RP stars players to watch

MANILA, Philippines - Will Far Eastern U skipper Mark Barroca suit up against the UE Warriors in their Final Four showdown?

There had been unconfirmed reports that Barroca has decided to quit team for the rest of the 72nd UAAP cage season on allegations that he intentionally played below par in recent games.

If this happens, the Tams will have one top player less when they face the fired-up Warriors for a spot in the best-of-three finals.

Without Barroca, a co-captain at Smart Gilas Pilipinas, FEU will sorely miss the services of a top scorer who normed a team-best 12.7 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists in the elims.

Compounding FEU’s woes is the sidelining of hardworking Cameroonian Pipo Noundou, who sustained a leg injury recently.

The 6-4 Noundou has averaged 9.5 points and 7.2 rebounds and has proved to be a solid post defender for the Tams.

That would leave the scoring brunt to the two other Smart Gilas Pilipinas standouts in Aldrech Ramos and JR Cawaling.

The 6-6 Ramos is the biggest revelation this year as he churned out impressive numbers of 11.5 points, a league best 11.6 rebounds and 1.6 shot blocks that nearly netted him the coveted MVP plum.

Reliable sources confirmed Ramos could have snatched the MVP plum from UST Tiger Dylan Ababou had the Tams clipped the Eagles in the last game of the elimination round. The Tams, however, dropped the match, 73-74, after controlling the game majority of the way.

Cawaling, in contrast, continued to struggle after coming into the season with a lot of promise. He normed 8.6 points, 2.9 boards and 1.6 assists in the elims.

Paul Sanga, rookie guard RR Garcia and the Reil Cervantes are the other players to watch for at FEU with the troika turning in averages of six, 12.3 and 9.3 points, respectively.

FEU is going up against a UE team teeming with talent, headed by Paul Lee, Elmer Espiritu, Pari Llagas and Val Acuna, who all can score at any given time.

Lee, strongly being considered for a spot in the Smart Gilas Pilipinas team, is the team’s top scorer (14.6 points), the league’s assists leader (4.9) and third in the team in rebounds (5.8 boards).

Llagas is UE’s third leading scorer (13.4) and the league’s second best rebounder (8.9) while Espiritu is the Warriors’ second best scorer (13.6), third best rebounder (8.1) and the league’s No. 1 shot-blocker (2.8).

Acuna, who was UE’s best performer when it participated in a tournament in Las Vegas early in the year, averaged 10.4 points and is the Warriors’ leading three-point shooter with 26 conversions.

Focus will also be on Ateneo’s Rabeh Al-Hussaini and Dylan Ababou of UST, the past and the new MVP who will be clashing in the other Final Four pairing.

Ababou, one of the top players in the Smart Gilas Pilipinas developmental team, emerged as the league’s top scorer with an average of 18.9 points.

Al-Hussaini, on the other hand, failed to sustain his fine start and settled behind Ababou in scoring with a 16.5-point norm.

The 6-4 Ababou also became the only player to turn in double-digit scores in the double round elims. His highest output was a 30-point explosion in a 104-89 rout of National U in the first round last July 16 while his lowest was a 10-point effort against FEU, 63-90, also in the first round last Aug. 6.

Ateneo, however, is a talent-laden squad with Eric Salamat, Jai Reyes, Ryan Buenafe and Emman Monfort all capable of putting in big numbers.

In defense, coach Norman Black can count on Noy Baclao, Al-Hussaini and Salamat again and American Kirk Long.

Nico Salva is also a dependable backup as he came off the bench to put in averages of 7.5 points and 3.8 rebounds. He, however, will not see action in the first game of their Final Four match with the Tigers to serve out his one-game suspension for a punching in their previous win over the Tams.

Salva’s absence is a welcome news for the Tigers, who are also expected to lean on Khasim Mirza, the team’s second best scoring option with an average of 13.5 points, sixth best in the league, and the league’s third best rebounder with an 8.8 norm.

Sophomore Chris Camus, should also play a vital role for UST, which also has a talented freshman in Jeric Teng and the small but sweet-shooting guard tandem of Clark Bautista and Jeric Fortuna.

Bautista is the Tigers’ leading three-point shooter with 26 conversions while Fortuna has 21 triples in the elims. Ababou, Mirza and Teng accounted for 14 treys apiece while Allein Maliksi had 10 before sustaining an injury.   – Joey Villar