UAAP 81 Preview: Ateneo Blue Eagles are heavy favorites

UAAP Season 80 finish: champion
Players who graduated: Chibueze Ikeh, Vince Tolentino, and Kris Porter
New additions: Angelo Kouame, William Navarro, SJ Belangel, and Matthew Daves
Players not in the lineup: Jawuan White and Troy Mallillin

How do you follow an act like that? Ateneo wins last year’s UAAP men’s basketball championship. They win preseason titles in the City Hoops, Filoil Flying V Preseason Cup and the Breakdown Basketball Invitationals during the summer. Then they cap everything off with an impressive performance in the recently concluded William Jones Cup.

Having done all that while strengthening their squad with four key additions installs them as heavy favorites to repeat as UAAP champions. Anything less than a title will be a disappointment and that is an understatement.

Pressure? Well, there already is by merely putting on that Ateneo jersey, but all the previous accomplishments say they are favorites. Of course, that doesn’t mean without serious opposition from the other seven UAAP teams. Ateneo has to earn it.

Here are some talking points about the Ateneo Blue Eagles:

They have an even better lineup than last year

There are the veterans like Matt and Mike Nieto, Thirdy Ravena, Aaron Black and Isaac Go, who aside from this season will have one more year to play. Jolo Mendoza, Adrian Wong and Raffy Verano are in their third year. Tyler Tio, Gian Mamuyac and BJ Andrade will be on their second. Anton Asistio is on his final playing year. 

Now that is a good lineup. However, the addition of Angelo Kouame, William Navarro, SJ Belangel and Matthew Daves gives this team depth. Much depth and firepower.

Kouame will be the rim protector and force inside. His presence as the last line of defense will allow players to cheat somewhat on defense; gamble, and when possible run on those quick outlets. Ange can score and has good footwork. The scary thing is he is still learning the game.

Navarro adds shooting, depth and another defensive force. In his one year in San Beda before he transferred to Ateneo, he would only shoot from the outside. Now, he attacks and if you give him space, he will dunk on you. His passing though needs to be more spot-on. He will be the x-factor if you ask me because he will be asked to play a variety of roles and positions.

Belangel stabilizes the backcourt. It allows Mendoza and Asistio to slide into the shooting guard position. How big is that for Mendoza and Asistio? They’ll be a lot calmer and not as tired. All they have to do is find an opening. If you noticed during the recent summer leagues up to recently, he doesn’t need to score, but he can. What he has shown is a maturity for a rookie where he leads and directs traffic. Plus he can play D.

And there’s Daves. The onus is on this talented kid to mesh with Ateneo. His debut was with the Blue Eagles in the Jones Cup where he predictably looked lost. Make no mistake, this kid will be like a more athletic version of Noli Locsin. A guy who can barrel in, post up and rebound. The difference is this guy will dunk on you and even shoot the three. Maturity and experience though is key. And a good attitude to learn and soak in everything.

A solid starting five

With Matt Nieto, Kouame, Ravena, Verano and Asistio, this team can run, play halfcourt, and can stop opposing teams. 

Matt Nieto doesn’t put up huge numbers, but his effect cannot be quantifiable in mere numbers. It is his leadership, pride in playing defense, and being a total team player that are valuable. It helps that in the past year or so, he has really improved his outside shooting. Ateneo plays better when he is on the floor.

Thirdy Ravena. People see the dunks and blocks. But the truth is somewhere in between. He has become the go-to scorer and creator on the attack, but he can also shut down opponents with his defense. Other players see their offense struggle because they expend a lot of energy on defense. Not so for Thirdy. Expect him to make a bigger impact this year.

Raffy Verano. The first ever recruit of Tab Baldwin embodies the coach’s style of play. Totally selfless. You see him throw his body out there for rebounds, taking charges, playing defense, floor burns. And he has this intelligence for the game making great cuts and passes. His fault is when he is open, he tends to hesitate and pass it up. He has worked on that though during the past few months. 

Anton Asistio. The baby-faced assassin plays with a chip on his shoulder. Always give its 110 percent. He gets upset at himself when his shooting turns sour. He’ll attack and play defense though when can’t find the range. And if you play him close, he’ll find an open teammate. His zip pass to a cutting Chib Ikeh in last year’s finals for a dunk was massive.

The Tab Baldwin magic

There is nothing like having a top coach. Franchise coach! One who you know is not only in charge, but can develop the players, create a system, and provide answers on the fly. 

Even in only his first year, you can see how Tab Baldwin made great strides with the team. He took a squad that lost seven players and brought them to the finals. Then in the second year they won. And since last season, they have only gotten better and play much better. He inherited underachieving players and turned them into top players, some of whom had made the national team.

During Ateneo’s five-peat heyday, the Blue Eagles were good at half-time adjustments. Now, they adjust on every play and every quarter. It helps when the team knows that the coach can break it down for them and come up with answers.

Even during the run to last season’s UAAP title, you could see that there were still chinks in their armor. It would be arrogant to say that they are invincible. They aren’t. But they sure play much better than they did last year. In fact, watching them in the past few months, they have gotten even better.

A key component of Ateneo’s game is their outside shooting. When they are on, it makes life easier for them. If not, they struggle, but their depth and experience have helped them get through.

The key here is team play, selflessness, and belief. That counts for a lot.

It will be a tough opening week for Ateneo. Adamson on Sunday, UP on Wednesday and FEU on Saturday. It is nice for them to have depth. But look for Ateneo to be the hunted. How they respond to the pressure is key. But when they get on a roll. Watch out.