Wednesday, March 16, 2016

2016 STI NBT 2nd round preview



The second round of the 2016 STI National Basketball Tournament will commence on March 19, 2016. At this point, all teams will be playing knock-out games as the remaining 22 teams from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao that survived the first round will test the mettle of the winners from other areas.



THE LUZON REGION
STI COLLEGE SANTA ROSA vs. STI COLLEGE DAGUPAN
In the Luzon Region, the Sweet 16 format is in effect for the sixteen teams that advanced to the second round. On top of the sixteen teams is the STI College Santa Rosa squad which is the Luzon top seed with the virtue of their immaculate 4 wins and no loss slate in topping the Luzon 2 division. The Laguna based Santa Rosa team was averaging 90 points per game and their average winning margin is 40 points.  2015 STI NBT Mythical 5  selectees June Aliparo and Raul Guerrero leads the Santa Rosa team together with the vastly improved point guard Jhon Ursua as the triumvirate is averaging a combined 51.5 points per game with Aliparo averaging 22.5 points per game. In their way to the third round is STI College Dagupan which garnered the 16th seed in the Luzon standings. STI College Dagupan will lean on center Christian Cruz and a pair of undersized forwards in Michael Barrozo and Benjamin Biala.



STI COLLEGE MALOLOS vs. STI COLLEGE SAN JOSE
Coming out second in the Luzon seeding is STI College Malolos which topped the Luzon 3 division with a similar 4 wins and no loss slate.  The Bulacan based Malolos team had an average of 80 points in scoring and won by a margin of 28 points against their Luzon 3 counterparts. The big frontline of STI College Malolos proved to be too much to their opponents as the hulking 6’5 center Kelbert Victoria, the bruising 6’3 forwards in Mark Tamayo, Ralph Bonifacio and Aram Pujante. Their opponents find it hard to go inside the Malolos defense that yielded an average of only 50 points.  Their opponent, STI College San Jose which leaned on the all-around brilliance of Davidson Antonio who scored 36 points against STI College Tuguegarao and 18 against STI College Laoag. The Malolos big men will need to work extra hard to contain Antonio while the San Jose defense should work extra hard against the giants of Malolos.


STI COLLEGE GLOBAL CITY vs. STI COLLEGE NAGA
Defending champion STI College Global City topped the Luzon 1 division after registering three wins and a loss which was due to a default against STI College Makati. But the Global City squad still made it to the top since they make their playing do the talking whenever they are on the court. Led by Mythical 5 selectees Jeanssen Pangilinan and Mike Sampurna, the Global City squad also relies on its speedy guards Carlos King and Raymond Veluz. With the graduation of three vital cogs to their campaign last year, the Taguig based champions have their vastly improved bench players get quality minutes and at times compete with the best as Carl Manzano, Kley John Lumelay and rookie Shauwn Sabordo give their share on the offense and defense in the three wins of the defending champs. Challenging them is Bicol’s best with the STI College Naga team which is led by their veteran players Bryan Ronda, Ken Pilapil and rookie Kerwin Importante. The Naga city squad will have to double their efforts to be able to halt the defending champs this year.



STI COLLEGE CALOOCAN vs. STI COLLEGE TANAY
STI College Caloocan on the other hand topped the Luzon 4 division with three wins against no losses but ended up as the seventh seed.  Most of the games that the Caloocan team played were close as they won one game with a solitary point and another one in overtime. Leading the way for the Caloocan team is their heady point guard Mark Anthony Abin whose veteran leadership and excellent quarterbacking led the way for the Caloocan team to be on top of Luzon 4. Ably backing him up are Aldrin Perez and a bunch of no nonsense teeners who thrive on defense and translates that to good offense. Their opponent, Luzon 2 third placers STI College Tanay which booted out STI College Marikina with after starting  0 -15 in the first quarter. STI College Tanay is in luck as Caloocan’s topscorer, Ariel Bautista, will sit out this game after being thrown out in their last encounter.  STI College Tanay will rely on the heft and Heart of McNeil San Antonio, Nomar Ignacio, Christopher Vidanes and Donie Onate as the four suddenly came alive in the second half of their last game to make it to the second round.



STI COLLEGE ORTIGAS-CAINTA vs. STI COLLEGE TANAUAN
STI College Ortigas- Cainta, STI College Bacoor, STI College Las Pinas and STI College Novaliches comprises the other higher seeded teams vying for a slot for a third round entry.  Vastly improved, STI College Ortigas-Cainta has added more big men and their full court pressure defense has given them much wonders. The trio of Van Dam Locsin, Jeffrey Estabillo and Louie Paredes paces the ORCA back court as the three guards averaged in double figures in their three wins with a single loss to place second in the Luzon 2 division. Out to challenge them is Rolyn Morota, Alexander Perez and Reniel Ariate of STI College Tanauan.  This team from Batangas is the only team not to play in Manila and is a mystery to everyone, expect them to go all-out. Expect STI College Ortigas-Cainta to go all out with their pressure defense which they use effectively to make their opponents turn the ball over and this gives them more opportunities to score. If not they can go inside with their big men and pound the middle. STI College Tanauan will have their backs on the wall and would have to play as a team if they want to come out victorious in this one.



