San Beda High School has long been regarded as the best juniors basketball program in the nation, what I like to call Hoops High. Under the tutelage of Coach Ato Badolato, the Red Cubs have long dominated the high school division of all leagues, even at the national level. The mere mention of the Red Cubs would strike fear to any opponent, relegating other teams to fight for second place in any tourney they enter in. Such was the legend of the mighty Red Cubs.

When you say legend, you speak of the past. For the past few years, the juniors division no longer has been the domain of the Red Cubs. For the NCAA at least, there has been the emergence of the Staglets as Kings of high school hoops. Also, the Squires and Light Bombers (should I still mention those Baby Dolphins?) have had relative success the past couple of NCAA seasons.

The last Juniors team to win the NCAA crown was the Ogie Menor - JR Taganas - James Martinez led team of season 80. The San Beda Red Cubs have failed to make the Finals the past 2 years, an eternity for any Red Cub follower. The last team to make the Finals was the Borgie Hermida – TG Guillermo – Nicholson Principe team of Season 81 that run smack against an Eric Salamat – Paul Lee plus an emerging sophomore Ryan Buenafe Staglets team. This Staglets team has made a run of two more titles in as many years after ending their long title drought in season 80. All the Red Cubs could muster were a couple of Final Four appearances, which I’m guessing is the best attainable goal for them again this year.

The Red Cubs will be hard-pressed to even make the Final Four this year. Holdovers senior Garrick Ayala and junior Art Dela Cruz (son and namesake of ex-pro) will try to lead the charge for these young and inexperienced Red Cubs. They will be backstopped by 3-point specialist Dave Moralde and all-around offensive game of Nicolas Magat. Realistically speaking, this team has to be the weakest NCAA juniors team that SBC has fielded in years. A Final Four finish will be cause for great celebration for this batch of Rizal-based Cubs.

Leading the field will be the 4-peat seeking Staglets of San Sebastian. They will undoubtedly be led by graduating man-child-mountain Arvie Bringas. He is also my bet as the NCAA Juniors MVP and top prize of next year’s recruiting wars. He will be backstopped by spitfirish guard Raffy Gusi who can score in all conceivable ways, inside-out, transition, half-court plus plays excellent defense. They will also lean on Nike Summer League MVP Almond Vosotros, a guard who can score in many ways. What I like most about this kid is the maturity he exhibits on the court. You have to watch him play to understand what I mean. Besides, he probably has to play good basketball with a name like that. Too cutesy for a ball player. Enough pleasantries, I have no doubt that this team will repeat, I mean four-peat again this year.

The Squires will be the biggest threat to the Staglets. Kevin Alas will be the NCAA Juniors top gunslinger this season. This kid’s range extends from even way back the pro 3-point line, even when he was still a junior last year. Joining him to form a three-headed Squires attack are Joseph Sumang and Jake Tampus. Incidentally, Jake Tampus led the Squires over the LSGH Greenies in their second game with 21 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists, and eight steals for a near quadruple-double performance. This same troika was also responsible for upsetting the Staglets in the summer FMC tourney, a sign that the Squires will be out to challenge the heavily-favored dribblers of SSC.

The Light Bombers will be the dark horse to wrest the NCAA crown this year. They have already beaten the Letran Squires in their 1st game in a 2 point squeaker. They will be led by their own version of the troika of Keith Agovida – Kim Villena – Joshua Saret who led them in scoring against the Squires, scoring 18, 20 and 21, respectively. Although they were bamboozled by an undermanned Staglets team by 24 points in their second game, they bounced back with a 25 point thrashing of the Greenies wherein Agovida tallied 37 points with 21 boards to assume solo second as of this writing. Anything less than a Final Four stint will be a disappointment for these Light Bombers.

The Greenies from La Salle Greenhills is my best bet to grab the last ticket to the Final Four. They will be led by crafty pointguard Mikee Reyes, son of former Red Lions coach Jonathan Reyes and skilled big man Martin Reyes. This team probably has the most number of players with the same surname in all of basketball, the Reyeses also include Mac and Marcus, none of them related. On a serious note, they had relative success in the preseason tourneys, justifying my ranking them over the Red Cubs of Rizal.

Aside from being surprising NSL Quarterfinalists, not much can be said about the UPHDS Altalettes. The Altalettes will parade a Rolly Manlapaz favorite, Joseph “Baby Ekwe” Eriobu. Other than that,I don’t know much about the Altalettes.

In the same afterthought status as the Altalettes, the returning Mapua/Malayan Red Robins will be hard-pressed to even get one victory in this season’s tourney. After years of NCAA juniors absence, their being on rebuilding mode is even an understatement. Being an NCAA powerhouse before their absence, their basketball program has been crippled by inactivity, which should take a couple of years before they become competitive again.

My take on season 84: Staglets with a four-peat… With the Squires, Light Bombers and Greenies in the Final Four… Red Cubs missing the Final Four…

After years of dominance in the Juniors and languishing in the Seniors, it looks like the Lion’s Den is experiencing a reversal of roles as the Red Lions are now shooting for the three-peat while the Red Cubs are shooting for just a Final Four slot.

How time flies. As they say, you can’t have them all.