Weighing the UL Five

By Jesus A. Garcia Jr.

IT was in 2006 when the University of Luzon (UL) Golden Tigers recaptured the Region 1 basketball tiara of the Private Schools Athletic Association or better known as PRISAA.

The UL Five defended their crown the following year and continued to be on a roll this year by demolishing all their opponents in the region. This which paved the way for them to bag their highest laurel in national competitions by placing third in the PRISAA national games last summer. Records show it was the best performance by the region so far since the birth of PRISAA.

Inspired and well-loved by UL’s management and the ULians, the quintet of Dagupan City alderman Chito Samson expanded their winnings by defeating Region 3 titlist Lyceum of Subic Bay, 109-84, and Region 4 frontrunner Lyceum of Batangas City, 76-57, in the zonal elimination round of the Philippine Collegiate Champions League (PCCL) before finally succumbing to title contender Mapua Institute of Technology Cardinals, 77-59, last November 5 at Makati City Coliseum.

I was there during that skirmish with my daughter Lavinia, also a basketball fanatic like me, who enplaned to Guam the evening of that same day.

It was a good game. I saw how the boys of tactician Renato “Jack” Vidal did their utmost to score a major upset against the Cardinals who have the experience in international competitions. Unfortunately, the Tigers did not make it to the room of “sweet sixteen” as termed by the organizers.

But what I keenly observed was how the three referees scowled and whistled against our probinsiyano five every time the UL five got closer to the Cardinals’ score, which was unfair. I can’t blame the bench of UL when they protested those excessive biased calls. But instead, one of the refs penalized UL with a technical foul. Another unfair call.

I, too, fumed.

Kasi ang nakita ko ay para bang ayaw nilang patalo ang Manila team sa isang probinsyanong manlalaro lamang. Para bang minamaliit lang tayo. It was sort of discrimination.

Tsk, tsk, tsk. They were lucky because that was not cycling. Kung cycling lamang sana ay walang kaba. Hindi pa nag-uumpisa ang karera ay nanginginig na ang mga tuhod ng mga Manileno.

Basketball is my third favorite sport after cycling and boxing. Playing basketball was part of my training during my cycling heydays to improve my sprinting prowess and I became addicted to it.

Professionally, I was appointed as commissioner by the management headed by Tim Orbos of the defunct MBA Pangasinan Presidents or Waves. So I understand what amateur and professional caging are all about.

Yes, we lost but we did not lose fair and square and that was obvious. Here’s what I also learned in Manila caging – if you are probinsiyano up against a respected Manila team, you have to win by a comfortable margin to defeat the Manilenos.

In boxing, you have to win by a knockout to avoid a hometown decision especially if you are fighting in other countries. And in national politics, you have to win by millions of votes to achieve your goal. Remember FPJ?

Nonetheless, there’s always room for improvement. The other adage that applies here is: Champions are not born, they are developed. We have to believe these. Not only by the Tigers but all basketball groups that want to win a diadem.

Without a doubt, the UL five are the frontrunners these days. They have proven it in the last two years and Vidal said they are ready to prove it again next year.

(Readers may reach columnist at biking.jess@yahoo.com. For past columns, click http://sundaypunch.prepys.com/archives/category/opinion/sports-eye/
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