After fruitless campaigns in the preceding two seasons, the Archers were determined to bounce back strong in the 2004 campaign. Featuring an intact line-up led by Mac Mac Cardona and Joseph Yeo, plus the addition of the lanky Rico Maeirhofer, big man Mike Galinato (now playing for Adamson) and the returning Cholo Villanueva, the team was raring to make a serious bid to regain its stature in the upper echelon of the league.
Unfortunately, the Archers started the tournament on the wrong foot, losing their initial assignment against the Blue Eagles thus ending the team’s long streak of opening day victories. This unusual setback seemed to fire up the Archers, as they easily thrashed their next two opponents , including defending champion FEU. The team split their last four games in the first round, narrowly winning their matches against lighter opponents to end the first round with 4-3 slate.
The Archers lost their first game in the 2nd round, thus endangering their chances of gaining a twice-to-beat edge in the final 4 especially since Ateneo were at that point still undefeated and FEU were not too far behind. With the way they played in recent games, one might even have doubted the team chances to even make the semis. That 4-win 4-loss record was something new for a team that was accustomed to being among the frontrunners.
Realizing that their season, particularly their goal of reaching the finals was at risk, the Archers finally lived up to their potential as they swept all their remaining elimination games. Their late surge in the tournament propelled the team to a second place tie with Ateneo, who faltered towards the end of the second round to yield the top rung to defending champion FEU. A playoff was required to break the tie, so the two rivals dueled in a virtual best of three showdown wherein the Archers literally massacred the Eagles to win in two games. Finally getting some payback for their losses to their blue rivals in the previous seasons, the Archers now focused their attention on reclaiming the crown against the top-seeded Tamaraws of FEU.
FEU boasted of its formidable frontline led by MVP Arwin Santos. They also had a potentially dominant force in the backcourt anchored by veteran Denok Miranda. Man-for-man, the Tamaraws had the edge and were the consensus favorites to repeat as champs. For the Archers though, they seemed to relish the role of “underdog” as seen in their performance when tagged as such.
True to form, La Salle’s relentless effort on both sides of the court enabled them to escape with a win in Game 1 of the title series. A win away from perhaps a remarkable upset, the Archers were sadly unable to sustain the same winning drive as they bowed to the rampaging Tamaraws in Game 2.
The deciding game went down the wire and it seemed that all was lost for the Archers as they trailed going in to the final minutes. Cardona and Yeo led the attack to tie the game with less than a minute to go. Down by two after an FEU basket, the Archers turned to an unlikely hero in the closing seconds of the game. Living up to his surname, sophomore JV Casio showed up at the right time and fired a clutch 3-pointer to bring La Salle the lead ahead and eventually the win.
We all know very well what happened after the 2004 season but nevertheless, the Archers’ sheer guts and determination to succeed that year was indeed something to remember.
Roster
Jun Jun Cabatu
Ryan Arana
Michael Galinato
JR Aquino
Joseph Yeo
Rico Maeirhofer
Jerwin Gaco
Tim Gatchalian
JV Casio
TY Tang
OJ Cua
Mac Mac Cardona
Cholo Villanueva
Mark Benitez
PJ Walsham
Michael Gavino
After a disappointing 2002 campaign, the Green Archers underwent a rebuilding phase with a massive overhaul of the roster. Half of the Archers that year were neophytes while the rest had an average of only 3 years of college ball experience. Manny Ramos was the only 5th year veteran on the squad. With an obviously inexperienced cast compared to the previous years, just making the final 4 would be already a remarkable achievement for the 2003 Green Archers.
Just when everyone had ruled them out as contender, the Archers surprisingly won their first 3 games and against highly-touted squads such as UST and UE. Thanks to the backcourt tandem of Mac Mac Cardona and Joseph Yeo plus valuable contributions from rookies JV Casio, Ryan Arana and Jerwin Gaco, the team made headway in the first round losing only to FEU and defending champion Ateneo.
The Green Archers lost steam in the second round as they only won 2 games; a 3rd victory against UE was lost at the board level, which nullified a potentially game-winning Jun Cabatu shot at the buzzer. The team did not contest the decision as it was clear on tape and photos provided that the ball was still in Cabatu’s hands as time expired.
For the first time since in recent years, the Archers lost both elimination games against the Blue Eagles. Despite the team’s struggles all season long, they finished the preliminaries at 7-7 which was still good enough for a final four berth and another series match-up against their arch-rival.
Obviously the underdog, the Archers amazingly took the defending champs to the hilt before finally bowing out in the deciding game of this fight-marred series. The team finished the season in 4th place, and for the first time since 1994 was out of the finals picture. Ateneo was eventually dethroned by FEU in the title series.
