UP, Benilde, Mapua test readiness in Flying V tiff

MANILA, Philippines - The University of the Philippines, which has been on the rise with new acquisitions last season, is back to square one following the graduation of two key players – Mike Silungan andMiggy Maniego.

A stint in the upcoming 2012 Filoil Flying V Pre-Season Hanes Cup, though, will help the Katipunan squad gauge its readiness for the UAAP wars.

 UP’s future this season will hinge on two unlikely pairs – import Alinko Mbah, a monster down low, and cat-quick guard Jet Manuel and holdovers Julius Wong, Gelo Montecastro and Carlo Gomez.

’’We fell short in making the final four but I’m glad that we were able to take that first step. We improved a little bit and the goal now is just to keep that development. The key for us is the development of our young players as well as getting capable players that can contribute for us,’’ said coach Ricky Dandan, as the Maroons gear up for the pre-season tourney, presented by Bostik Phils., Inc. in cooperation with Total Phils. Inc and major backers BDO, Bayo and Molten.

The three-month long event, which kicks off April 14 at the Filoil Flying V Arena, is also backed by Oxycan, Bagoong Club Resto, Union Bank and Bacchus Energy Drink.

Also in a rebuilding mode are NCAA squads Mapua and College of St. Benilde.

The Cardinals failed to make it to the Final Four despite a capable line-up, and will have to make do of what is left of its core after the departure of Allan Mangahas, Jason Pascual, Mark Sarangay and Rodel Ranises.

Mapua will now have to rely on a core composed of talented big man Yousef Taha, Jonathan Banal and Kenneth Ighalo.

The Blazers, meanwhile, will continue to rely on a young core if it hopes to do well this season.

Carlo Lastimosa is expected to be back to lead the Blazers’ campaign, along with reliable backups Tim McCoy, Jonathan Grey, Jan Tan, Luis Sinco and Ian dela Paz.

‘’Actually, we had a nice campaign overall. We had a lot of close games that we could’ve won but we didn’t since our end game poise was not yet fully developed. That’s the thing we need to work on and improve if we want to continue our move forward. The players will be there but what we need is more maturity,’’ said CSB coach Richard Del Rosario.