Baycats new NAASCU Champs

Kris Lucernas scores unmolested

Free throw (Fuh-ree Tuh-row) A free shot from 15 feet.

I was once told that free throws are supposed to made free,. That is why missing a free throw is a cardinal sin in a basketball game. That is why we always ask ourselves, how will a team expect to win if they miss 23 free throws in one game. That was the waterloo that the STI College Olympians put themselves into as the San Sebastian College Recoletos de Cavite Baycats exploited this chink in the Olympians armor to get the all important 86-77 game three win to dethrone the champs and crown themselves as the 8^th NAASCU Seniors Basketball champions.

Arnold Danganan on the fastbreak

The game was another classic as both teams would not blink an eye may it be in defense or in offense. The Baycats started where they left of, by nailing the first three-pointer in their first attempt. Confidence runs high in the game of Raymond Alacasabas as he hit a three pointer while Mark Basa was humming offensively once again. ON the other side of the court, Ramon Mabayo was all business as he drove to the lane with authority. The Olympians stepped up their defense as Darryl Mendoza and Mabayo swatted almost every shot that the Baycats had in the paint.

Ramon Mabayo fell short of another title

The Olympians waxed hot as Norman Ihalas sank three three pointers to give the Olympians a 49-43 lead. Just when everything was going their way the Olympians left Mark Basa open for two consecutive plays and the Olympians paid dearly for the Baycat forward sank two consecutive three pointers to tie the count 49-all. This gave renewed confidence to the Baycats as they ended the quarter with torrid outside shooting and their transition game was hard to check to give them a 64-59 lead going into the pay off period. The Olympians tried to match the firepower of the Baycats who were trying to pull away but unfortunately could not fend off the tough stand of the Olympians. With the game still within reach ad the Baycats just ahead by four 74-70, the Olympians self destructed in the face of an 12-7 wind up by the Baycats as they missed 6 important free throws going to the last four minutes of the game. This eventually led to the Baycats getting their first title in the league.

SSC's Kris Lucernas is the league's MVP

Baycats Center - Forward Kris Lucernas was voted as the league MVP while Ric Gracilla, Ramon Mabayo, JJ Collado of Subic Bay and Richmond Sibal of St. Clare composed the Mythical five. St. Clare's Aries Pariñas is this season's Rookie of the year. Coach Egay Macaraya also won the Coach of the Year award which usually goes to the champion team. It was the first time in the history of the NAASCU that a game three was played in the championship, at the same time this is the fourth straight year that the Olympians played in the NAASCU finals.

SSC Baycats, 8th NAASCU Champs - Congratulations

SAN SEBASTIAN COLLEGE ( 86)
Lucernas 19, Alcasabas 18, Basa 16, Villareal 14, Gracilla 7, Antipuesto 6, Escobal 5, Acain 1, Collado 0, Pantonia 0

STI COLLEGE (77)
Mabayo 17, Danganan 14, Ihalas 13, Vasallo 10, Macabasco 7, Aranzaso 5, Crisostomo 4, Mendoza 3, Limpin 2, Sabellina 2,

Quarter scores: 17-19, 36-33, 64-59, 86-77

Olympians beat Baycats, now tied for first

The STI College Olympians leaned on their grizzled veterans in crunch time as they rallied from 15 points down to beat the league leading San Sebastian College Baycats 79-78 in second round action of the 8th NAASCU.  Darryl Mendoza shone the brightest for the Olympians as he outmuscled every defender thrown at him to score 24 points and lead the Olympians to their 13th win in 16 games and for the first time this season the Olympians are in the lead in the standings. The Baycats are just half a game behind with 12 wins and the loss to STI was just their third loss of the season.  

