Reign of Slaughter?

     Questions hung about him even before the game started. Will he play at or even surpass public expectation especially that of the team’s fans? Will he be better than the last very dominant Center of the Blue Eagles?

     Being Greg Slaughter is not easy it seems. A lot of pundits deem him soft and doesn’t power his opponents down. Some say he isn’t athletic enough or fast enough to recover on defense. Others point out how a 7-foot guy can pull down less than eight rebounds in a single game. One mistake is all it takes for them to cave a player in. Not today though.

     Ateneo’s new pillar underneath, Greg Slaughter is good, but he is still considered a study in the art of being a center. Ateneo fans take heart however since he is currently enrolled in the Norman Black School of Big Men. Obviously I just made that out pointing to how coach Norman Black transformed oft-maligned bigs like Doug Kramer (the butter finger-y dude of the past turned reliable 4), Ford Arao (the most maligned of them all) Rabeh Al-Hussaini (lazy tall dude with a bad temper) and lately, Justin Chua (the tall Chinese guy who couldn’t sink a jumpshot before). In a tradition of keeping a surprise for the Ateneo Blue Eagles year after year since he took over, Coach Black had his hands full in the offseason. It was spent trying to incorporate his returning crew with the crack recruits. Aside from that, he also had the unenviable task of turning Greg Slaughter into a beast in the middle. That means whatever experience Slaughter had as a member of Smart GILAS Pilipinas, Norman Black will try to sharpen. He will try to make that drop step so effective it gives him such a wide room to operate. Coach Black will sharpen his elbows so that the “weak” tab against his prized center would be taken off. He will make him the center of the future. The pillar of strength he is supposed to be, for Philippine basketball.

     The progress showed in Ateneo’s first acid test against Adamson, their opening game nonetheless. Slaughter took it to the teeth of the Falcon’s defense, testing their limits. Suddenly, pundits of the big man were shrinking, if not disappearing. The big man put the ball up again and again with no hesitation, only determination to put to rest doubts that covered the Ateneo center. In the end, he put 9 out of 14 tries through the net. I only saw him take two jumpshots. The rest were vicious forays into the hoop where Adamson’s vaunted frontline was beaten into submission. He shook off the platoon of big men Adamson coach Leo Austria sent his way. From Lionel “Austin” Manyara, to Eric Camson, to Jan Collina, and even reed-thin Rodney Brondial, Greg Slaughter slew them all on his way to 23 points including a thundering jam to ignite an Ateneo team in stupor.

     Apart from scoring, Slaughter also managed to pull down 8 boards to go along with two assists and two huge blocks. So much for saying he doesn’t do the dirty work when he blocked a potentially tying lay-up from Falcons star Lester Alvarez. So much for saying he can’t play defense when the only times Manyara and the rest of the Adamson frontline were able to score was with Greg glued to his seat on the bench.

     However, with all the positives of Greg Slaughter in his first official UAAP game, there is still much more left to do. One is to be consistent, second is to be hungry, and third, just continue to improve game by game. After all, superstars are not made overnight. Let the Reign of Slaughter commence.

Signing out,

Courtside Spotter

Why The Eagles Will Get Number 4.

     One more day till the UAAP's 74th season opens. Alot of college basketball fans are already squirming in their seats. Mostly, they are fans of the Hail Mary Squad, the 6th Man of the Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles.

     I cannot blame them for their excitement. Who would not be when you have arguably the best High School prospect since Mike Gamboa and Bacon Austria played for the Ateneo High School Blue Eaglets in Kiefer Ravena? Not only that, there was also that coup of prying a legitimate 7-foot center from the University of Visayas Lancers, Greg Slaughter. And we have not talked about the hold overs, and the comebacking players. Or for that matter, other rookie standouts like Gwynne Capacio and Von Pessumal just yet.

     Not since the Eagles paraded the group of Enrico Villanueva, Wesley Gonzales, Larry Fonacier, Paolo Bugia, Magnum Membrere, LA Tenorio (albeit Bugia and Membrere were injured in that epic Finals run of '02) has the Blue and White seen a strong team down to the 12th man (or 15). On paper, I'll be handing Ateneo their fourth consecutive UAAP title (and perhaps, another PCCL title in the offing, but let's not get ahead of ourselves) with no question at all. The only thing comes close to this powerhouse line up is that of the squad from Taft. Only the Archers seem to have the weapons to match up with the height and heft (Papot Paredes, Ponso Gotladera, Arnold Van Opstal, Norbert Torres, Tayshaun Andrada, Jovet Mendoza, Maui Villanueva), range (Joseph Marata, Jarelan "Oda" Tampus, Almond Vosotros, Simon Atkins) and depth of this Blue Eagle team. They may be a bit green, literally, but they will give a fight. Still, Ateneo would stamp it's class in the end much like during the past Rabeh Al-Hussaini era wherein they pretty much steamrolled through everyone.

