the UST Growling Tigers SEASON 76 - Starting Five, Sixth Man and X - Factor

Jeric Fortuna is gone and so is his steady playmaking, outside shots and all heart penetrations.. Melo Afuang his mid range jumpers and sharp elbows to opponents chests and midsection are now gone. Now that their "consistent and veteran leaders" are gone who will step in their place? A new recruit? A returning player? Or the converted shooting guards? Now that the new UAAP Season has begun, it is safe to assume who will be the STARTING FIVE for the University of Santo Tomas.

Point Guard - Eduardo Daquioag

Converted PG. Father Ed. With his De kwatro drive

Some UST supporters are still in doubt over the capability of Father ED to take over Fortuna's place and it is quite unfair for Father Ed to be compared to the Jeric Fortuna. Of course it is so hard to replace Jeric Fortuna. But for sake of argument let Jeric Fortuna be our barometer for this position, in my own opinion Father Ed has his own upsides over Fortuna. He is a more defensive point guard than Fortuna and he is more athletic than Fortuna, that being said we can assume that he is an "upgrade" in that department . His ball-handling is still suspect as per some pundits have observed (including me), Father  Ed is easily shaken by the pressure Defense that is being thrown at him. His three point shooting is still not that good but this does not mean that he can not hit it from beyond the arc. His decision making is also questionable since during the off-season games there are times that Coach Pido opts to use Mariano or Teng as his "Point Forwards". So the verdict is still out on Father Ed.

Shooting Guard - Jeric Teng

Teka lang! Ako bahala! Final Year ko
na para magpakitang Gilas!

This being Jeric Teng's final playing year we can be sure that we will see the gunslinger Jeric Teng against teams specially if UST needs to desperately score we might be able to see clutch performances from Jeric. We have seen Jeric expand his offensive game from being a spot up shooter only, then after a year we saw him with his kamikaze drives ala Pido Jarencio with knees protruding forward and after a year we saw him posting up against his defenders then either he fades away or goes strong to the basket. Then this year we are seeing him as a director of plays, when Pido opts to play him as a Point Forward. We have seen the progress of Jeric Teng offensively but what impresses me is the fact that he also has an above average defense add to the fact that his free throw shooting has been steady ever since. UST can count him during crunch times either by acting as a facilitator, decoy or main option. 

Bobby! Pre di daw kita kayang bantayan? Tancha mo?

Small Forward - Kevin Ferrer

UST can always count on this former juniors MVP to do what is needed from him either by scoring or defending the opposing team's main option(just ask Bobby Parks). Kevin Ferrer made a name for himself as a tenacious defender last year's playoffs after hounding the opponents best players and made sure that they wouldn't have an easy day scoring against him. When a smaller defender is asked to guard the 6'4 wingman of UST he can shoot those 3 pointers with ease. But Kevin Ferrer should lessen the "pasabits" he does every time he shoots a 3 pointer, because they may back fire and he may draw an offensive foul or worse he may get injured.

Power Forward - Paolo Pe

O! Etong sa iyo! Braso de Paolo sa Mukha!

Paolo Pe may not be the quickest player or the strongest but this kid knows what is needed of him. 5 hard fouls, hussle, box out, rebounds and he does them without questions asked. If he scores then they are bonuses for UST. By inserting Paolo Pe in the starting lineup UST may conserve the strength and the fouls of Karim Abdul in the latter stages of the game. If this move fails then Pido can quickly call on his "Sixth Man off the Bench - Aljohn Mariano".

Center - Karim Abdul 

Partida ang practice ko nun summer eh Football!

UST's anchor offensively and defensively Karim Abdul might have been lackluster during the offseason games but during their first game against DLSU he made sure that everybody knows that Karim is back to his deadly form! Registering a double-double to go along with 3 blocks(unfortunately he also has 7 TO's). Karim Adbul needs to be mentally prepared every game and do what he did last year, dominate the opponents Centers no matter who they are or how tall they are. What he lacks in height he makes up with intensity and heart. We would like to see a better Abdul this year, last year he has shown us that not only did he improve on his footwork but he also improved his mid range game. I wonder what he will show us this year?

Sixth Man - Aljohn Mariano

eto kindat para sa iyo!

The difference maker off the bench for Coach Pido and the UST Tigers will be Aljohn Mariano. He can create mismatches when he enters the court when he either plays as the  Small Forward or  Power Forward. When he plays the Small Forward he is a mismatch for the opposing player since he can either post him up given that he as a bigger body against opposing Small Forwards. And when he plays as a Power Forward he creates a mismatch against his opponents using his quickness. One way or the other he finds ways to score against opponents.

X-Factor - Clark Bautista

Oy Silungan! Ganito tumira ng tres!

Clark Bautista will play as the Point Guard replacement of Jeric Fortuna thus I see him as the X-Factor for UST. If Tata plays well as a PG then UST will not have problems with the departure of Jeric Fortuna. But if he instead plays as a Shooting Guard we expect him to run through endless screens and open the lanes for Karim Abdul by hitting timely 3's . But if his 3's are not falling and he couldn't handle the PG chores decently then expect UST to have a hard time to get the win or worse lose the game.

ONE FOR UST! GO USTE!