UAAP S81 Men’s Basketball Preview: Far Eastern University Tamaraws

UAAP S81 Men’s Basketball Preview: Far Eastern University Tamaraws

by rick olivares

Season 80 record: (7-7; semi-finals)

Losses: Ron Dennison, Allen Trinidad

Additions: LJ Gonzales, Clifford Jopia

In Olsen Racela’s third year at the helm of FEU, the plan is not a return to the Final Four, but to win it all. Now. While he has all these veterans who can help him achieve that who are in their final playing year: Richard Escoto, Axel Iñigo, Prince Orizu, Jasper Parker, RJ Ramirez, and Arvin Tolentino.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. What do we like about the FEU Tamaraws?

They have the veterans and depth to get the job done.

Save for rookie Clifford Jopia, everyone in this lineup has gotten significant playing time and experience during the preseason. We’ve pointed out the graduating players, but even the juniors and seniors have terrific experience – Wendell Comboy, Kimlee Bayquin, Brandrey Bienes, Jospeh Nunag, and Hubert Cani.

They have holdovers from their title squad of three seasons ago in Orizu, Comboy, Escoto, and Eboña. They have Gilas cadets in Tolentino and Ken Tuffin (who is my opinion is very much underrated because he brings more to the table than simply scoring). They have a good program, system, and well, recruits. They can play half court basketball and run with the best of them. They can shoot, are well disciplined, and highly motivated.

There was this swagger that came back when the Tamaraws raced all the way to the Final Four of last season. They displayed that also in the pre-season as their confidence returned. All they need to do is close out games.

I love the way how Racela has even given meaningful time to players like Alec Stockton and Ken Tuffin who have flourished. And speaking of flourishing, Tolentino and Cani have really flourished in FEU and they will really carry the team this year. It’s nice to have several players who can score in the clutch and bail you out.

Because of this depth, Racela has had the luxury of rotating and playing his entire line-up.

They’ve got height

Aside from Orizu and Barkley Eboña, they have Escoto who is like the Mike Nieto of this team. He’s undersized but will get you extra possessions, can hit the three, and plays tough defense. If Jopia can provide some quality minutes on the defensive end, that will help.

Tuffin and Tolentino also help out with the boards and they’ve got very good rebounding guards as well who can immediately put the ball into play.

They have one of the best guard rotations in the league.

When Jasper Parker was playing for Southwestern University, he scored a bit more for the Cobras as they had a shorter rotation. But here in FEU, you have to admire how he has changed his game. He passes first, passes second, and shoots, third.

Racela has at time tried playing Parker and Cani together with the latter siding into the two spot. With Cani regaining his game that we all last saw when he was in high school, that’s a lethal combo. Wendell Comboy is no slouch and he always plays well against Ateneo. Stockton has come into his own. And there’s Iñigo who can fill either role of a playmaking guard like Parker or a shooting guard like Cani. And there’s rookie LJ Gonzales who is perfect for the dribble drive offense which they run on occasion.

They have a top-notch coaching staff.

We really have to admire Racela who has come into his own as a head coach. During his first season, there was so much he learned from being in charge. He admitted during that year that he imposed his ideas but had to restructure them when it wasn’t working. That shows a bright coach who is willing to listen and learn. And that willingness to be flexible allowed him to flourish in his second year; hence, the Final Four finish. I noticed that during the past summer onwards, he projects even more confidence. It helps when you’ve won as a player in high school and college (with Ateneo), in the pros (San Miguel Beer, Purefoods, and now Barangay Ginebra) while apprenticing under top coaches.

His assistants are winners and top coaches. Eric Gonzales might be one of the most underrated coaches, but his teams are always tough to beat. Allan Albano and Ryan Betia as terrific players’ coaches, and Jojo Lastimosa has come into his own with his current stints with NLEX and Bataan.

And there are also former pros Gilbert Lao and the great Johnny Abarrientos on hand.

I must urge you to watch the interaction of this coaching staff with their players. There’s good communication and well, good communicators. Unlike other coaches who rant and holler at every mistake – well, they do, just not on every possession unlike others – they encourage. That allows players to flourish and not be afraid to play.

They are on a mission.

Veteran smarts, championship experience, players with something to prove, and coaching are huge factors in any run to a title. But one thing this team has going is they know they can play Ateneo. Why? They are somewhat built like Ateneo and have similar systems.

They know that this year is a good opportunity to win it all because by next year, they are losing too many key players. They will be caught up in the cycle that ebbs and flows. A sense of finality and urgency adds to motivation.

Coupled with confidence and hunger… oh, man, these Tams will be dangerous.