inside the Big Dome, it was electric.

There was a surprise lack of any contingent from AdMU, FEU, and NU, something that I thought was disappointing. One cannot say that they had matches the following day because Adamson, which also had a Sunday game, certainly was in full force.

And the large tracts of empty spaces were evident in many sections of the Araneta Coliseum. But the no-show didn’t put a damper on the festivities one iota.

The first game of the season saw the young Green Archer team show that they can handle the pressure cooker of a game played in front of almost all the UAAP schools. They were hardly dominant in the first half but they were doing enough to hold a sloppy UP team at bay. By the fourth quarter, they stepped on the gas pedal and blew away the Maroons 80-62.

For those who saw the teams in their pre-season, DLSU showed a new wrinkle to their offense. During the summer, they experimented with different guard combos. At one point, Simon Atkins ran the point with Luigi dela Paz at the two-spot. At times, it was Joel Tolentino alongside Atkins. This enabled them to push the ball up quickly and get into attack mode with some very good finishers in the wings in Joshua Webb, Jarelan Tampus, and Almond Vosotros.

Against UP, Atkins was at the off guard position where he not only hit 4of 9 trifectas but he played heads up defense on the highly touted Maroons first-year player Mike Silungan.

Atkins finished with a game high 20 points and was by far the Best Player of the Game.

While La Salle played straight man-to-man defense and made it hard for UP to get any uncontested shots, the Maroons’ zone was a woeful sight. They were oft late in contesting shots and their perimeter was porous and led to slashing drives by the Green Archers’ guards.

Their overall game had not changed from the summer where they’d try to beat opposing teams with their superb individual talent. There were hardly any screens for pick and roll situations.

And Silungan looked nervous. He still scored 17 points but at what cost – 7 for 18 in field goal attempts.

Surprisingly, Silungan, the Chicago-native who was named after a certain bald-headed Bulls star during the 1990’s, switched numbers from the summer to the new UAAP season. Silungan wore #23 for the Fil Oil Tournament yet in the UAAP, he switched to #21.

I noted that right away and thought about former Orlando Magic forward Nick Anderson’s quote about Michael Jordan following his pedestrian game against his team during the 1995 Eastern Conference semifinals. “Number 23 he could just blow by you. Number 45, he revs up but doesn’t really take off…”

The UAAP doesn’t allow number switches during the season but Silungan will definitely get his bearings. For sure. During one mad minute during the 3^rd Quarter, Silungan took the inbound from the backcourt and with a burst of speed, drove into the lane. As La Salle’s defenders blocked his path, he deftly flicked the ball over to center Magi Sison for his only resolute stab inside during the game. On La Salle’s next possession, he hounded his man and stole the ball and the next possession led to a three-point play by sparkplug Jet Manuel off Atkins.

As Atkins said after the match, “(Silungan) is strong. It wasn’t easy guarding him. You just hope for the best and try to rise up to the challenge.”

The Maroons staged one last-ditch rally during the third but it was once more fueled by individual brilliance more than a team effort. La Salle had 16 assists to UP’s 13. It’s a stat that doesn’t seem much but the Green Archers certainly whipped the ball around to stretch the Maroons’ zone.

Does the UST win over UE qualify as an upset? Not really. The Red Warriors showed tantalizing new talent in the off-season but they just had one spectacular game wherein they bowled over the FEU Tamaraws then promptly bowed out.

UST might have been mysterious by laying off the pre-season, but they showed what a team effort can do. They also outrebounded UE (no surprise here) 45-34.

And as good as forwards Ken Acibar and Ebrahim Enguio can be, when Paul Lee is shooting blanks, no way will this team win. The UST Growling Tigers were hardly impressive in their defense but they got better performances out of their newbies especially Ed Daquiog, a sparkplug whose speed created some mismatches. Daquiog, who coach Pido Jarencio said was “born somewhere in the Philippines,” was lent out to another college for his high school and was returned to him for college duty. Jarencio couldn’t end his post-match press conference without a humorous and subtle dig at a player he lent to an NCAA school that forgot to send back the loaned baller.

Of the four teams that saw action during Opening Day, it was UST that spread its wealth around as five players scored in double digits.

What does this mean? Well, as Jarencio said, they haven’t really proved anything because it’s just one win. But putting it in perspective, “hindi na kami eighth place; seventh na.”

Everyone let out a laugh inside the media room. It was the best way to cap a thrilling Opening UAAP Day.