Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers

During the summer, the JRU Heavy Bombers were an overachieving bunch despite not having a quality big man since James Sena was sheriff in these parts. Essentially, they played small ball with a number of tweeners logging heavy minutes and trying to Steph Curry opponents into oblivion like Philip Paniamogan and Jaycee Asuncion.

Over the summer, the Bombers realized that they need to more than simply bombard from the outside. They need to get inside the lane because the outside shot will not fall all the time.

Michael Mabulac has finally rounded out into a smart paint player but he is more of a power forward than a center and one who is woefully undersized when going up against Adeogun. He might battle the Red Lions' man in the middle to a stalemate for a quarter; maybe even a half that could help win a game, but in a long series, Mabulac will need some help from his friends.

Make that "friend" as JRU is really thin up front. And that other friend is Abdul Razak, the Ghanaian center who looked lost in JRU's schemes on both sides of the court and even had butterfingers on offense. If – and this is the operative word – if Razak can just rebound and play defense, as the Heavy Bombers have a few players who can point points on the board, and stay out of foul trouble, they will go far.

Other crucial parts to their puzzle and if they want to make the Final Four – point guards Gio Lasquety and Teytey Teodoro. Both aren't the type to create for teammates. Teodoro can hit it from the outside but he will be even better if he can find a way to create for teammates especially since Jordan dela Paz was stricken off the roster due to grades at the last moment.

Dela Paz' loss is huge as he brought scoring and rebounding from the three-spot. How they adjust without him is just as key. – Rick Olivares

Roster

1. Abdul Wahab Abdul Razak
2. Asuncion, Jaycee John R.
3. Astilla, Kristian James P.
4. Balagtas, Marco Paulo M.
5. Benavides, Schever Anthony G.
6. Benemerito, King P.
7. Grospe, John Ervin P.
8. Mabulac, Michael R.
9. Manuel, Genesis
10. Munez, Clint
11. Lasquety, Gio Nicolo E.
12. Paniamogan, Philip Criszam J.
13. Salaveria, Juan Edilfierto G.
14. Sanchez, Dave Richard M.
15. Teodoro, Bernabe M.