Despite being a rookie-laden team that year, the Green Archers definitely overachieved by making it to the final four and being a game away from another finals appearance.
Roster
Jun Jun Cabatu
Ryan Arana
Manny Ramos
JR Aquino
Joseph Yeo
Carlo Sharma
Jerwin Gaco
Tim Gatchalian
JV Casio
TY Tang
OJ Cua
Paul Chua
Mark Benitez
PJ Walsham
Michael Gavino
This is the 2nd of a 2-part series. To view the first part. Click Here
Is the Board the Problem?
Every year, the lament is the same – how to get the precious tickets to the most important games, such as the La Salle-Ateneo matches, the final 4, and the finals. The long lines at the ticket outlets, the presence, however low key, of scalpers at the venues, these are annual complaints at this time of the year. Looking at the mess that the UAAP frequently seems to be, particularly in ticket distribution, one is tempted to blame it all on the host school. But if this is a problem of the host school, why does it happen every year when the member schools take turns as host? It’s therefore not a host school problem, it’s more systemic than that. It’s how the UAAP is run, and since the board dictates how things are done, the evidence points to the imperious UAAP board, which has arrogated onto itself the ultimate power to decide on all UAAP affairs on behalf of the stakeholders.
The Board = the stakeholders?
Let’s first define “stakeholders”. Many on the UAAP board think that they are the only major stakeholders who count, but that’s not the case. The major stakeholders are comprised of the member schools, their student population, alumni, employees, and the general sports loving public. These are the people who line up to buy tickets, fill the venues and buy snacks from the concessionaires there, and are the targets of the mass commercialism that accompanies the UAAP hysteria. Many of the board members forget that without the students, alumni, and other interested parties, the UAAP becomes nothing more than a sideshow.
Ideally, the actions of the board should also consider the interests of and inputs from the other stakeholders. Unfortunately, in the last few decades, the board has acted as if alone knows what is best for the UAAP, and has acted as the sole determinant of what should happen in the UAAP.
This has resulted in an apparently capricious and frequent change of the rules from year to year, depending on whether a school feels that a competitor has gained an advantage which should be negated with a rule change. It also depends on which school is able to influence the other schools’ board members. The most obvious examples of erratic policies are the number of players a school can have on the lineup, the number who can be fielded in a game, the rules for player eligibility and residency, the choice of referees, the number of drums that can be used in a game depending on the venue, no cheering during time outs, etc.
Although the board supposedly formulates and enforces the rules, it has even violated its own rules, particularly in the Cardona case where the board insisted on investigating the so-called violation of the eligibility rule even after the deadline for entertaining protests (end of the first round) had already lapsed.
One unusual practice of the board is that all its decisions are “unanimous”. Apparently, even though there are dissenting votes, once a majority has been reached, the board declares unanimity. And it does not reveal the details of the vote. Some areas that the board has decided on in the past were game protests based on technicalities, even though this should really be the area of the technical committee and the commissioner.
Where changes can be made?
Segregate the strategic, policy making functions from operations– One major problem today is the insistence of the board to oversee the operations and meddle in technical disputes. The NCAA, in contrast, has set up a management committee which handles the operational matters of running the league. The board should be concerned with long term direction and policy formulation. Operations, such as tournament management could be left to an independent professional sports management group in the on a multi-year engagement. That way, the operations can be made as impartial as possible, and there will be consistency in the application and enforcement of rules. The management group will run the league’s various events, and provide real sports officials to oversee competitions and ensure that the competitions will not only be run in a fair and unbiased manner, but also align the UAAP with the national sports development efforts. Instead of a one-year perspective, the UAAP can then have a longer-term, developmental view from the board, which can be executed at the operations level.
Align operations of the different sports with the national interest – involve the NSAs to ensure that the UAAP fills a role in national sports development, and allow proper technical management of the events. We should never have a repeat of what happened a few years ago, when the potential national record of a La Salle track and field athlete was invalidated due to the lack of proper equipment during the event.
Fix the ticket distribution process once and for all – every year, there is a notable and irritating lack of tickets for the most interesting games. Scalping of tickets has become common place, even among students who line up for their school’s allocation then re-sell them at scalper prices. It is a common sight for people who are obviously scalpers to queue at Ticketnet outlets as early as 4am so they can snap up those precious tickets. The “experimental” scheduling of the La Salle-Ateneo game in the first round is indicative of the drive for more ticket sales – effectively doubling the number of tickets that can be sold. I’m sure that someone on the board, who help run the “institutions of higher learning” that is the UAAP, can devise a way to minimize the scalping and ensure proper ticket distribution to the real stakeholders.