The first quarter started with both teams displaying their suffocating defense and no team scored for the first two minutes.  Then the Baycats found the bottom of the net and erected a 13-7 lead which was a result of great defense and impeccable fastbreak points.  Ray Gracilla led the first quarter assault of the Baycats as he helped build a 24-13 first quarter lead. The Baycats onslaught  continued in the second quarter as Ray Alcasabas, Oliver VIllareal and Escobal joined the fray as the Baycats offense was in high gear.  The veterans of the Olympians on the other hand were quite unlucky as most of their shots were twirling out. Ramon Mabayo was always double teamed and the Olympians had a hard time getting their shots in. The Baycats were looking at a 15 point lead with two minutes left 41-26 and the quarter closed with the San Sebastian Team lording it over the STI team with a ten point lead.  

In the third quarter, defense was the key to the return of the Olympians. Through patience and baskets by Darryl Mendoza the Olympiasn cut the lead of the Baycats to just three 38-41.  In seven minutes all the Baycats can produce was two points as the suffocating defense of the Olympians prevented them to score.  Unfortunately, after the second unit of the Olympians spelled the veterans, the Baycats took the initiative to force the Olympians with errors once again to lead 57-49. Second year forward William Vasallo then beat the buzzer with a three pointer to narrow the gap to five points 57-52.

Like Freddy Kruger, the Olympians came back from the grave that they have fallen to and leveled the count at 69-all.  Darryl Mendoza then converted two free throws to give the Olympians a 71-69 lead. On the other end, Ric Gracilla converted a three pointer to give the upperhand once again to the Baycats. The turnaround happened with 53 seconds left, William Vasallo once again nailed a three pointer to put the OLympians in front for good 76-74. That triple broke the back of the Baycats as the Olympians went on to add three more free throws while the Baycats still managed to sink two more field goals.  As a result of the pressure defense and physical game, one by one three baycats fdouled out, first was Villareal followed by Pantonio and Alcasabas. Barring any freak incidents, the championship will feature these two teams which we believe will be the most exciting NAASCU finals ever. 

STI 79

Mendoza 24, Vasallo 11, Mabayo 10, Danganan 10, Aransazo 7, Crisostomo 6, Cabangon 5, Macabasco 4, Sabellina 2, Ihalas 0.

 

SSC-R Cavite 78

Gracilla 16, RayAlcasabas 16, Villareal 14, Escobal 10, Lucernas 8, Basa 3, Pantonia 2, Acain 1, Callado 0, Antipuesto 0.

 

Quarterscores: 13-24, 31-41, 52-57, 79-78 Final 

 

Olympians beat Saints 102-82, now solo 2nd

Ramon Mabayo on the drive

Touted as the best power forward pound for pound in the NAASCU, Ramon Mabayo has consistently brought his defensive tenacity to the Olympians on the court and in the process polished his offensive explosiveness. TOday's game is a testimony of that truth as he played his usual defensive game and showed a variety of offensive moves the delight of the Sunday crowd at the PNP Gym in Crame. Mabayo scored a career high 28 points as he led the defending champion STI College Olympians to a 102-82 thrashing of St. Clare College in the resumption of the second round of the NAASCU.

Mike Cabangon, Flight 101

Ably supporting Mabayo were forwards Mike Cabangon, Arnold Danganan and center Darryl Mendoza while guards Jay Aranzaso and Macky Macabasco contributed big numbers for the cause of the Olympians. The first half saw the Saints match the Olympian's strength and speed as Richmond Sibal, Aries Pariñas and Louie Fajardo kept the Saints at bay. They came from ten points down to settle for a 36-40 deficit at the half.

Darryl Mendoza scores two points

At the start of the third quarter, the Saints played solid defense to take the lead 43-42 on a three pointer by Fajardo. Unfortunately, that was a cause for alarm for the Olympians as they gained the momentum once again through hussle plays and their pressure defense worked wonders once again as the Saints were plagued by turnovers, botched plays and ill advised shots. The Olympian's defensive intensity was in full throttle and their offense put on high octane as the Olympians scored 32 points the rest of the way while limiting the Saints to just 14. This worked wonders for the Olympians as they ended the third quarter with a 17 point lead.

