An NCAA report card

Halfway through the first round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, things are starting to fall into a pattern. A dividing line is starting to appear between the top teams, and those that are trying to crack the top four.

Leading the way is Jose Rizal University, which is relatively intact compared to the last season. The Heavy Bombers are favored to at least make the finals this year, owing to their experience the past three years. This is a team that has taken pre-season tournament seriously, and has stayed together, constantly building up their rep as a tough nut to crack.

What makes JRU formidable is its heavy guard corps, which shoots the lights out and attacks the basket with impunity. Mark Cagoco and John Wilson lead a pack of sentinels who are bigger and tougher than most guard on other teams, their main strength. Add to this the presence of JR Sena, arguably the best big man in the NCAA today, and you have a great formula. However, when Sena sits down, the Heavy Bombers can be found wanting in the paint, with undersized forward Marvin Hayes outdoing himself just to keep up with other frontliners. The one knock against JRU is their habit of blowing big leads, which they’ve survived so far.

Next up is San Sebastian College, under new coach Ato Agustin. Many schools underestimated the Golden Stags due to the fact that they lost 6-7 Jason Balesteros. But, look at Agustin’s resumé as a coach.

Started out as a small forward for RFM in the PABL, then moved to shooting guard for San Miguel Beer. When Franz Pumaren and Hec Calma went down with injuries, the Atom Bomb took over at the point, then promptly became the smallest man at that point to win the PBA’s MVP Award. He also took the Pampanga Dragons to the first-ever Metropolitan Basketball Association championship. He’s also been coached by Ron Jacobs, Norman Black, Jong Uichico and Aric del Rosario. That’s why the Stags are playing tough defense, and have developed their shooters.

After stumbling against the aforementioned Stags, defending champion San Beda College re-established its dominance. The Red Lions are tall, deep and experienced. They shoot well and defend the paint extraordinarily effectively. Suan Daniel will be a force to reckon with, and they are bringing him along slowly. Offensively, it’s hard to find chinks in their armor. One problem may be that certain combinations don’t work particularly well for them, and the rotation at the point was unsettled when Borgie Hermida was still recovering.

As of this writing, there’s a logjam at third between Colegio de San Juan de Letran, College of St. Benilde and Arellano University. Letran has faltered due to lack of material, and the absence of national players RJ Jazul and Rey Guevarra during the off-season. Expect the Knights to hit their stride in the next few games. College of St. Benilde still has an uphill climb, with new coach Richard del Rosario taking over a mix of old and new players. If the Blazers defend more consistently and keep their poise, they could conceivably climb up in the standings. Lastly, Arellano University has the system and material to beat the lower and middling teams in the NCAA. They have, however, failed to beat a legitimate contender, falling to San Beda and Jose Rizal, though they did hang close to the Bombers until the last few minutes of the game. Two problems plague the Chiefs: their guards don’t score, and their big men all shoot from the outside. If they can find a reasonable compromise, it is possible for them to crack the top four, although they will most likely have to go through Letran and San Sebastian to do it.

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Silently, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation has been supporting not just professional sports, but even budding athletes, as well. Pagcor, aside from regulating all games of chance in the country, also sponsors developmental sports programs. Aside from being tasked with funding the Philippine Sports Commission through the National Sports Development Fund, Pagcor also provides underprivileged young athletes much-needed exposure and the opportunity to have free college education through the weekly sports television program Pinoy Sports Idols, which airs its 10th season every Saturday at 9 a.m. on Studio 23.

Since the program debuted in 2005, the state-run gaming firm has already awarded 27 full college scholarships to deserving youths who were mostly from poor families. Pagcor chair Efraim Genuino has been very supportive of this endeavor, hoping these gifted young talents could blossom into great athletes, if given the right break.

Beyond the three college scholarships Pagcor offers every TV season, it also provides an all-expense-paid participation in a prestigious international event to every athlete who emerges as ultimate season “idol”. So far, among the top young athletes who were afforded the chance to compete abroad, it was Season 1 winner Domingo Rico, Jr. of Oriental Mindoro who shone the brightest, winning a bronze medal at the 2007 US Taekwondo Open.

For the past few years Pagcor has found a way to put gaming to use for the youth.