Set qualifications for board membership – In the NCAA, the school representatives to the board tend to be the school presidents or top executives. In the UAAP, it’s the school’s discretion who they will appoint. Some board members do not look like they’ve ever been engaged in activities requiring physical exertion, or joined any sporting competition. Since the board governs the league, it’s logical that there should be some minimum qualifications for one to be a board member.
Set term limits for board members – There is notable lack of fresh thinking in the board, because the same ideas are circulated every year by the same old members. Nothing major ever changes, nothing like a paradigm shift in thinking, just minor variations of last year’s rules to suit a board member’s particular point of interest. A possible reason for board members insistence on keeping their seats (like politicians) could be the allowances that board members reportedly receive. It is not published for obvious reasons, but there have been rumors that the allowances of board members run to six figures. If true, this is already a great incentive for them to fight tooth-and-nail to stay on the board, despite a lack of genuine concern for the future of the league. Stagnant board membership is not a fertile ground for creative improvement or genuine change, and some members had been on the board for over a decade.
Reduce the commercialization of the league – in the last few seasons, notably when ABS CBN took over the coverage, timeouts in high profile games have extended beyond the standard time allotted. This is dictated by the tv network, which has to sell so many minutes of commercials for every break. The audience watching live often gets impatient while the tv floor director holds up the proceedings until the network has milked the last billable second of ad time. Another obvious indication of the commercialization is the cheerdancing competition. In past years, the school teams were mandated to include an advertisement of the major sponsor in their routines. All this detracts from the beauty and excitement of the competitions, and begs the question: where does all this money really go?
Publish the minutes of meetings – proceedings at the board and the technical committee levels, should be open to the public. Unless there’s something to hide, there is no reason to keep this under wraps. Which school introduced new rule changes and how the schools voted on issues is sure to be of interest to the general public.
The way the UAAP is run is not fine. Let’s let competent people run the UAAP.
The question is, will the UAAP board agree, or will they vote to maintain status quo?
For most of us, this year, which started out with so much promise, ended up as a disappointment in more ways than one. What everybody anticipated to be another glorious season turned out to be a sad ending of a dynasty.
At the start of the season, expectations were high for the Green Archers. Even without top gunner Ren Ren Ritualo who had already moved up to the pros, the team still had veterans Mike Cortez, Willie Wilson, Adonis Sta Maria, BJ Manalo and previous year’s rookie sensation Mac Mac Cardona. This season also saw the emergence of high-flying sophomore Joseph Yeo as a regular part of the team’s guard rotation. Joining the team were guard Tyrone Tang and forwards Martin Urra and Jun Jun Cabatu.
This time around, the Green Archers were tagged as the favorites to romp away with the title, which would have been their 5th straight. And why not; in addition to the loss of key personnel, other teams, particularly the Blue Eagles were hampered with injuries to their regular stalwarts even before the season started. The Red Warriors were considered as the team with the most intact lineup, but they have never made it to the Final 4 in the previous two seasons despite having basically the same players. Experience and talent-wise, the Archers had the edge on paper.
The promise of the Green Archers’ lofty pre-season billing looked like it would become a reality as they thrashed the opposition from day one of the tournament. A true testament to their dominance was when they overcame an 18-point deficit in the final 5 minutes in a game against UST and still came up victorious in overtime. Going into the final game of the elimination round against Ateneo, La Salle was 13-0 and all signs indicated a possible sweep and an outright ticket to the finals. Besides, the Green Archers had convincingly defeated the Blue Eagles in their first round match-up.
Alas, the Archers failed to sweep the eliminations and eventually their aura of invincibility was pierced by Ateneo as they headed to the latter stages of the tournament. That first loss thus set a stage for a Final 4 semis wherein the Archers was still seeded number 1 with UE being the other team with a twice-to-beat edge. La Salle easily disposed of UST in the series while UE confirmed the doubts about the Warriors’ mental toughness as they bowed to Ateneo. The finals was a repeat of the Green-Blue title series of the previous year.
The memories of their lone defeat in the eliminations seem to have hounded the Archers as they lost Game 1. They were able to bounce back in Game 2 but in the deciding game, they were not able regain their composure as they suffered from several bad breaks in the end game to yield the championship to the Blue Eagles. Ateneo thus wins their first seniors title since 1988 while La Salle ends their 4-year championship reign.
It was such a disappointing ending to what many though would be an amazing year for the green and white squad. What compounded the woes was that all their defeats and broken streaks were at the hands of their greatest rival.
