In the ongoing Fil Oil and Flying V summer basketball tournament, a lot of familiar faces are back in the metropolis’s most-covered off-season hoops showcase. All of the big name stars from the UAAP and the NCAA converge and battle it out at the Arena in San Juan, and have done so for the last five years. More than the established stars though the Fil Oil is also where the up-and-coming young players get their first real chance to strut their stuff. “We want to give all the teams a taste, sort of a preview, of what their actual tournaments will be like,” explained Dave Dualan, in a pre-tournament interview for the 2008 edition of the Fil Oil.

Indeed, a lot of the games in this tournament are typical of the games fans can expect once the regular UAAP and NCAA seasons come around. Although teams are loath to pour it on outside of their regular season, the Fil Oil just has a way of stirring up competitive juices and teams and players just can’t seem to help taking it to each other. This is where the best players truly shine. This is also when the newcomers either start to put up or shut up.

Since most fans are already familiar with the established superstars, it is time to take a look at some of the more prominent newcomers who might be plunging into varsity action in the coming regular varsity wars.

Mike Silungan, UP Fighting Maroons, 6’3” 180 pounds, Swingman: Arguably no other recruit has stirred up as much buzz as the boy from the Windy City. Mike Silungan came to the country to try and land a roster spot with a top varsity program over two years ago. He first came to the Ateneo De Manila and then to San Beda, and quickly impressed the coaches with his height, length, athleticism and dead-eye shooting. He was long-limbed and tall and played 2 and 3 and a little 1. Somehow those two forays didn’t quite pan out. A concerned local basketball mover who really wanted to see Silungan play locally then brought him to Coach Aboy Castro of UP. The rest, as they say, is history. Silungan will be ready for action in UAAP Season 73, and with his ability to score 50 ways to Sunday, and his much-improved defense, the rest of the UAAP better brace itself.

David and Anthony Semerad, San Beda Red Lions, 6’5” 210 pounds, Forwards: San Beda has perhaps the most underrated foreign recruitment network in all of college basketball. San Beda brought in 6-foot-8 Nigerian giant Samuel Ekwe four years ago, and he became a two-time NCAA most valuable player while leading San Beda to a rare Grand Slam. They followed that up by bringing over 6-foot-8 American Sudan Daniel, a man who has yet to meet a dunk he didn’t like. Now they have twins from Queensland who could pass off as male supermodels and yet possess incredibly well-rounded games coming from the Land Down Under. Both are strongly built and wide-shouldered with meaty arms, but they are also agile and quick, able to play up to three positions each. Anthony has displayed more of a willingness to pull up with his jumper though, while David has shown more tenacity crashing both boards. Or is that the other way around? That adds to the charm, not to mention to the strength of both twins while playing for the Red Lions. When both David and Anthony are on the floor they alternate at the 3 and 4 spots and create a mess of mismatch problems for the opposition with their size and sticky phone booth defense. They are also double handfuls hanging around the lane and disrupting passing lanes and passing angles with their size and ability to lean on their man on defense.

Kyle Pascual, 6’6” Center-Forward, San Beda Red Lions: Here comes another Filipino who spent his growing up years in North America, and again he has been lassoed over at Mendiola Bridge. Coming off a productive stint as a Johnny-come-lately to the RP Youth Team of former Lasalle head coach and now-Quezon City congressional candidate Franz Pumaren, this is a boy who everyone thought would be headed for Taft Avenue. After all, his two other big man teammates on that Youth Team are now wearing the green and white – Norbert Torres and Philip “Papot” Paredes. San Beda however pulled a coup of sorts when they reeled in another Pascual into their fold. He can play both the 5 and 4 positions, and brings his long limbs, nose for the rebound, ability to disrupt enemy shots and nasty disposition to add even more depth to the biggest front line in the NCAA.

Jarelan Tampus, 5’10” Guard, De La Salle Green Archers: When you look at him he doesn’t look like much, not that tall, not that built, might not be a basketball player at first glance. But when he hits the floor his game speaks volumes. Coming fresh off back-to-back Finals appearances with the Letran Squires in the NCAA junior division, this is a boy with a deep understanding of exploiting the weaknesses of the opposition while highlighting his own strengths, especially on the open court. He understands the subtle nuances of spacing on the court, and can find the seams in the defense that allow him to sneak in for high-percentage shots. In transition he knows how to break out quickly on the wings and his ability to elevate quickly and hang in the air are valuable assets. If he proves he can play some pointguard he should get a lot of good minutes from head coach Dindo Pumaren, and if everything works out for the best he could be the second coming of old Lasalle fan favorite Joseph Yeo.

Philip Paredes, 6’6” Forward-Center, De La Salle Green Archers: Here is one kid who looks like he was built for basketball, with his long and sinewy limbs as well as his impressive height and agility. If he were a little stronger and meaner of disposition he could be a dominator on the court. Coming from the Cagayan countryside, Paredes first made waves as the first true big man taken in by Franz Pumaren when the multi-titled bench boss was in charge of the RP Youth Team. Things however did not quit turn out all as planned, as Paredes did not quite show enough game and moxie to make the Lasalle roster as a freshman. He worked on his overall game and toughness with the Lasalle B Team. Now he gets a chance to show he still has enough game to play in the big city.

