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WHAT IF… Bullpups denied Kai, SJ, and Dave a championship?
History lesson: In a single season, Ateneo de Manila High School had 7-foot-2 Kai Sotto, primetime playmaker SJ Belangel, and super scorer Dave Ildefonso alongside versatile forwards Jason Credo and Joaqui Manuel. For sure, that core was good enough to win it all - and did just that in their last year all together in UAAP 80. The Blue Eaglets swept the elimination round and as such, automatically advanced into the Finals. There, they matched up opposite modern-day rival Nazareth School of National University, but after a convincing 86-70 victory in Game 1, the series looked like a mismatch. Only, the Bullpups thought otherwise. In particular, sharpshooter Migs Oczon turned in his best game yet and scored eight of his 17 points in the payoff period to shoot his team to a 70-67 decision. And so, come the winner-take-all Game 3, momentum was, all of a sudden, with the blue and gold. Even more, the lead was actually with National U inside the last five minutes of Game 3. Their six-point lead, though, would not hold as Belangel, Sotto, and Manuel rallied Ateneo to a well-earned 63-58 win. The backbreaker for the Bullpups proved to be the towering teen's putback of Manuel's miss that put his team back ahead with under two minutes left. He did that at the expense of solid rebounders Michael Malonzo and Rhayyan Amsali. But what if they just got that one rebound? If so, the edge would have remained with National U - albeit a one-point edge at that - and they could then build on it at the other end. However, Kai is Kai and there will always be a good to great chance of him making that same play. In that case, the better what if for the boys from Sampaloc is this: what if Terrence Fortea never cooled down? The gunslinger's floater, triple, and assist to Amsali was the backbone of the run that put them on top, 54-48, with 4:18 remaining. From that point, however, Fortea got locked up and was unable to impact the game any further. Of course, he was just 16-years-old during that time - and really, in his first year as one of his side's big guns. At the same time, though, the 5-foot-11 guard had already been playing three seasons for National U at that point. With that, there was also a good to great chance that he would have broken free from the shackles of the Blue Eaglets' defense in the endgame. If so, with Fortea remaining red-hot, National U then completes a comeback from the ages - besting their elimination round-sweeping opponents in three games. Not only would they deny Ateneo a perfect season, they would deny all of Sotto, Belangel, Ildefonso, Credo, and Manuel of a championship altogether. The Bullpups would then head into their title defense even scarier, welcoming Gerry Abadiano, Kevin Quiambao, and Carl Tamayo with open arms. Still, their top gun would, without a doubt, be Fortea. For the Blue Eaglets, Belangel, Credo, Ildefonso, and Manuel fall short of moving on from the Jrs. on the highest of highs and that contending core winds up as an underachiever. For his part, however, Sotto comes back with a vengeance, and may very well have done better than his MVP campaign of 25.1 points, 13.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 2.6 blocks. More than that, the tantalizing talent puts Ateneo his back all the way to a rematch with National U - and the roles would then be reversed. National U is the favorite while Ateneo is the underdog. And then, who knows, it would be Kai Sotto doing a Terrence Fortea. --- Follow this writer on Twitter, @riegogogo......»»
Philippines braces for La Nina, continues to deal with El Nino
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MMDA allows road works during Holy Week
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Efficient Rhenz Abando, Anyang edge SJ Belangel, Daegu
Rhenz Abando puts up 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting to help Anyang split its weekend assignments in the Korean Basketball League.....»»
KBL: Ildefonso gets better of Belangel as Sonicboom squeaks past KOGAS
The Sonicboom used a third quarter surge where they outscored the Pegasus, 24-10, to stymie the KOGAS comeback effort in the fourth salvo to snap a two-game losing streak and improve their record to 20-27......»»
UST Tigers recruit big men Amsali, Una
University of Santo Tomas, under returning mentor Pido Jarencio, has secured the commitments of two formidable big men to begin its initial phase to a successful rebuild in the UAAP......»»
