u/throwawaybball25

Drop your power rankings also, why and why not

1 - UP
Why: Remogoat and Pre carrying the offensive load as well as good big man play from Nnoruka (pending injury recovery?), Stevens and to a lesser extent Alter. Bayla looks like he might take that next step offensively. Chico has had flashes as well.
Why not: Bad guard play outside of Remogat, lack in firepower when Remogat’s shots aren’t falling (see UP vs San Beda).

2 - UST
Why: What are they feeding their wings, insane development since last season. Impressive three point shooting combined with Akowe’s dominance in the paint. New one and done guard (Jumawan?) looks good. Llemit and Akowe will be feasting but Acido, Gelo and Buenaflor can pick up the slack if needed.
Why not: Is there enough depth to sustain this over a season? Will guard play be good enough?

3 - DLSU
Why: Jacob Cortez is still him, Mason Amos potentially taking a leap this season. Joaquin Tovera PG of the future(?), already very promising performances in Filoil and U18. Reigning champions after insane performances despite losing Amos and Baclaan. Great depth at the wings.
Why not: Mike Philips is gone and kulang pa rin ng FSA. (Just look to Ateneo and Balogun for what not playing FSAs in the offseason might mean). Until I see otherwise I don’t see Amos and Pablo being able to fill the Mike Philips sized hole.

4 - FEU
Why: All key players hold over from last season. Kirby Mongcopa breakout year? Pasaol reigning MVP. Better depth compared to last year with Cabs especially. Championship is the ceiling for sure.
Why not: Just hasn’t clicked as well as you would have expected. (Granted still the offseason but with how slow FEU started the season last year and how much closer all the UAAP schools are this year minus UE and maybe AdU, should be a concern.) Can they peak at the right time?

5 - Ateneo
Why: Better offseason play from Bahay, Travis Roberts looks great, signs of life for Bongo’s 3pt shooting again. Kieffer Alas key addition. Live and die by the three (attempted the most threes AND most efficient in asia basket.) Their ceiling looked good, competitive games against UP and UST, mukhang kaya final four pa nga…
Why not: …but after Aurora how low is the floor? We don’t know what the team will look like anymore. Lacking serious depth at the 4 and 5. Is Baruwa too raw? Can Kapihe hold his own against FSAs? What will Baltazar be after his injury? Live and die by the three (what happens when the shots aren’t falling?) Escobar and Ladi are massive losses (literally their number one and number two options). RIP Divine Adili and Rene Baterbonia.

6 - NU
Why: Reinhard Jumamoy has finally arrived. Mo Diassana looks solid (good to see him recover). PJ Palacielo playing good. Lost a lot of talent but have still looked like a solid team. Finished top of the table last season. Have them at 6th but Final Four is still very reachable (see FEU slow start and Ateneo post-Aurora)
Why not: How much did they really lose in Figueroa, Steve Nash Enriquez and Omar John. Couldn’t finish the job against DLSU with twice to beat advantage. No Blue Chip Recruit/Addition (Pre, Jumawan, Tovera, Cabs, Alas)

7 - AdU
Why: UE will be worse.
Why not: Cedrick Manzano sized hole. Offense entirely dependent on Ray Allen Torres and Jonah Precious.

8 - UE
Why: bye bye Momowei, Abate, Lingolingo, Mulintapang 👋
Why not: They could surprise us???? (Malay mo HAHAHA)

I don’t personally see Tab ever coaching in UAAP and the Philippines in general and I hope that’s the case. I think whoever was responsible for this should be held accountable. I don’t think ateneo did all they could to support the families of the deceased in the aftermath. I also think the families should have been contacted and arranged to be brought in as soon as possible, especially before they published the deaths. The public is right to call out the coach and management, not just for the incident but for the other issues reaching the surface as well, but leave the players alone.

The players are going through it too, they were all caught by the same wave, they all tried to save each other, they all lost friends and they’re all scared. Survivorship guilt is real and it’s terrible. They do not deserve to be harassed, deserve to have narratives spun about their survival, or deserve to receive death threats. Yes, I do think it’s ateneo’s fault that the clamor for the players to speak up exists because of the lack of transparency and support, pero kailangan pa ba idamay sila?

I’m glad most of the sub seems to see likewise but the rest genuinely need to be called out. I’m all for calling for accountability and do hope they speak up about it, but leave them out of it. They need time to heal and to process it too. Unless you too were family or a close friend to the deceased, whatever pain or anger or grief you feel, the players have 10 times over. Just going to the wake to grieve was hard because of the death threats. Let them grieve, and I hope ateneo provides all the support and counseling the players deserve.

If you have nothing good to say to the players, just don’t say it. Support the calls for accountability and transparency, support the families if you can, sign the open letters to ateneo, just do something meaningfully positive instead.