STI COLLEGE BACOOR vs. STI COLLEGE QUEZON AVENUE
STI College Bacoor, Las Pinas and Novaliches seeded number 5, 6 and 8 respectively share similar stories as the three teams are bannered mostly by new players with some of them freshmen. STI College Bacoor is another team relying on its full court pressure defense to offset their team’s inexperience. They rely on their front court of Gerrald Tuiroc, Carlo Turla and Joshua Lloter who are ably complemented by the quick back court tandem of Jerick Dumag and Gian Garcia.  In this round the Cavite based Bacoor team drew STI College Quezon Ave. the lowest seeded team in the Luzon 1 – 4 eliminations.  Adrian Mariano, Francis Basco and the rest of the Quezon Avenue dribblers will have to reach deeper into their bag of tricks to pull out a win in this match-up to advance to the third round.  Their team has nothing to lose and everything to gain in this match-up. The Quezon avenue dribblers would have to find a way to break the vaunted trapping defense of the Bacoor team for them to stay within striking distance with the Caviteños.




STI COLLEGE LAS PINAS vs. STI COLLEGE MEYCAUAYAN
STI College Las Pinas plays a lot like the Bacoor team and is slightly younger with their average age of 18 years.  The duo of Christopher Jutie and Dalton Balidoy proved to be the most consistent scorers in this team and will need to match the effort of their opponents from Meycauayan, Bulacan who are masters of come from behind wins. STI College Meycauayan relied on their end game heroics to secure a come from behind win against STI College Munoz-Edsa, a last second shot to beat STI College Quezon Avenue and lost to STI College Caloocan in overtime. Jeffrey Bulario and Kent Opena will have their hands full in containing the Las Pinas team and securing a win. If there is one thing sure, this game will go down the wire.


 
STI COLLEGE NOVALICHES vs. STI COLLEGE TAFT
Finally, the 8th seed and 9th seed match-up is usually the game that sees both teams with equal chances of winning. Although STI College Taft placed second in Luzon 1 and STI College Novaliches 3rd in Luzon 3, both teams are evenly matched with no team enjoying a distinct advantage.  Look for STI College Novaliches to go to Joash Rupisan, Kaizz Maiquez and Nesty Taguba for scoring while STI College Taft will rely mainly on John Amante, Abby Bascara and Patrick Mendoza to lead their team. In this match-up, statistics will not be a factor but their heart and will to win will determine the winner.




THE VISAYAS REGION
STI WEST NEGROS UNIVERISTY vs. STI COLLEGE ORMOC
The Visayas second round game is a repeat of last year’s regional finals with STI West Negros University battling STI College Ormoc once again. This year, both teams renew their newfound rivalry as STI College Ormoc emerged on top once again as they beat both STI College Cebu and STI College Tagbilaran with plenty to spare.  Leading the way are two of the four holdovers from last year’s team, Erwin Seneca and Calvin Ongue as they combine with rookie Rico Pelarios to try to reverse their fortunes against the best team in the south – STI West Negros University. Still known as the Mustangs, STI West Negros will still be bannered by their awesome foursome  in Jhan Nermal, Renz Solomon, Kobe Vizcarra and John Pastias.

THE MINDANAO REGION



STI COLLEGE CAGAYAN DE ORO vs. STI COLLEGE COTABATO
Four teams fight it out in the regional semifinals in the Mindanao region as STI College Cagayan de Oro took control of Northern Mindanao, STI College Cotabato solidified its hold of Western Mindanao, STI College Davao came up on top of Eastern Mindanao and last year’s Mindanao champion, STI College Koronadal took control of the Southern Mindanao.  This year’s semifinal pairs STI College Cagayan de Oro against STI College Cotabato.  Leading the way for the Cagayanons is one of the two remaining mainstays of last year’s team , the veteran Edgar Omila who is joined by seasoned rookies in  Rey Gomez, Kenneth Maagad and Juan Labata. STI College Cotabato on the other hand will counter with Muhidin Sadin, Al-noor Uba, Bin-Hassan Ayob and Usaman Pasigan who are all ready to reck havoc on the court.



STI COLLEGE DAVAO vs. STI COLLEGE KORONADAL
The other half of the Regional semi-finals will pit defending Mindanao champion STI College Koronadal against surprise semi-finalist STI College Davao.  With most of their veterans graduating, leading the team now is Bernard Caguisano Jr. and vastly improved Cris Valencia who together with two rookies, Paulo Soliva and Ricardo Castillo form the four cornered offense of STI College Koronadal that is complimented by their big men in Kenneth Libdan, Dan Ignacio and Almer Lopez. The Davaoenos on the other hand will rely on the duo of Eyan Cabaguio and  Roi Parra who ran rings around their previous opponent. They will be ably supported by Romeo Saplot and Jacinto Avenido III.


The 2016 STI National Basketball Tournament second round match-ups prove to be something worth watching. Who will make it to the third round and to the National finals? Good luck to all STIers representing their respective schools.

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