Ildefonso starts, helps Sonicboom win vs Belangel s Pegasus
Ildefonso tallied 10 points on an efficient outing of almost 18 minutes as a starter. He also had two rebounds and two assists to join four other players in double digit scoring for Suwon......»»
KBL: Belangel, KOGAS break slump; Abarrientos Mobis edge Gutang, Changwon
Belangel's Daegu KOGAS Pegasus, for their part, broke a three-game slump with a 72-67 win over the KCC Egis at Jeonju Gymnasium......»»
Abando limited in Anyang win; Belangel s Daegu continues to slump
Abando played only 11 minutes in the victory, logging two points, two boards and one assist. Still, other players were able to pick up the slack as Anyang recorded back-to-back wins and improved to 18-8......»»
Abando continues fine play for Anyang; Abarrientos repeats over pal Belangel in KBL
The NCAA champion uncorked 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field, adding seven rebounds, two blocks, one assist, and one steal in Anyang's second straight victory......»»
Belangel struggles as Daegu absorbs back-to-back KBL losses
Belangel was limited to just six points. He did, however, have seven rebounds, three steals and two assists......»»
Gilas, Ateneo star Belangel lalaro sa Korea
MANILA, Philippines – Nakatakdang pumirma si SJ Belangel sa KBL club na Daegu KOGAS Pegasus, ayon sa ulat. Base sa report malapit nang dalhin ni Belangel ang kanyang talento sa Daegu, South Korea. Sa report na inilabas ng Naver Sports, nakatakdang pumirma si Belangel sa Daegu Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS) Pegasus, na gagawing kauna-unahang Filipino […] The post Gilas, Ateneo star Belangel lalaro sa Korea appeared first on REMATE ONLINE......»»
Belangel sabak sa KBL
TINALIKURAN ni Gilas Pilipinas guard Sam Josef ‘SJ’ Belangel ang kanyang dalawang taon pang karera sa Ateneo Blue Eagles upang tumuntong na sa professional league. The post Belangel sabak sa KBL first appeared on Abante......»»
Gilas caps Jordan tilt with 3rd straight loss
Carl Tamayo and SJ Belangel finished with double-digit outputs for Gilas Pilipinas which finished its King Abdullah Cup campaign on Monday evening with three straight losses in Jordan......»»
Gilas young guns Belangel, Abarrientos honored by Alapag, Tenorio comparisons
Alapag and Tenorio both had long careers with Gilas Pilipinas, and with the way Belangel and Abarrientos have started out their journey with the Philippine jersey on, it wouldn't be that farfetched to expect the same kind of longevity and impact from the new generation......»»
With Ramos injured, Gilas to rely on SJ, Abarrientos
With top guard Dwight Ramos nursing an injury, Gilas Pilipinas will rely on backups SJ Belangel and RJ Abarrientos in their faceoff with Serbia......»»
FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers an unbelievable series of moments for Gilas SJ Belangel
For SJ Belangel, donning the senior kit of the Philippine men’s basketball team in the FIBA Asia Qualifiers is the fruition of a dream......»»
Fight for pride
Coach Cho Sang Hyun called SJ Belangel’s Hail Mary buzzer-beating triple to lift the Philippines to an 81-78 win over South Korea at the FIBA Asia Cup third qualifying window in Clark last Wednesday a lucky shot......»»
Belangel game-winner vs Korea among ESPN s SportsCenter top plays
Belangel's off-the-glass triple made it to ESPN's popular sports news program SportsCenter in their top plays — a regular segment of the show......»»
Indonesia tatambakan ng Gilas
MANILA, Philippines – Malakas pa rin ang lineup na inihanda ni coach Tab Baldwin sa pagsabak ng Pilipinas ngayon araw kontra sa koponan ng Indonesia sa ikalawang laro ng national team sa FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers mamayang ika-anim ng gabi sa AUF Gym sa Clark, Pampanga. Muling pangungunahan nina basketball star Kai Sotto, SJ Belangel, […] The post Indonesia tatambakan ng Gilas appeared first on REMATE ONLINE......»»