Summer means many things to many people. All over this great Catholic country we recently commemorated Holy Week. Now most schools have already begun their summer terms. People are heading off to the beaches, mountains and other holiday escapes. But the best news of the summer for true hoops junkies is the Fr. Martin Cup. Every year the summer edition of this great hoops lollapalooza showcases the finest young talents in college basketball from practically every corner of the archipelago. Emilio Aguinaldo College in midtown Manila is hosting this year's FMC, with about thirty teams slugging it out in three divisions. Everyone from the national powerhouses like FEU and San Beda, as well as smaller schools like STI and AMA Computer University are seeing action in the tournament organized by the indefatigable Noel Ascue.

Among the teams seeing action San Beda would have to be the prohibitive favorite. In the last three significant off-season tournaments - the FMC Division 2, the FMC Open Division and the Home and Away Invitational - the Red Lions made it all the way to the Finals, claiming the FMC 2 crown over the hard-fighting Lyceum squad and giving Coach Koy Banal his first title as Red Lions coach. They gave the Ateneo Blue Eagles one big fight in the FMC Open Finals. In the Home and Away Finals they bowed to the University of the East Red Warriors. For a relatively young team it was quite impressive to make the Finals in three straight off-season tournaments facing more experienced competition.

While San Beda may not be fielding exactly the same lineup that ran roughshod over the competition in these recent tournaments, they are still very competitive and very big, with Michael Burtscher, Mike Galinato, Eric Suguitan and Toto Taupa still comprising the biggest and perhaps one of the most versatile frontlines in this tournament. While they will miss the services of crack point guard and off-season MVP Pong Escobal and the towering Nigerian Sam Ekwe, they still have enough firepower, athleticism and size to stamp their class.

Ateneo De Manila is reeling from the loss of two players they hoped would lead them back to UAAP cage glory in Season 69, gangling center Japeth Aguilar and the immensely talented guard Ronnie Bughao. Aguilar left recently to join his family in the United States, while the star-crossed Bughao was found to be ineligible for the UAAP. It remains uncertain whether Bughao will see action in the FMC as he is presently with TeleTech in the Philippine Basketball League. In any event the Blue Eagles of Coach Norman Black are preparing for life without the two players. Ateneo will rely on its scrambling defense, a Black staple, to stay competitive, and teams looking to walk all over the perceived country club school will likely get a nasty surprise. Among the new faces seeing action in the Blue and White are NCAA Junior MVP Eric Salamat and Visayan recruit Nonoy Baclao; both are on the B Team roster of Ateneo.

FEU, listless in the last three hardcore tournaments is looking to make an impact in the FMC. Expect the defending UAAP champions to make a lot of noise as they try to prepare for the absence of two-time UAAP MVP Arwind Santos and do-it-all bigman Mark Isip. Guard Jonas Villanueva will undoubtedly be carrying the Tamaraws on his back in this tournament as well as the UAAP. UAAP hopefuls Marnel Barachael, Ron Cabagnot, Jun Vinluan and JR Gerilla are also looking to make a lasting impression on the FEU coaching staff. Vinluan and Gerilla are perhaps more important now than any of the crackerjack wingmen since FEU will be a little thin up front, something they never had problems with the past ten years or so. RB Mangahas will also be counted on to hold the young frontline together, something he's never been asked to do before.

UE is yet another team that seems to be finding its collective range. The Red Warriors have traditionally done well in the summer edition of the FMC. Whether or not this finally translates into a UAAP crown is another matter entirely. Still, with a tall athletic lineup and some of the best ballers in the college ranks in their fold, the Warriors look ready to claim their second straight hardcore title after walloping San Beda in the Home and Away Finals a couple months back. Coach Dindo Pumaren and his venerable assistant Guido Babilonia will assuredly build on their recent success, having claimed their first title as the UE brain trust. Mainstays Mark Borboran, Bon Custodio and Marcy Arellano will lead the charge and hope to bring yet another crown to Recto.

Colegio De San Juan de Letran looms as a dark horse in this tournament. The Knights of Coach Louie Alas must deal with the loss of Mark Andaya, the most underrated center in the NCAA in recent years, as well as power forward Eric Rodriguez's effective if unheralded muscle in the paint. Point guard Boyet Bautista, a gameface.ph Hardcore Player, and electric swingman Aaron Aban will be carrying a heavy load; their resolve and leadership will be tested. Carrying a young team into the next NCAA tournament will be tough considering they are defending champions. Their FMC stint should be an eye-opener.

One good thing about tournaments like the FMC is that even smaller schools can surprise. In the FMC 2 Lyceum upset Ateneo B to arrange a showdown with the mighty Red Lions, pushing San Beda to overtime in a high octane game and just coming a tad short in a finale that could have gone either way. EAC Cavite, while not obvious from their record, has pushed a lot of teams in recent hardcore tournaments right into the last minute. Best of all, the summer FMC is the last major off-season tournament before the major leagues start in the first semester. So for the diehards who want to see the new faces on their respective teams in action, forget crashing the practices; EAC Manila is the place to be this summer.