Arnold Danganan challenges Richmond Sibal

The fourth quarter was just moot and academic as the Olympians coasted along throught the barreling drives of Jay Aranzaso and the inside presence of Ramon Mabayo. The win put the Olympians in solo second as the San Sebastian Baycats beat the AMACU Titans 106-88 to improve on its league leading 12-2 slate. The Olympians are close behind at 11-3 while AMACU and Saint Clare are a game behind the Olympians at 10-4. The UM Hawks redeemed themselves by beating the Informatics Icons and are two games behind the No.4 slot at 8-6 wins.

Jay Aranzaso scored off steals

The Scores:

STI COLLEGE (102)
Mabayo 28, Aranzaso 19, Cabangon 12, Mendoza 12, Danganan 12, Macabasco 9, Vasallo 4, Sabellina 4, Ihalas 2, Crisostomo 0,

ST. CLARE COLLEGE (82)
Fajardo 18, Pariñas 15, Sibal 12, Opalia 11, P. Coronel 9, Nacianceno 6, Dizon 4, Buquid 3, Role 0, Coronel 0,

Quarterscores 22-19, 40-36, 74-57, 102-82

Olympians win first two games in 2nd Round

Ramon Mabayo scores on a hard drive

The STI College Olympians started the second round of the NAASCU on a high note as it got back at their first round tormentors, the Lyceum of Subic Bay Sharks 96-85 and sustained it with another 91-72 win over their cyber war opponents, the Informatics International College Icons. The two wins are against the bottom two teams of that made it to the quarterfinals and the big games are just about to come.

Rookie Center Maclean Sabellina scores on a lay up

STI COLLEGE VS LYCEUM OF SUBIC BAY

Eversince the Olympians introduced their brand of pressing defense a lot of schools followed suit. Another team that does that is the Lyceum Sharks whose never say die attitude got them a win against the Olympians in the first round. James Collado, who punctured the hoops for 23 markers in the first game was checked by Forward Ramon Mabayo. Mabayo defended well as he gave Collado a hard time getting his game going and matched the burly forward's strength in every possession. On the other hand, Mabayo was limited to four points in that first round loss so he started strong by giving the OLympians an 18-10 first quarter lead.

Arnold Danganan with his Ginobli like moves

The second quarter was like a chess game with both teams playing superb defense with STI making headway and trying their best to break away by controlling the second canto enroute to a 38-23 lead. In the second half the Sharks though shooting guard LA Gapasin came back to life as his game high of 37 points fueled every Lyceum run as the Sharks who scored 23 first half points scored 62 second half points - the most that the Olympians have given in a winning game. The Olympians got a sigh of relief in winning this game since the team missed 27 free throws! The Olympians were led by Mike Cabangon who scored 26 points again, the same total he had in their first round encounter. The win kept the Olympians abreast second placers AMACU and St. Clare who both won against New Era University and University of Manila respectively.

STI
Cabangon 26, Danganan 22, Mabayo 13, Mendoza 10, Vasallo 10, Aranzaso 8, Crisostomo 5, Limpin 2, Sabellina 0, Ihalas 0,

Lyceum
Gapasin 37, Ladaban 15, Collado 10, Pellico 8, Ellano 5, Velasco 4, Morrison 4, Valencia 2, Carrey 0, Campania 0, Postrado 0,

Quarter scores: 18-10, 38-23, 62-51, 96-85

Air Cabangon in one of his many scheduled flights

STI COLLEGE vs. INFORMATICS

The Olympians know for a fact what the Icons are going through, when the Olympians were new in the NAASCU they played miserably. They took bad decisions, gambled on every possession and were an uncohesive unit. The Icons were a notch above what the Olympians which resulted in a win against the University of Manila Hawks. The Olympians did not take the ICons lightly as the teams battled in the first quarter toe to toe with the Icons getting the upperhand first. Ramon Mabayo underscored his might inside the paint as he presided over the Olympian's defense and more importantly fueled its offense as the Olympians opened up a 23-12 first quarter lead.

