With the first round of UAAP Season 74 about halfway done, some things are as they should be: reigning champion Ateneo De Manila remains the only unbeaten team as of this writing sporting an immaculate win-loss 4-0 record. Their last victim was University of the East, the team bringing up the rear with an opposite 0-4 record. The Ateneo needed three periods to get going then led by as much as 22 points before settling into a 73-61 victory against the Red Warriors.

Given the massive, and some might say inexplicable roster changes for UE, being winless midway through the first round of the eliminations is not really surprising. UE lost their two best players from last season, off-guard Paul Lee and forward Ken Acibar. Acibar was a Mythical 5 member last year after his best statistical season. He still has at least two years of UAAP eligibility left, but was left off this year’s UE roster by new head coach Jerry Codinera. Both ex-Warriors will be making a go for the pro leagues perhaps after a stint in the ASEAN Basketball League.

For the Ateneo it has been the super rookies leading the way. 7-foot center Greg Slaughter has literally and figuratively been the biggest reason for the dominance of the Blue Eagles. His soft hands and ability to score inside with impunity have allowed him to simply score over every other center and forward in the UAAP. Routinely facing players easily six inches shorter and 50 pounds lighter, Slaughter has been making hay in the Ateneo sunshine. Slaughter has had a dunk in three of his four UAAP games thus far including a beautiful Statue-of-Liberty dunk in transition against the Warriors.

5-foot-10 guard Kiefer Ravena has also been on a tear. After a forgettable debut against Adamson University, Ravena scored 22 of his 24 points in the first half in a big victory against archrival De La Salle. He’s scored in double figures ever since and is averaging a little over 12 points per game after that scoreless first game. Ravena got his first dunk as a college player in the UE victory that gave the Ateneo its biggest lead at 71-49 in the payoff fourth period.

Veteran forward Nico Salva and guard Kirk Long have also proven steady. Salva has been quietly productive throughout the four Ateneo victories, getting double figures in three out of the four games. He had a personal season-high of 18 points against La Salle. Salva has provided stability in the frontline and has been a tiger off the boards. His explosive first step and ever-improving snap shot have kept defenses honest. Long has also been a vital veteran presence in the back court. He helps relieve pressure at the perimeter by advancing the ball as a one-man press break. Long has also routinely taken on the best players of opposing teams regardless of position.

Right behind the Ateneo is Adamson, who have bounced back strong with two big victories after losing in a tight contest to the Ateneo on opening weekend. They walloped Far Eastern University by 19 points then followed that up with another blowout win against Santo Tomas University 81-71. Adamson Coach Leo Austria is showing how a veteran-laden roster can thrive in a simplified system that emphasizes team defense, gang rebounding and the early offense. Their halfcourt offense has also been doing very well with Lester Alvarez maneuvering his way around all sorts of opposing zone defenses, and Eric Camson’s jumpshot drawing out opposing big men. They nearly upset the Ateneo with this system. “We should keep things simple, so it will be easier to execute, no need to make things complicated, just come up with a simpler system, practice it well, execute during games,” Austria explained.

Speaking of Far Easter University, the Tamaraws recovered from the shellacking they received from the Falcons and strung up UE by 22 points, followed with a cardiac 62-59 victory over National University in their last game as of this writing. Strong defense continues to be an FEU trademark. They kept NU and highly-touted rookie Rey Parks under 60 points. They held UE to just 47 points. If it wasn’t for the ball-hogging tendency of guard Terrence Romeo they might actually look like a stronger challenge this season. Romeo nearly cost FEU the game versus NU by playing around with the ball too much, much like he did against Adamson. He eventually redeemed himself by nailing a game-winning jumper and then securing the defensive rebound after Parks missed an off-balanced three-point attempt.

FEU looked less than sterling after the shellacking they received from the Falcons last week. Going to their same old habits of relying 90% of the time on their guards, Ryan Roose Garcia and Romeo, the ball was hardly moving out of the hands of the two sentinels. Although they had some post-feed options to Aldrech Ramos and some kick-out plays to JR Cawaling, the FEU game is still being dominated by Garcia and Romeo. By simply pushing them out farther from their operating areas with a side-push and Box-1 defense, Adamson was able to scramble their offensive and bust out in transition themselves.

UP, the Ateneo’s next assignment, ended an 18-game UAAP losing streak by beating cellar-dwelling UE last week but have since been on a skid as well. Newcomer Gelo Montecastro, a 5-foot-11 guard who transferred from St Benilde, has been a great help and a big improvement in the UP backcourt. He’s gotten plenty of help from the comebacking Mike Gamboa, and gunner Mike Silungan, but the three perimeter players are having a tough time executing on their blocker-mover sets. The UP defense has improved as well, but without a strong presence inside a lot of teams have just abused them off the boards. In their blowout loss to La Salle the Green Archers had a 63-33 edge off the boards.

Returning to the Bulldogs, it seems all the preseason hype has been just a bit too much for NU. They won the Fr Martin Cup summer tournament title and beat the Ateneo in the semifinals to get that done. A lot of people were expecting great things from NU, and yet they seem to be little removed from the Bulldogs of old, still making the same mistakes and lapsing on defense and now languishing with a 1-3 record. Just to be on the safe side the Bulldogs must try to go for at least nine victories this season, which means winning eight of their 10 remaining games. If they lose another one (La Salle is their next assignment) their mission will have to be to win eight of nine remaining games, including a return match with the Ateneo in the second round. This early-season losing streak has to stop, and their next game is a virtual must-win for them.

All told it looks like it is not yet too early to predict a clean sweep for the reigning champion Blue Eagles in Round 1. It will take a perfect storm of near-perfect games from the three remaining opponents to stop them.