Roar or Soar? Who’s the best Collegiate team this year?

I really hate to do this mainly because of..

1) They are from two different leagues so comparing these teams would really be pointless. They could meet at Champions cup but.. I don’t think both teams will play with a complete line up in this year’s Champion’s Cup.

2) I’m 100% certain that I’m going to take heat from the red or blue guys after writing this entry and since I’m a peace loving guy, I don’t want that. lol

But since I have nothing else to do and I already told a reader that I’ll do it, fine. I’ll break it down, take my pick in a 3 game series and justify my claim. Alright let’s begin..

Ateneo just finished a dominating UAAP run, taking all but a single game against FEU, taking out UE in the Semis and then sweeping their rival La Salle in the Finals. While on the other hand, San Beda came off a tough NCAA season losing games to JRU, Mapua and even CSB (Technically). San Beda took out Mapua in the Semi Finals and then dispatched a tough tough JRU team in 3 games to complete a grand slam.

Now, looking at the way they ended their campaign.. it’s easy to assume that Ateneo would take out San Beda easily. But come on, you guys have to admit, San Beda had a tougher run to the title and as much as I’m afraid to say it, most of the UAAP teams are a tad overrated this year.

With that being said, lemme try to breakdown this “fantasy” match up between Ateneo and San Beda.

Frontline

Ateneo possesses two of the best bigmen in the UAAP today on their starting line up. Rabeh Al Husseini (2008 MVP) and Severino “Nonoy” Baclao (2008 Finals MVP, 2007 Champions Cup MVP) while on the other side of the fence, Beda plays with Sam Ekwe (2 time NCAA MVP) and JR Taganas to start for them. Justin Chua and Jobe Idon’tknowhowtospellhissurname mans up the Ateneo bench while Jake Pascual and Dave Marcelo does the substitute role for the Lions.

Frontline breakdown: Rabeh won’t be as effective and as dominating as he was in the UAAP because he’ll be hounded by four different defenders, specifically Sam Ekwe and JR Taganas. Now, this would most definitely be in favor of the Lions considering that their offense doesn’t rely heavily on Ekwe and Taganas while the Eagles almost instantly goes to Rabeh every single time they set up. I expect Ateneo’s frontline to produce more points but I’ll have to give the frontline advantage to San Beda because of what I’ve said above.

 

Wingmen

On the blue side: Chris Tiu, Eric Salamat and Ryan Buenafe. In the red corner: Ogie Menor, Bambam Gamalinda and JR Tecson.

 

Wingmen Breakdown: Ateneo has better wingmen. Hands down. Chris Tiu, Ryan Buenafe and Eric Salamat can explode any given Sunday on the other hand, Beda’s wings are at times inconsistent. Ogie’s game can either help his team big time or pull it down in the Abyss. Tecson and Gamalinda are solid players, but like what I’ve said, they’re inconsistent. Wing advantage goes to Ateneo.

Backcourt Breakdown

The Hermida-Escobal-Tirona backcourt is prolly the most underrated backcourt in Collegiate Basketball today. All of those guys are solid point guards which can shift to the two guard spot easily. On the other hand, I think Ateneo’s soft spot is in their backcourt. Jai Reyes, Yuri Escueta and Kirk Long doesn’t really match up well to the experienced trio of Beda. Backcourt advantage easily goes to San Beda here.

The Verdict

I know I’m going to recieve (as usual) hate mails for saying this, but I’m actually picking San Beda to win against Ateneo in three tough tough games. It’s really hard for me to pick between two great teams but I feel San Beda is still, the best Collegiate basketball team today, as it was in the past three years.

 

Anyway, I’m all done now. You can send your hate mails after the tone. :D

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