Roster
Jun Jun Cabatu
Willy Wilson
Manny Ramos
JR Aquino
Joseph Yeo
Carlo Sharma
Cholo Villanueva
Mike Cortez
BJ Manalo
TY Tang
Adonis Sta Maria
Mac Mac Cardona
Martin Urra
Christian Cabatu
Mika Vainio
Michael Gavino
We are deeply saddened by the sudden passing of Bro Ceci. He was a very good man and an inspiration to the entire La Sallian community. We here are blessed to have met him and be a witness to his love and passion. We thank you Bro Ceci for sharing your joy and wisdom to us all. You will surely be missed by everyone you have touched.
Bro Ceci M Hojilla Fsc
February 8, 1944 – June 21, 2009
While we’re in that quiet period just before the opening of the 72nd season to open in little more than 3 weeks, perhaps it’s time to come up with a “wish list” for the UAAP. How could the UAAP improve and better serve its major stakeholders?
How is the UAAP run today?
There is a UAAP board composed of two representatives from each school. The UAAP president is not elected; rather the position is given to the host school representative since hosting is rotated among the member schools. There is no fixed term for board members, and some current members have been on the board ever since who can remember. The qualifications for being a board member are unknown. Most board members are fiercely protective of their own school’s interests, and the older members have formed unofficial alliances similar to an ‘old boys club’ to ensure that their agenda can be carried out. This mutual back scratching has allowed the mutual-interest status quo to prevail despite attempts by independent minded school representatives to introduce progressive changes.
Basketball
A basketball commissioner is appointed by the host school to oversee the centerpiece sport. The commissioner is supposed to have a technical committee which is tasked to resolve technical matters, but the board can had does on occasion step in to resolve issues that are sometimes within the responsibility of the technical committee of commissioner.
Last year’s appointment of the Chito Narvasa as commissioner and his subsequent (nepotistic?) appointment of his brother Ogie as assistant/deputy commissioner immediately resulted in a controversy when he slapped Franz with a technical foul even before our first game had started. Things went downhill from then, with Ogie figuring in a scrap with a school official later in the tournament.
This year, host school FEU appointed Joe “the Nose” Lipa as commissioner. Although Lipa has coached two member schools in the past, he is viewed as a credible and competent commissioner, particularly after he ably managed last year’s NCAA tournament. He was able to resolve a supposed intervention by a ranking SBP executive regarding the choice of referees during the NCAA finals.
Other sports
Unless it has changed this year, the commissioner’s role is limited to basketball. All other sports are managed separately, and are given less attention by the board.
Aside from the championship for each event, the UAAP also has a general championship which uses the placing of each school in each event. UST has dominated the general championship for the last several years, showing a balanced sports program. La Salle has tried to contend for the general championship, but has fallen short. The one-year suspension also derailed the consecutive championship runs of some of our teams such as the women’s soccer and women’s volleyball teams, forcing these teams to rebuild.
Media coverage has been sporadic, and only basketball and women’s volleyball were covered on a regular basis by ABS CBN. Other sports like men’s volleyball, badminton, and soccer were not televised live for most part until the championship games. Sports that are not so popular such as fencing and chess are rarely if ever given media space. No broadsheet gives updates on the different sports or general championship standings throughout the UAAP calendar. While ABS CBN’s contract for sports coverage hasn’t expired yet, there are already moves by competitors such as Solar Sports to bid for sports coverage for future seasons.
How the UAAP supports sports development remains a mystery. The UAAP board has remained fiercely independent even of the National Sports Associations, and participation of UAAP athletes usually remains on an individual or school basis only. Ideally, the UAAP sports programs should dovetail with the NSAs’ plans, but no such alliance or coordination exists today. The refusal of the UAAP to be accountable to or influenced by NSA’s can be seen in the infamous forfeiture of La Salle’s 3-peat championship during the Limpot era, the UAAP even defied the BAP which ruled in La Salle’s favor.
(photo courtesty of http://img341.imageshack.us/i/dsc05531mw8.jpg/)
Despite the Flu, Collegiate seasons will push through - (philstar) The NCAA and the UAAP yesterday said their respective basketball seasons will push through as scheduled despite the growing incidence of A(H1N1) cases among students of some of the leagues’ member schools.
Tams Up in Fil-Oil Cup – (inquirer) The FEU Tamaraws survived a furious chase by the University of the East Warriors, 84-78, to capture the 2009 Filoil Flying V Pre-Season MVP Cup before a sizeable crowd Monday at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
Red Lions just did it! (NSL website) San Beda College-Manila roughed up San Sebastian College-Recoletos, 85-69, on June 13 to become the king of the Nike Summer League seniors division jungle in the finals held at the Ynares Sports Arena.