The future of STI will be in their hands

Mike Cabangon and Arnold Danganan then found ways to puncture the hoops as the Olympians took a commanding 48-24 lead at the half. The ICons battled back and forced the Olympians to numerous turnovers which resulted in baskets for them. Eric Acuña led the Icons assault as they brought the 24 lead down to 10 points in the wake of their drives to the hoops. Unfortunately for them, the trio of Mabayo, Cabangon and Danganan proved steadier in the endgame as the Icons bowed anew to their corporate rivals.

The Scores:

STI College (91)

Mabayo 18, Cabangon 16, Danganan 15, Ihalas 11, Aransazo 7, Crisostomo 6, Sabellina 6, Vasallo 5, Mendoza 3, Macabasco 2, Limpin 2, Washington 0.

Informatics (72)

Acuña 17, Castelo 11, Pagkalinawan 11, Costillas 11, Santos 9, Sarmiento 6, Deximo 3, Peig 2, B.Ungco 2, Aguilar 0.

Quarterscores: 23-12, 48-24, 65-49, 91-72 Final

STI College Olympians 2nd round Sked

STI College Olympians sked

September 10, 2008, Wednesday
STI College vs Lyceum of Subic Bay Sharks
10:30 am @ Makati Coliseum

September 12, 2008, Friday
STI College vs. Informatics Icons
9:00 AM @ Makati Coliseum

September 14, 2008, Sunday
STI College vs. St. Clare College Saints
9:00 AM, Venue to be Announced

September 17, 2008 . Wednesday
STI College vs. University of Manila Hawks
10:30 AM @ Makati Coliseum

September 19, 2008, Friday
STI College vs. San Sebastian College Cavite Baycats
10:30 AM @ Makati Coliseum

September 22, 2008, Monday,
STI College vs. AMACU Titans
1:30 PM, Venue to be announced

September 24, 2008, Wednesday
STI College vs. New Era University Hunters
9:00 AM @ Makati Coliseum

THE 8TH NAASCU: THE EXCITEMENT NEVER ENDS!!!

Pressure defense and high octane offense were the key
for San Sebastian Cavite's emergence as the No.1 Team

For hardcore NAASCU fans this season can go down as the most exciting season and the most unpredictable one. Throw away those pre season predictions because as the games come the excitement never ends. For the record there were five teams who were at least on top or tied for first place during the first round.

At the end of the first round and after a roller coaster ride that saw four teams come out as the league leader, the San Sebastian College Recoletos de Cavite Baycats came out on top of the pack as they now sport the league’s best record with a 9-2 win –loss slate.

With Glen Bolocon and last year’s scoring champ Jerome Cenita out the picture, Coach Egay Macaraya transformed the new look Baycats into a run and gun pressure defense team. The main men for the transformation of the Baycats are Kris Lucernas, Ricardo Gracilla Jr. and Oliver Villareal. Lucernas and Gracilla are averaging 15.6 and 15.3 points respectively. Their intensity in the game, hustle and ball movement is hard to match. The only way you can beat the Baycats is for your team to out hustle them, out jump them and out sprint them which is easier said than done.

The AMACU Titan's in your face defense gave them countless wins

Archrivals STI College Olympians and AMACU Titans are at it again and are bound to meet each other in the final four or even the finals if both of them sustain their impressive runs. The Olympians are led by the troika of veterans Ramon Mabayo (15.4 ppg) Mike Cabangon (14.88) and Darryl Mendoza (10.3) and a bunch of new acquisitions with Arnold Danganan proving as the fourth man to average in double figures at 11.2 ppg. The only time the Olympians were tied for first was after the first day of the season when they beat the UM Hawks. They then suffered back to back losses to the Titans and the Baycats and has played catch up since then. They end the round at second place. The Titans was on top of the field for a while until they suffered losses to the St. Clare Saints and UM Hawks respectively. The team is led by a troika of guards who are able to shoot the lights out in every game. Robby Zablan who led this team to 2006 title together with Sta. Lucia draftee Chito Jaime, is averaging 14.33 ppg. He usually feeds the ball to the two shooters who have made their mark this season, Romard Avellana and Ace Gonzales who averages 17.1 and 16 points respectively. The Titans has found ways to win and is at third place at the end of the first round.