Emmanuel Mbe, 6’7” 210 pounds Center-Forward, NU Bulldogs: Talk about star-crossed players and the African wanderer John Mbe comes immediately to mind. Mbe somehow found his way to the Philippine Islands all the way from African Continent about two years back. He was reportedly on his way to Santo Tomas, but somehow wound up on an Emilio Aguinaldo roster along with fellow African Romeo Foutue. From there he made subsequent stops at STI College and saw action is a few Fr Martin games, made an aborted run for University of the East, and was even wearing St Benilde merchandise watching St Benilde games along with Carlo Lastimosa sometime last year. Now he is with NU, and hopefully has found a permanent home in Manila. Mbe is a highly athletic forward who can also slide to the center position if warranted. Although he hasn’t got much of a jump shot yet, he is very active going from box to box and has terrific springs that allow him to jump several times in any given sequence, making him a strong rebounder and shot-blocker. He is one-half on the new African Connection for NU.

John Nlepe, 6’5” 190 pounds Forward, NU Bulldogs: First seen by hardcore hoops fans in the Fr Martin Cup almost two years ago, Nlepe wowed people with his incredible leap and ability to dunk even in traffic and off the alley-hoop. He was truly entertaining to watch. He should be ready for Season 73 of the UAAP having already served his mandatory two-year residency. Nlepe, the Nigerian by way of the Ivory Coast, is a little shot-happy especially coming off a kick-out at the three-point arc, and he tends to force the action with ill advised attempts to drive in heavy traffic. He has gotten better though at reading the action on the floor and hanging around the basket where he can use his leap and his height to good use crashing the boards and getting second-chance baskets.

JP Erram, 6’7” 190 pounds Forward-Center, Ateneo Blue Eagles: Losing a starting center is tough. Losing a starting center who was an MVP averaging close to 18 points and nine boards per game in the two years your team won back-to-back titles is a huge conundrum. Rabeh Al-Hussaini had some of his best games in the last two editions of the Fil Oil en route to becoming a season MVP and a Finals MVP in the UAAP. His replacement is a man who is still trying to get used to the physicality and speed of the big game. But JP Erram is a fast basketball learner, and at an agile and athletic 6-foot-7, learning to play the post is not as hard as it should be. Erram reminds Ateneo fans of shot-blocking demon Nonoy Baclao, the highly popular and soft-spoken forward. Erram could be a better version though, as he is taller and longer, and unlike Baclao, offense comes to this man more naturally. He will not replace Al-Hussaini’s numbers, maybe not even Baclao’s numbers yet. He will however be a significant presence inside.

Jason Escueta, 6’5” 250 pounds Center-Forward, Ateneo Blue Eagles: Funny how things work out: over two and a half years ago, this barrel-chested young man came over with a Filipino-American team to play a few tune-up games against the Blue Eagles. One of them got into a shoving match with then-Ateneo starting center Ford Arao. Little did anyone know he would stay on and join the Ateneo varsity squad. Escueta is wide-bodied and massive, but he is not exactly the plodding slowpoke people assume him to be. His footwork is solid, and his massive frame allows him to take up space down low to gather in rebounds and score under the basket even against taller and higher-leaping players. When he is in his favorite spot on the left box he is nearly impossible to move, and his quick first step gets him either two points or a fished foul. He should help make the loss of both Rabeh Al-Hussaini and Nonoy Baclao a little easier to bear.

Terrence Romeo, 5’8” 135 pounds Pointguard, FEU Tamaraws: This is a kid who literally exploded onto the UAAP junior division last season, unloading 83 points in one game against UP Integrated School and basically being the heart and soul of FEU FERN after a highly promising start as a Letran Squire. He was rewarded with the Season 72 MVP award even though he was playing in only his first UAAP season, cementing his status as arguably the best player his age. He now moves up to the senior division, where he will play alongside and behind resident starting pointguard Ryan Roose Garcia. He can carve up any defense with his incredible speed and ability to take a hit in spite of his lean frame. His handles are incredible, and his ability to recognize and feed the open man is an invaluable asset. If his three-point shot ever improves he will already be a complete package.

Austin Manyara, 6’6” 215 pounds Forward-Center, Adamson Falcons: He is a champion dunker and a terrific athlete. At this stage of his career though, he is more of an athlete than a basketball player. His decision making is not quit where it should be, as he sometimes seems to prefer to dunk the ball more than get the two points the easy way. In one other off-season tournament he got quite an earful from head coach Leo Austria when he went for a fancy two-handed slam dunk all alone in transition which he subsequently muffed. That could have been an easy layup that tied a crucial game for Adamson against Letran. Austria was incensed and promptly pulled him from that game. He has learned to be a little smarter about the game since that game. He now knows how to position himself better for rebounds, and he waits for shots to go up before running after them for the block. He should be a welcome newcomer for UAAP Season 73.