Despite their obvious deficiencies in height and depth, the Archers surprised everybody by nailing their third straight men’s basketball championship in 2000, thanks largely to the superb leadership of seniors Mon Jose, Ronald Cuan and Alvin Castro. With the three gone entering Season 64, the team’s fate rested in the hands of Ren Ren Ritualo as he led a rookie-laden group for another run at the title in his final year.
Of the many new faces in the team, there was one who certainly stood out from the rest all season. With his rather-awkward and unorthodox offensive moves, the previously unknown Mac Mac Cardona was certainly the biggest surprise of the year. He wasn’t spared from controversy though as his eligibility was investigated by the board even after the period for questioning player eligibility had lapsed. Eventually, Cardona was cleared to play.
Just like previous year, the Green Archers cruised through the eliminations to finish at 12-2. They easily disposed of the surprising Bulldogs of NU in the Final 4 thus arranging a “dream showdown” with rival Ateneo in the Finals. Prior to this one, the last time these schools clashed for the title was in 1988 which was won by the Blue Eagles. This showdown was extra-sweet for the Archers as this was an opportunity to get some pay back at the same time winning their 4-peat at their rival’s expense.
And they just did that. The Archers won this classic showdown 2-1 for its fourth straight championship. Coach Franz Pumaren described this season as a ‘stormy’ one compared to other seasons. Despite handling a team filled with rookies and with only a few veterans, it was amazing how he managed to bring out the best in each of his players en route to this championship.
Mark Cardona was bestowed the Rookie of the Year Award while Ren Ren Ritualo, playing in his final year in the UAAP, bagged the Most Valuable Player of the Finals award.
This thus capped a brilliant collegiate career for Ritualo as his outstanding contributions in all of his playing years with the Archers led to his jersey number being retired the following year.
Roster
Ren Ren Ritualo
Willy Wilson
Manny Ramos
Migs Gozum
Joseph Yeo
Cholo Villanueva
Mike Cortez
BJ Manalo
Janon Bunyi
Adonis Sta Maria
Mac Mac Cardona
Eric Arejola
Christian Cabatu
Mika Vainio
Michael Gavino
The La Salle Lady Archers defeated defending UAAP champion FEU, 53-46, to complete a 10-game sweep in the women’s division of the 15th Fr. Martin Summer Cup at the San Beda Gym yesterday.
Ma. Eileen Urieta poured in eight of her 17 markers in the final period while Bernadine Yamamoto chipped in 11 points for the Lady Archers.
Our cagebelles also won the Metro Basketball Tournament earlier this year. The team looks steadfast in its goal of winning another championship in the UAAP, something they last experienced in 2002 during their 4-peat run.
If there’s one thing that could best describe the Green Archers’ journey in the 2000s, you could say that it’s been a helluva roller coaster ride. Throughout the past 9 years, the team experienced its fair share of glorious victories and equally agonizing defeats. Despite all the controversies, setbacks and challenges, the Archers played their hearts out every game and gave all of us something to cheer about.
As this decade comes to a close next year, and we look forward to more exciting seasons ahead, let us all take a brief review of the team’s past seasons in the new millennium.
2000
Just as everyone had gotten over the Y2K scare, the Archers were faced with the tough task of achieving a rare three-peat crown, something that was denied to them in the UAAP boardroom back in 1991. The team in fact was not heavily favored to win with the departure of key figures from the previous title squad. All eyes were on the re-emerging Blue Eagles as well as intact teams like FEU, UST and UE.
Defying all pre-season expectations, the Archers soundly thrashed Ateneo during opening day, swept the entire first round and went on to lose only 2 games all season. Not even the brief sidelining of Ren Ren Ritualo due to injury midway in the tournament could stop the green juggernaut.
Thanks to the steady leadership of the veterans such as captain Mon Jose, Alvin Castro and Mac Cuan, along with the exploits of an electrifying rookie named Mike Cortez, the Archers easily dismantled the opposition on the way to their 7th straight championship appearance.
When Ritualo returned from his injury, the Archers could not to be denied this time around.
Up against FEU, the same team that denied them that first grand slam in 1991, the Archers were hell bent on vengeance. Perhaps it was poetic justice – they achieved the three-peat by sweeping the Tams to run away with their third consecutive crown.
The title was the result of a total team effort – something that characterized and defined the team in the seasons to follow.
Roster
Janon Bunyi
Michael Casino
Mike Cortez
Ronald Cuan
Migs Gozum
Mon Jose
Raymond Magsumbol
BJ Manalo
Manny Ramos
Ren Ren Ritualo
Jose Romero
Vincent San Diego
Adonis Sta Maria
Mika Vainio
Willy Wilson
