NCAA: Reuniting vs rebuilding

(Part 1)

The 81st season of the National Collegiate Athletic Association opens today at the Araneta Coliseum, and it will definitely be a colorful season. Fully half the teams are bringing back almost intact line-ups, while the other half seems to be putting together the pieces of a new jigsaw puzzle.

Last year’s finalists alone are a case in point. The teams are unanimous in putting Philippine Christian University at the top of their list of contenders, if for the simple reason that the Dolphins are carrying the exact same line-up that took them from doormat to dominator last season, with only two newcomers. The only thing missing is head coach Loreto Tolentino, who separated from PCU while he was coaching both the Dolphins and the University of Manila Hawks during the Champions League. Junel Baculi, who has coached teams to championships in the ABC (now FIBA-Asia) Champions Cup and the Philippine Basketball League, has stepped in.

"Our biggest adjustment is the change in system," admits assistant coach George Longalong. "From being an offensive-minded team, coach Junel has tried to make us a defensive team. And we didn’t have four of our top players for most of the training, so that made it hard to adjust."

The players he mentioned, including last year’s Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player Gabby Espinas and Finals MVP Rob Sanz, were part of the Harbour Centre team that joined the PBL, as well as the Philippine team pool formed for the SEABA.

"It was very hard," Sanz says. "But I’ve always dreamed of being on the Philippine team."

On the other side of the fence, last year’s undermanned runner-up University of Perpetual Help is a team that has practically lost its limbs. Last year, coach Bai Cristobal fielded a twelve-man line-up, and promptly lost three players to injury. And, although he plans a fourteen-man roster this year, it’s going to be a thin one. He will no longer be able to bank on the league’s leading scorer, Noy Javier, who opted to join Boycie Zamar’s Philippine team to next week’s SEABA tournament. Lost to graduation are forward center Marcel Cuenco and center Robert Barnson.

"I was very happy with my team last year," Cristobal told The Star. "I just keep telling them that hard work comes first. The rewards will follow."

"We collapsed in the finals last year," recalls power forward Vladymir Joe, recounting the sweep they suffered at the hands of PCU. "But we’ve seen the mistakes we made last year, and we’re prepared for this season."

Joe and point guard Khiel Misa will be leading seven rookies into battle, and the team is, admittedly, very raw.

"They come to me as tree trunks and slabs of wood, and I have to carve them into statues," jokes Cristobal.

Meanwhile, for the San Beda Red Lions, making the Final Four in 2004 looked great on their report card.

"We exceeded expectations. I think the team overachieved," declares Nash Racela, who took over the team last season. "Nobody gave us a second look."

This year, though, he will no longer have the element of surprise. Neither will he be able to count on do-it-all forward Arjun Cordero, who graduated, or point guard Ronnie Bughao, who made the jump to the Ateneo de Manila Blue Eagles in the UAAP. Both were front-runners in the MVP race two years ago.

The Red Lions will be parading five rookies, but what a potent batch it will be. The products of their junior program formed the core of the Philippine youth team which copped the junior SEABA title in Quezon last season, and features Rogemar Menor and Jay-R Taganas, who played like men against boys in the high school ranks. But given that six of his other players are only entering their second year, Racela is fortunate that he has always employed a democratic style of play. There are no superstars on this team.

Conspicuously absent from last year’s playoffs were perennial contender San Sebastian College, who missed the Final Four for the first time since it was implemented roughly a decade ago. Starting center Pep Moore, starting point guard Michael Gonzales, swingman Chris Baluyot, and big guard Nico Uy are all gone. Instead, the Stags are counting on some Team B players, and those who were injured last season. The good news is that 6’8" Francis de Leon and 6’7" Jayson Ballesteros now have a year of experience under their belts, and one-time MVP Leo Najorda has greatly matured after a stint with Welcoat in the PBL.

"We’ve lost half the team, so the second-stringers who are left have to develop. We haven’t really made any major changes," says long-time mentor Turo Valenzona. "We’re just trying to improve our other departments, like defense, rebounding, our running game. So far, the players have been responding."

On Monday, the rest of the NCAA teams in profile.

Catch more of the NCAA on this week’s episode of The Basketball Show on ABC 5 at 3 p.m.