Richmond Sibal of St. Clare & Darryl Mendoza of STI College
in one of their rebound battles

The St. Clare Saints were on the verge of ending the first round on top until they were toppled by the STI College Olympians and the SSC Baycats as they dropped to fourth place. Leading their charge is former Juniors MVP Aries Pariñas whose single game career high of 38 points brought down the AMACU Titans. He is now averaging 18.64 ppg and is ably backed up by Philip Coronel and Raymond Sibal. The University of Manila Hawks were suppose to finish the round with the same slate with the previously mentioned three teams but was unfortunately ambushed by the Informatics Icons on the last day of the tournament. The team is led by scoring leader and 2005 rookie of the year Jun Napiza with 21.18 points per game. Chris Guimpatan is averaging 12 points per game while Ryeon delos Trinos is chipping in 11 points per game to support Napiza.

New Era's upset of the Baycats was hard to imagine

Rounding off the last three teams are the New Era University whose upset of the Baycats rocked the league. Ramel Pepito and Kenneth Isip lead the charge for the Hunters and are raring to go to make it to the final four. The Lyceum of Subic Bay sharks are just two games away form the final four teams and will definitely lean on the offensive prowess of Jessie James Collado, Lawrence Gapasin and Aron Pellico. Their big time win over the STI College Olympians will say that they cannot be taken for granted. The last team to make it to the quarterfinals is another newcomer- the Informatics Icons. The Icons will lean on the shoulders of Filamer Deximo and will most likely follow up their upset win over the UM hawks with another big time win over the rest of the field in the second round.

The CEU Scorpions, PLP Eagles, Holy Angel University Flyers and University of Manila Hardy Herons failed to make it to the second round.

The Informatics Icons had an upset on their own
when they beat the UM Hawks
on the last day of the eliminations

TEAM.........................W - L

SSC-R de Cavite..........9 - 2

STI College ................8 - 3

AMACU.......................8 - 3

STCLARE....................8 - 3

UM.............................7 - 4

NEU...........................7 - 4

LSB............................6 - 5

INFORMATICS............5 - 6

CEU............................4 - 7

PLP............................ 3 - 8

HAU........................... 1 - 9

UMAK........................ 0 - 11

Just to add, here are some of the unexplainable string of games that rocked the NAASCU

1. UM beats St. Clare, St. Clare beats CEU, CEU wins over UM
2. NEU Beats SSC that beat UM which won over NEU
3. AMACU beats SSC that beats UM and UM won over AMACU
4. CEU wins over LSB, LSB upsets STI, STI beats CEU
   
5. UM beats LSB, LSB defuses Informatics, Informatics nips UM.
   
6. St. Clare routs AMACU by 15, AMACU wins over STI by 11, STI wins over St. Clare by 40!

The unpredictability is the name of the game in the NAASCU. There are no sure wins in the NAASCU just sure fire down the wire excitement. Let us wait until the quarterfinal round is over.

Olympians NAASCU Elimination Sked

TEAM	DATE	TIME	VENUE	RESULT
University of Manila	8/8/2008	1:00 PM	RMC	80-68
AMA Computer University	8/11/2008	8:00 AM	UM GYM	63-74
San Sebastian Cavite	8/13/2008	9:30 AM	UM GYM	78-84
University of Makati	8/15/2008	8:00 AM	UM GYM	125-42
Holy Angel University	8/17/2008	9:30 AM	UM GYM	111-56
Pamantasan Lungsod ng Pasay	8/20/2008	8:00 AM	NEU GYM
Informatics	8/22/2008	8:00 AM	UM GYM
Lyceum of Subic	8/25/2008	11:00 AM	UM GYM
Centro Escolar University	8/27/2008	8:00 AM	NEU GYM
New Era University	8/30/2008	1:30 PM	UM GYM
St Clare College	9/1/2008	9:30 AM	UM GYM