     Coming back for the Eagles in their last tour of duty are Kirk Long, Bacon Austria, Emman Monfort, and Tonino Gonzaga. They'll be joined by returnees Nico Salva, who will once more carry the scoring cudgels albeit with help now, JP Erram, Justin Chua, Magic Tiongson, Jeric Estrada, Frank Golla and the comebacking Oping Sumalinog, who should finally be able to show the potential he has been holding back. Now, that's a pretty crack group of returnees considering pretty much everyone in the UAAP do not have that much of a champion's pedigree compared to these old Eagles. Adamson comes close, but their nerves do not. FEU maybe but we all know how that turned out. This experienced bunch already know how to handle themselves and how that will change will be an angle we will be looking forward to.

     Not to be outdone by a solid core of returnees, Ateneo outdid it's own finest recruiting class (that of Buenafe, Salva and Chua). Hands down, this will be Ateneo's best, and it will be remembered as so. When everyone kept spotting Greg Slaughter in Ateneo's games, everyone's heads were whirling already with possibilities, after all, it is not very hard to spot a 7-foot-tall guy in the stands. What they were thinking probably were along the lines of: "If, and it is a big IF, Ateneo was really able to pry Slaughter from the UV Lancers, all hell will break loose next year." Well, that was pretty much what I thinking, and guess what, they did get ol' Greg!

     Now, the question will be, is he really that good to be really watched closely by everyone? By and large, will he just be an incarnation of EJ Feihl, all height and no game? Or will he be the Rabeh of '08 and '09, a beast who trundled up and down the hardcourt? Or will he be better, even surpass the monstrous presences down low of Blue Eagle lore which have the likes of Enrico Villanueva, Rabeh Al-Hussaini, Nonoy Baclao, Danny Francisco, Eric Reyes, Joy Carpio, "Rajah of Rebound" Rabat? Those questions I'm pretty sure would dog the Fil-German behemoth throughout the 74th Season of the UAAP.

     And then, we have the main kicker of Ateneo's recruiting class: Kiefer "The Phenom" Ravena. There is no one, I repeat with emphasis, NO ONE better than Ravena right now as an incoming rookie. I can already hear growls, yelps, and snorts from everywhere already, from Morayta to Taft, Recto to UST. Sure, the other schools may have Ray Parks or Kevin Ferrer or a Chris Javier or Ponso Gotladera, but fact of the matter is, aside from Ray Parks who originally signed a letter of intent to the US NCAA's Georgia Tech, no one was recruited as heavily as Ravena.

     It was like the Ryan Buenafe situation all over again, where an uber prodigy is chased around town by NCAA and UAAP schools, only this time, the prodigy is right in the Blue Eagle's backyard. Anyone who has seen Kiefer Ravena play all shake their heads at the end of the game. Try as the opposing defense might, there. Is. No. Way. To. Stop. Him. He might have a bad shooting afternoon, but he does not win games by scoring point alone. He can beat a grown man off the dribble (calling Calvin Abueva), pull up with ease, dance around three defenders and spot Paolo Pe and Paolo Romero and Von Pessumal lurking around and out-battle bigs for critical boards. And before I forget to mention, the young gunslinger is a proven winner, and can, and will hit the big shots whenever called upon.

     Now, that may seem as if the Blue Eagles are a toploaded offensive team. I beg to digress. Not only do they have the ample (heck, it is overloaded) firepower to crush opposing teams to the ground, they still are the best defensive team amongst college teams I've seen. No one is as demanding as Coach Norman Black when it comes to defense. One wrong switch is all it takes for a player in Blue and White to get yanked off the hardcourt and be glued to the bench. As much as outscoring your aspect is the main point of the game, it is defense that wins championships (yeah it is old and way out of date, but this still holds true. Dallas won a ring with defense, did they not?). And nobody played defense better than Norman Black's crack squad.

