Mike Yu is a good friend of mine who in addition to working with a multi-national moonlights as the editor-in-chief of Rebound magazine. When we’re not being objective, we both root for our alma mater, ye good old blue and white. He took the photos that accompany his piece and placed a watermark on them lest we have the photos stolen by one of the supposed by a newspaper that once used photos from me and Fabilioh without permission.
The Electric and the Efficient
By Mike Yu
The rook just put the rave in Ravena.
Kiefer came off the bench midway through the first quarter to palpable anticipation. He didn’t disappoint. From the moment his first fadeaway baseline jumper swished cleanly through the net a few plays in, The Kief Show was on. He would only miss three shots all game long while making eleven on a mix of hanging jumpers and electric drives. He made several passes that exhibited an incredible court sense for a neophyte. And in the critical final minutes of the fourth quarter, he had hands big enough to both carry the team to victory and have the crowd eat out of them at the same time.
The San Beda Red Lions assigned different defenders to shadow The Phenom. But the peskiness of Melo Lim, aggressiveness of Anthony Semerad and intimidation of Rome de la Rosa could only do so much to stem the tide. Whether matched up against stronger, taller or faster defenders, Kiefer remained unfazed. The doubters called out that he wouldn’t be able to elevate his game from the Juniors division to the Seniors. He would be a lost boy among men, they said with conviction. Norman Black is more than willing to refute this. “(Kiefer) plays beyond his years,” the coach reasoned and at least for one game, Ravena proved it. He may have been a young lad competing against grownups, but on this day, he was The Man.
Towering alongside the 5’11” Ravena and his scintillating performance was 7’0” center Greg Slaughter, whose equally outstanding debut should not be lost in the hoopla over the rookie guard. With skills chiseled by experience in both domestic and international tourneys, Greg played Tim Duncan to Kiefer’s Kobe Bryant by displaying a fundamentally efficient game. He actually top scored for the Blue Eagles with a quiet 26 and did it with an equally varied – albeit less flashy – blend of moves when compared to Kiefer. Jump hooks, short stabs, free throws and an unexpectedly nimble dribble-drive were his chosen arsenal, all the while challenged by San Beda’s imposing front line. Just like Kiefer, Slaughter entered the game with the weight of crushing expectations on his out-of-reach shoulders. Just like Kiefer, he, too, didn’t disappoint.
It’s quite fitting, therefore, that these two players teamed up for a backbreaking alley-oop in the game’s final minute, a play that marked what could be a significant basketball moment. It ignited the only “One Big Fight!” chant of the afternoon from the Ateneo faithful, which was without its Blue Babble Battalion cheer squad. It relegated the Ateneo bench to gushing fan boys, a couple of whom would otherwise have been on the court if not for Kiefer and Greg. It shifted the balance of power from the team’s veterans to a bunch of newcomers, possibly for years to come. And it served as an urgent notice to the college basketball world: even after three straight UAAP championships, winning hasn’t grown old at all for the Blue Eagles.
In fact, winning has just gotten a whole lot younger.
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The new issue of Rebound -- the college season preview that I am working on alongside Mike and a bunch of colleagues -- should be out before the UAAP tips off. Someone asked if I have guest "columnists" for Brew. Yes, I do. So far I have had Coach John Flores of the Ateneo Lady Eagles, Chris Soler, Vince Velasco (son of Bill), Ryan Fenix, Bob Guerrero, and Mike Yu. My kids -- Kristina Villanueva, Mei-Lin Lozada, Mia Domingo, and AJ Bolando don't count since I assign them stuff.
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