Olympians lose two in a row

Robbie Zablan once again buried the Olympians singlehandedly

The DLSU Green Archers and San Beda College Red Lions are having difficulties defending their UAAP and NCAA crowns respectively. As cliche as it may be but defending the crown as they say is easier said than done since all schools are forced to play their "A-Game" when they face the defending champs. Both these schools have already two defeats with the Red Lions adding another loss from the board room. Add to this list the defending champs of the NAASCU, the STI College Olympians who made an impressive opening day debut by thrashing 5 time league champs University of Manila Hawks but got a monumental upset from their 2006 tormentors - the AMACU Titans, and followed it up by a loss from last year's third placers - the San Sebastian Cavite Baycats.

Ace Gonzalez of AMACU and Ramon Mabayo of STI College

STI COLLEGE 63 - AMACU 74

It was the perfect time for an upset, the Olympians were coming from a rousing win and ace scorer Mike Cabangon is serving a one game suspension from a closed fist foul in that opening tiff. STI main man Ramon Mabayo was nowhere to be found on opening tip as the Titans jumped the gun on the Olympians rightaway by burying two three pointers and a basket to start 8-0. The Titans relentless shooting and unselfish play gave them an early 19-7 lead which they never relinquished. Back in the starring role for the Titans is their speedy point guard Robbie Zablan who toyed with every Olympian guard tasked to guard him. Mabayo arrived late and was fielded in the second quarter, unfortunately it was not enough to stem the tide for the Olympians as Zablan quelled all rally attempts of the Olympians as he sank two crucial three pointers in the pay off quarter that doused cold water on the Olympian's rally.

Rebound battle

The result was a 74-63 win which the Titans rightly deserved. The Olympians on the other hand lost steam, were slow to react and were never the same team that won over the Hawks. Defense and hustle were the key in that win since the Titans lost 2006 MVP and Coach Boni Garcia from their team. The Titans have redeemed themselves from the opening day disgrace as they lost by default after the team brought the wrong set of uniforms. This time around they brought the right one, had the right attitude and eventually the right result in their game against their archrivals.

Ramon scores on a drive

STI COLLEGE 78 - SAN SEBASTIAN CAVITE 84

If you were to write a movie script about this game the title of the movie would be CLASH OF THE TITANS! In the game there were bodies sprawling, high flying acts, countless banging of bodies and endless shouting of instructions as both teams would not let up nor blink for the action might just pass by them. The last time these two teams met, the Baycats got a royal beating via a 30 game rout and most of their players got hit here and there by physical game the Olympians employed. This time around, with fire in their eyes, the Baycats had fangs and sharpened paws as Kristopher Lucernas scored the insurance basket off the last foul of STI slotman Darryl Mendoza to give the Baycats an 84-78 win over the defending champions.

William eludes his defender

The game was close all throughout with neither team leading by more than 6 points. Oliver Villareal, Ricardo Gracilla and John Pantonia led the Baycats assault as Villareal sank countless three pointers and were all active on the defensive end that caught the flatfooted Olympians. The first quarter ended with the Baycats ahead 17-16. In the second quarter it was the turn of the Olympians to run and gun as they also played good defense, attacked the San Sebastian press and ended the second quarter with a 43 - 40 lead.

Macky on a jack knife drive

The second half was more of a catch me if you can event as STI would lead by 5 points and San Sebastian would catch up when the Olympians sleep on defense and the Baycats would score a three pointer. The crucial part of the game came when the Olympians were leading by four 74-70 with two minutes left and were forced to three consecutive turnovers which the Baycats capitalized on to level the score at 74-all. Then after STI failed to convert, the Baycats sank a cold blooded three pointer to give them enough distance to seal get their third straight win.