     With the addition of Greg Slaughter to man the middle, a position which did not get clear cut guy for the team last year, it will be harder on the opponents to score in Ateneo's paint. Not only will Slaughter be a potential offensive beast as the last true big man of Ateneo, Rabeh Al-Hussaini, was, he is also projected to be as good, or even better, as Noy Baclao was in locking down big men. With those long arms, he'd be a more effective weak side helper than japeth Aguilar was. He'll be aided by Ateneo's starting power forward last year, Frank Golla, who surprisingly lead the team in rebounds per game despite being tabbed as a soft four.

     The guards up to the small forward spots should be amply filled with crack defenders. No one in the league or in the nation was better than Kirk Long at on-the-ball defense. He took on every opposing teams' leading scorer and gave them fits. A team's main man who plays the 1-3 positions would be having nightmares prior to a game against Ateneo because of him. Emman Monfort can handle guards bigger than himself but not built like a rock like the Pocket Rocket is. Bacon will contribute more with his defense giving Nico Salva a breather from scoring the points AND defending the other team's best 3.

If Ateneo is able to answer questions pertaining to Slaughter's play, the chemistry of the other go-to-guys with Kiefer Ravena, the board work of the big men, and if they are able to play consistent defense, there is no way no one would chalk up another Championship run for the Eagles.

Signing out,

Courtside Spotter

Azkalmania

Thump! Thump!

Guys in white and blue rushed up the well-trimmed pitch towards the opponent’s goal. Everybody in Panaad Stadium in Bacolod, Philippines was holding their breath. The home team should’ve been able to score from the onset.

Thump! Thump!

The game was already in the 42^nd minute of the first half. No team has scored a goal. The Mongolian defense did their best to contain the Philippine Azkals offense, same with the impressive backline of the Filipino side. But to most watchers, it was astounding. Mongolia has nothing against this Philippine football team for the ages, and it has held them to a nil-nil tie. This cannot be.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The tie held until Emil Caligdong, the pride of Iloilo in the Azkals team, decided it was enough. Shuffling through his defender, the man everyone called “Chieffy,” for he is a member of the Philippine Air Force, rifled through a great shot that busted the Mongolian wall and through the goalkeeper, drawing first blood in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup game between the Philippines and Mongolia. Everyone roared their approval of Caligdong’s brilliant play. The left winger for the Azkals came through when they needed him the most to break the tension.

The furious action continued in the second half where the Philippine team pushed the Mongolian defense to its limit. Ian Araneta, James Younghusband, Justin de Jong and the rest kept the ball in favor of the Azkals’ side for almost 80% of the whole game. Chances came and went, a lot of hairline calls for the Mongolians, but their defense still held. Amazing, the Mongolians are really giving everything they have. That is until Phil Younghusband decided to turn on the jets and boosted the ball through the keeper once more for a two-nil lead. The former Chelsea reserve put the punctuation mark to an impressive outing for the Philippine Azkals. Everyone in the Stadium went ballistic. Fireworks lit the sky up to add flair for the celebration of the Philippines.

It was an overall good game for the Azkals, playing at the expectation everyone set, more so on the offensive side which new German coach Michael Weiss wanted to emphasize greatly. It was as if the back line of the Azkals took a day off, with, by my count, only one miscue: Neil Etheridge, the wall from Fulham, left the goalpost and decided to have fun as a midfielder. Thank god, Aly Borromeo was there to hawk the streaking lone Wolf and turning it over to the Azkals.

--

Now you may be wondering, why am I suddenly writing about the Beautiful Game? Simple, I’m a fan. I’m a fan of football, not to mention that of the Samba Boys from Brazil. But aside from that, I was really watching this new Philippine football team even before they called themselves the Azkals. All the way before that big, big win over Vietnam, a powerhouse in the Southeast Asia region, in the Suzuki Challenge Cup last December, which triggered the Azkalmania.

I knew of team captain Aly Borromeo way back in his U-19 days as a goalkeeper before being a utility player for the Azkals. For me, he’s the backbone of that tough Azkals backline. No discredit to Neil Etheridge, the rock star goalkeeper of the team, but Borromeo keeps everyone in line along with veteran left wing Chieffy Caligdong. He definitely has come a long way, and for that, kudos to the hulking presence in the backline of the Azkals.

Caligdong on the other hand, is an impressive sight to behold with the ball. No wasted movements, everything precise and right on the dot. I believe he owes it to being a member of the Air Force. The most veteran of them all, Chieffy has been an asset offensively, as is the rest of the frontline.

