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Take a deeper look at the numbers and historical contexts as NU, UP, UST and La Salle duke it out for UAAP men's basketball supremacy to close out a wildly competitive Season 88
MANILA, Philippines – Collegiate men’s basketball is once again in a fever pitch as the UAAP Season 88 field comes down to the Final Four starting this Wednesday, December 3.
All bets are off as the UAAP semifinals feature some old faces with one highly interesting top-seeded challenger, and here is the tale of the tape for each protagonist in these must-see affairs.
NU Bulldogs
Usually a part of the UAAP men’s basketball Final Four picture since the turn of the new decade, the NU Bulldogs are one step closer to achieving their dream of becoming “one of the big boys,” as head coach Jeff Napa always quoted, after clinching their first top-seed finish in the Final Four era.
In the hunt for their first title since 2014, the Bulldogs have placed special emphasis on their defense, ranking second in lowest opponent points allowed per game at just 66.86 points, second in lowest opponent field goal percentage at 36.96%.
NU also rips the most balls at a league-high 9.0 steals per game, above UP’s 8.14, translating to a top-ranked transition offense at 11.5 fastbreak points per game compared to No. 2 UP at 11.14.
With presumptive Season 88 Mythical Five selection Jake Figueroa, veteran playmaker Steve Nash Enriquez, hulking center Omar John, and shooting specialist Paul Francisco leading the way, the twice-to-beat Bulldogs look to close out La Salle for their first finals berth since their 2014 title.
UP Fighting Maroons
Now in their seventh straight Final Four, the mighty UP Fighting Maroons are gunning for their fifth straight finals appearance, and more importantly, their third championship in five seasons after having none from 1987 to 2021.
One of the most balanced teams in the league in terms of personnel and philosophies, UP is fourth in points per game at 75.86, second in field goal percentage 42.64%, third in opponent points allowed at 72.5, second in fastbreak points at 11.5, first in bench points at 34.64 and second in steals at 8.14.
Like NU, UP also has no player in the top ten in the league’s individual scoring leaderboard, and are currently led by five players — Francis Nnoruka, Harold Alarcon, Rey Remogat, Gerry Abadiano and Gani Stevens — who are averaging at least 8 points per game.
Also armed with a twice-to-beat bonus, second-seeded UP now seeks to fend off pesky UST to formalize a finals return and pave the way for its first-ever successful title defense.
UST Growling Tigers
Back on the rise since their last UAAP men’s basketball finals appearance in 2019, the UST Growling Tigers are back as the third seed for the second straight year, but still with a lot of questions to answer and voids to fill before reestablishing themselves as true title contenders.
For one, UST currently holds a 13-43 cumulative elimination round win-loss record since peaking with a Season 82 finals berth, going 3-11, 1-13, 2-12, and 7-7 in the last four seasons.
Clearly an offensive-oriented team this Season 88, the Growling Tigers have a runaway lead in team points per game at 86.07, eight points above second-ranked La Salle at 78.43.
However, this comes with the caveat of being one of the UAAP’s worst defenses — being seventh at allowed opponent points per game at 81.71, just below winless UE at 84.57, dead-last at allowed opponent perimeter points at 34.79, and second-last in allowed points in the paint at 35.14.
Led by presumptive Rookie of the Year and Best Foreign Student-Athlete Collins Akowe, veterans Nic Cabañero and Forthsky Padrigao, and intriguing up-and-comers Gelo Crisostomo, Amiel Acido and Mark Llemit, UST takes on the monumental task of beating UP twice to complete its finals return.
La Salle Green Archers
Similarly on shaky ground heading to the Final Four like UST, the La Salle Green Archers are coming in as wounded warriors, barely scraping by the likes of FEU, Adamson and rival Ateneo to book the last semifinals ticket.
Like most of the elimination round, the prevailing questions surrounding La Salle will be consistency and health, as the Archers have not adequately answered both heading to the playoffs.
In terms of health, La Salle only recently welcomed back star stretch big man Mason Amos into the fold, and are reportedly set to redeploy star guard Kean Baclaan in time for the Final Four after both players were provisionally ruled out of the season due to similar MCL injuries.
In terms of consistency, free throws remain a highly exploitable weakness for the Green Archers, who routinely miss the mark from the charity stripe to the tune of a league-worst 59.41%.
But with high-energy captain Mike Phillips and clutch guard Jacob Cortez leading the way, while excellent role players Earl Abadam, Vhoris Marasigan, Luis Pablo and JC Macalalag round out the rotation, La Salle beating top-seeded NU twice in a row is never out of the question. – Rappler.com