The Baycats, who we can also call "Ninjas" stormed to their third straight win while the STI College Olympians are now 1 - 2. Next stop for the Olympians are two perennial cellar dwellers, the University of Makati Hardy Herons and Holy Angels University. THe road back to respectability seems like a long one and hopefully the Olympians can get back rightaway.

STI opens the NAASCU with a win over UM

Ramon Mabayo led the Olympians with 20 points

When the summer of 2008 started, the STI College Olympians can barely scrimmage because there were only 8 players attending the practices. Ever since the age limit in the NAASCU was lowered to 23 years old, the Olympians have already pegged this year as an adjustment year since most of their returning stars, MVP Dexter Micutuan, Mark Balneg, Manuel Juan and James Tolentino, were affected by the rule.

Last year's third string guard Alvin Macabasco
is now the lead guard of the Olympians

As a result the Olympians recruited players from different parts of the country and landed some good ones but were still wary if they will be competitive since the rest of the team will be manned by virtually untested players. Come the second week of April, Chris Aqualifull a 6-7 Ghana native was scouted by the team and brought to the STI line up as another new face that will don the jersey of the Olympians. Unfortunately, the defensive demon has since transferred to more than four schools with the last one being St. Clare College, which eventually released him. In the first game of the Olympians in the FMC they were badly beaten by De Ocampo College which showed that the team was in disarray! After that loss the STI College Olympians Coach Vic Ycasiano made some adjustments and tirelessly taught the new recruits what he needs with players coming in. Luckily, the NAASCU season opened three weeks later than the original schedule which added additional time for the Olympians to gel as a unit.

Mike Cabangon blocks Jun Napiza from behind

The 8^th NAASCU opened hours before the Beijing Olympics and it was not a coincidence that the Olympians proved superior this time around. Going to the experience of PBL veterans Ramon Mabayo and Daryl Mendoza, the STI College Olympians put one again over the University of Manila Hawks 80-68 in the first game of the season witnessed by a jampacked oven hot Rizal Memorial Coliseum.

Arnold Danganan passes the leather

The Olympians started like a house on fire as they immediately raced to a 10-4 lead through the efforts of their new prized find Arnold Danganan and veteran Mike Cabangon. The Hawks starring center Jun Napiza then came to life and leveled the count at 11-all. After that through their other gunners GUimpatan and Ryeon delos Trinos the Hawks came alive and ended the quarter with a big spurt to lead 19-15 after 10 minutes of action. The Olympians on the other hand regrouped through their veterans Ramon Mabayo, Darryl Mendoza and Mike Cabangon as the 3 Ms gave the lead back to the Olympians as the half ended with the Olympians on top 37-35.

Mabayo in one of his garbage to gold plays

In the third quarter the Olympians began to put a little distance between them and the Hawks as they employed their vaunted full court press that resulted in numerous turnovers by the Hawks. These turnovers were translated into points by Danganan and Jay Aranzaso. A noteworthy revelation was STI College CDO recruit Maclean Sabellina who at 6-4 can be another Arwind Santos in the making. Sabellina teamed with Norman Ihalas to stem the tide for the Olympians in the third quarter.

Jay Aranzaso on the move

The fourth quarter saw the Olympians tighten their defense more as they clamped down on Napiza while delos Trinos and Guimpatan had a hand in their faces which made it hard for them to get the same looks in the first half. The best the Hawks could do was put the lead down to six points as their starters Russen Asuncsion and Reggie Malinao fouled out successively with Asuncion baited to 4 offensive fouls. After that the Hawks offered no more resistance in the homestretch as they buckled with the pressure.

Daryl Mendoza was a force on defense

Forward Ramon Mabayo topscored for the Olympians with 20 pts while Arnold Danganan ably backed him up with 18 points as veterans Daryl Mendoza and Mike Cabangon scored 8 and 6 respectively. Another noteworthy addition to the Olympians is Jay Aranzaso who scored 8 points with most of them coming from good defense with which he translated to baskets plus a three pointer.