This team has a lot of potential to really make an impact in football the way Japan and Korea did, and still continues to do. I’m sure you know that China is practically dominant in every sport that it enters whether it is in the Asian Games or Olympics, or various international competitions. But in football, the Red Devils of South Korea and Japan are the wonder boys, especially South Korea who surprised everybody when it hosted the FIFA World Cup a few years back by reaching the Semis. It triggered a football craze in the region which the Philippine nation is slowly catching up to.

I really stand by my statement that the Azkals can impact Asian Football the way the Red Devils did in their glory run to the World Cup Semifinals. Why can’t you when they made it to the 10^th best story of Sports Illustrated in the year 2010 for their stunning demolition of Vietnam? The boys just need support, which is now amply provided by Manny V. Pangilinan, a corporate mogul who is known as a sports enthusiast. And to be honest, it is best Filipinos concentrate more on sports they can actually dominate like football and baseball. These sports don’t require the height with which we are so vainly deprived of for basketball and volleyball.

Take a close look, besides from the goalkeeper who actually benefits from his height, who else does? Midfielders need to see above their opponent’s heads? Not quite, they watch for angles all over the field, not just overhead as is an advantage in basketball terms. Also, the Filipinos have the lithe build that is best suited for the Beautiful Game. In the Ateneo, a well-known university for athletics and academics in the Philippines, you could tell if someone is a football player, or part of the Blue Booters, the school’s football team: his or her skin is slightly tanned or brown (for those with light complexions), a little, but not necessarily short, and legs that look like mini-tanks. Of course saying they’re like mini-tanks is an exaggeration, but you get the picture. A kick can probably down a grown man from those mini-tanks.

And with those street children and snatchers one can find in Manila, mostly, in Quiapo? Why can’t we turn it into a gold mine of future Azkals? Give them better lives, wait, let me correct that, give them a life. Funding? Well, Manny Pangilinan is offering his deep pockets. You know what’s another factor besides the man’s pockets? He’s a winner. All of his teams are known winners. San Beda College in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the oldest league in the country, Ateneo de Manila University from the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) and the Talk N Text Tropang Texters from the professional league, Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), the first pay for play league in Asia, all have one common denominator: they are all champions. And the man himself, he’s a successful one I dare say. Wait that is an understatement, he’s the most successful businessman in the country owning major shares in the largest companies like San Miguel, Meralco and has a TV station of his own that is slowly garnering a massive following, TV5. All those companies, he made them filthy rich in a span of a few years. And that’s why, it translates to the teams he supports and backs (well an exception is the Philippine Basketball team that was comprised of professionals, who are known tankers in competition). After all, it would be a shame if you lose in front of your boss and backer, for he watches games of his teams.

After recruitment and funding, what’s next? Support, that is. Yes, as much as we howl for our basketball players, we should cheer louder, shout our lungs out more for these boys. This is something we Filipinos can win ladies and gentlemen. I feel it in my bones. We have the athletic means, the smarts, the diskarte that makes us so ingenious next to opponents and adversaries. We just have to use it towards a positive goal, instead of putting it in the backburner, which we certainly do next to the national sport that is basketball. The same can be said for other sports such as baseball which is popular in the Visayan region of the country. I really want the Azkals to come out on top more than I want the Philippine SMART Gilas team to earn the country its first ever basketball ticket to the Olympics since the great Caloy “The Big Difference” Loyzaga manned the paint in years past.

However, I’d also like to see some of the former UAAP star booters like Giovanni Simpron of FEU. Boy was that guy one heck of a striker. Like Ateneo’s Miguel Tuazon who was a football prodigy during his days in Ateneo de Manila High School, and of course, Patrick Ozaeta, the 2004-06 UAAP MVP to name a few. That would be exciting indeed. A shot of young blood with the toughness of the veterans would suit the national team well. Not to mention, the ones above are considered geniuses in the pitch.

They can make it. I’m sure of that. I’ll bet my life’s salary on this. Give them Azkals a few more years, better program, better use of funds, better exposure then BAM! We can follow the footsteps of Japan and South Korea. We can be competitive in the most popular sport in the planet. No it’s not basketball, its football. Football! And sooner than you think, purebred Filipinos (no knocks on Fil-foreigners) will be trundling up and down the pitches in Barcelona, Madrid, England, and Germany, starring for their ball clubs and earning a handsome salary, and most especially, bringing back Filipino supremacy that got lost during the downfall of the Marcos regime.


This blog can originally be read at my old blog: http://z-machines.blogspot.com/