Mike Cabangon scores

The University of Manila Hawks were led by 2005 Rookie of the Year and last year's Mythical 5 member Jun Napiza with 21 points. Napiza got support from Chris Guimpatan who tallied 14 points, Ryeon delos Trinos who scored 12 points and last year's assists king Russen Asuncion with 10. What spelled the doom for the Hawks was the four offensive fouls of Asuncion who eventually fouled out. After that the Hawks had a harder time setting up and breaking the STI press. Another Hawk who did not perform well was last year's Rookie of the Year, Reggie Malinao who scored only 2 points and was not even a factor in the defensive end.

Cabangon on the fastbreak

The rest of the league served notice to this win by STI and the heads up play of the Hawks which a lot of NAASCU fans believe will renew their rivalry for the second straight year and most probably third possible. STI broke the tie in their head to head match up as UM won six straight games against the Olympians from 2004 to 2005 while the Olympians won its seventh straight game against the hawks.

The surprise package Arnold Danganan on the drive

With a big win like this, better days are sure to come the Olympian’s way.

The Scores

STI COLLEGE (80)

Mabayo 20, Danganan 18, Mendoza 8, Aranzaso 8, Cabangon 6, Sabellina 6, Vasallo 5, Ihalas 5, Macabasco 4, Crisostomo 0, Daguplo 0, Waminal 0,

UM (68)

Napiza 21, Guimpatan 14, Delostrinos 12, Assuncion 10,De Rosas 3, Paguio 2, Dagala 2, Malinao 2, Sadsad 2,

Quarterscores: 15 – 19, 37-35, 56 -48, 80 - 68

8th NAASCU opens with a Bang

Guest of Honor Manny V. Pangilinan delivers a speech

As early as 7:30 in the morning the Rizal Memorial Coliseum was already jampacked as the National Athletic Association of Schools Colleges and Universities opened with a bang its 8th Season. Twelve schools paraded their respective teams as the defending champion STI College Olympians start their defense of the title they won against the UM Hawks last year via a 2-0 sweep of the finals. SBP big boss Manny V. Pangilinan was the guest of honor as his presence gave great head to the event as the SBP Boss gave a short privilege speech. Accompanying MVP is SBP Executive Director Noli Eala and former SBP Executive Director Pato Gregorio.

Guests at the 8th NAASCU (R-L)
Pato Gregorio, MVP (SBP President),
Noli Eala (Exec. Dir. SBP), Dr. Jay Adalem (NAASCU President),
Edgel Durolfo (Ms. NAASCU '07), Ed Tolentino (Guest Broadcaster)

Other guests included Mark Villar who represented his father Manny Villar. Veteran Sports acster Ed Tolentino was also given an award while former University of Manila Coach Ato Tolentino was given the NAASCU milestone award.

Ms. STI 2007 Theramiles Cajumban and Norman Ihalas of the Olympians

The San Sebastian College Recoletos de Cavite was given the membership award as the tenth member school of the NAASCU. Informatics and Lyceum of Subic Bay was also cited as the new member and will have two years to comply to the rules and regulations of the NAASCU. Informatics will be known as the Icons while Lyceum will be called the Sharks.

Ms. NAASCU 2007 Edgel Durolfo of STI
with former STI muse and Ms.STI 2003 Lou Ann Cruz

The culmination of the opening was the search for Mr. and Ms. NAASCU 2008. Both representatives of CEU won the award which was turnover by last year's Ms. NAASCU 2007, Edgel Joy Durolfo of STI. Ever Bilena was there to hand out special awards to the candidates of Mr. & Ms. NAASCU. Miles Cajumban was given the Ms. Ever Bilena award.

The STI All-Star Dancers performed 2 numbers

The program hosts were Basketball Crazy's Tracy Abad and yours truly. The event was highlighted by the presentation of various schools, the Informatics Dance Group, New Era University Glee Club, University of Manila Dance Group, the University of Makati Funky Jazz Extreme, a high pitch song rendition by Marife Visda of Lyceum of Subic and finally the STI All-Star Dance team.