After completing a rare 14-0 season sweep, the University of the East Red Warriors are now cooling their heels and eagerly awaiting the rather convoluted playoffs that have ensued as a result of National University’s upset of Ateneo De Manila last weekend.

As of this writing, Ateneo was playing archrival La Salle in a battle to determine who would be second overall in the standings. Second place carries with it the privilege of awaiting the outcome of the battle between the third and fourth ranked teams in the standings. Even that took a rather complicated turn, with defending champion Santo Tomas having to play off versus Far Eastern University yesterday (the Tigers won 80-69 to secure their place in the playoffs to determine the UE opponent in the Finals).

In any event, the de facto Final 4 cast is complete with UE sitting pretty, already in the Finals, and Ateneo, La Salle and UST now slugging it out for the right to fight the Warriors for the most popular amateur cage crown in the country.

Whoever emerges from the three-cornered battle for the second Finals berth will find themselves in (hard to believe) an even tougher fight, as they try to be the first team to beat the Red Warriors in Season 70, a daunting task given the depth of the Warriors’ confidence and their literal lineup and talent depth.

History is also on the side of UE, as the last team to sweep the season was also crowned champion, the UST squad of Dennis Espino, Rey Evangelista and Edmond Reyes some 13 seasons ago. Back then a season sweep meant an instant coronation as champion, which thus prompted the league to institute the Final 4 format. The 2002 La Salle squad of Mike Cortez came close to completing their own season sweep until Enrico Villanueva and Ateneo upended them in the last game of that season.

Forget about plays and defenses when the Finals roll around. There will be no surprises here. Each team has played at least 14 games and know all the tendencies of all the teams. It comes down to the player match ups and who can deliver against whom.

Gameface.ph takes a look at how the three contenders fare versus UE.

University of Santo Tomas

Jervy Cruz is without a doubt the best center in the league, probably the best pure Filipino center in all of college basketball today. He is backstopped by Mark Canlas, an underrated 4/5, the unassuming Chester Taylor, and the always energized June Dizon, and bull strong Mel Gile. While Cruz is the superstar, the rest of the frontline is made up mostly of overachievers and role players, solid but unspectacular players. Cruz averages over 16 points and 15 boards and looks like a lock for the Season 70 MVP award. He is the heart and soul of this Tigers team. Everything begins and ends with the big man in the middle.

UE however has both the size and the numbers to match up against Cruz. The vastly improved Barry Llagas in fact badly outplayed Cruz in their second round encounter. Llagas does not put up numbers remotely near the numbers of Cruz, but then again he is on a UE team that does not need him to do that. Llagas focuses on defending the post, rebounding and getting a few opportunistic lay-ups off dump passes on the drive and draw.

Surrounding Llagas in the post are Kelvin Gregorio, Mark Borboran, Elmer Espiritu, Hans Thiele and Mark Fampulme. Borboran is the de jure superstar of the UE frontline, even if his numbers don’t reflect it, a little over 11 points and six rebounds per game. Again however, even a player as good as Borboran cannot get his stats if his team doesn’t need it. The rest of the UE frontline are superb athletes who can run fast and jump high without even breathing hard. They are vastly interchangeable parts who complement each other, and the overall UE game, perfectly.

In the backcourt UST looks to the leadership and speed of Japs Cuan and the all around brilliance of newcomer Kashim Mirza, arguably the tallest true guard in the UAAP today. Cuan runs the Tigers’ offense with aplomb and can push a breakneck tempo. His ability to break down zones with his dribble penetration and his passing proficiency are unmatched. It would of course help if he had a real jumpshot. That however is where Mirza comes in, as the 6-foot-4 2-guard has shown a willingness to take big shot after big shot, prompting TV panels to nickname him “Miracle” Mirza. Anthony Espiritu, Francis Allera, Jun Cortez and Dylan Ababou complete the tall and highly athletic perimeter lineup of UST.

This is where UE might have a problem with their relatively small backcourt. A pair of sub-6 footers Marcy Arellano and gunner James Martinez are the starting backcourt of UE. Whichever one of them has to guard Mirza, or even Espiritu, will find the going tough, since these Tigers easily stand six inches taller with longer limbs. The other guard coming off the UE bench are not that much taller, with Jorel Canizares and Toto Bandaying the only legit 6-footers on the UE perimeter. Newcomer Paul Lee is generously listed at 6-foot-1 in his sneakers. The UE perimeter however has all the confidence in the world to take chances and not worry about mismatches since they are backed up by the deepest and most talented frontline in the UAAP.

De La Salle University

For the last couple of seasons UE has always been touted as the mirror image of La Salle. These two teams come closest in terms of personnel and their approach to the game. La Salle may be the master of the fullcourt press but UE has developed quite a press of its own. La Salle was the first program to make total fitness an obsessive, nearly psychotic passion for their team. UE began doing the same a couple seasons ago. La Salle had a perimeter-oriented game with tough, strong but agile big men to bolster them; UE has developed along the same lines. And of course, who can forget the Pumaren connection of the two programs?

But mirror images do not a standoff make, and in this season at least, UE has had the edge. They have ruled the glass on both ends, passed better and more willingly, run more and run more efficiently on transition, moved better without the ball, took better care of their possessions, and even gave La Salle a dose of their vaunted fullcourt medicine. The biggest difference was the overall depth of the Red Warriors, especially up front, where the likes of Thiele, Espiritu and Borboran simple overwhelmed the comparatively thin La Salle frontline.

6-foot-6 Jumping Jack Rico Maeirhofer, arguably one of the Top 2 forwards in the league, often found himself taking on the entire phalanx of Red Timber on his own. Although he got occasional help from Brian Ilad, PJ Walsham, Kish Co and rookie Ferdinand, they simply do not have the experience or the talent levels of the UE frontline.

Things however seem to remain a mirror in the backcourt. La Salle has Tyrone Tang and JV Casio to match up versus Arellano and Martinez. If these four guys all switched uniforms nothing would change fundamentally. Their playing styles and physical sizes are so alike they may as well have come from some dystopian basketball academy.

Veteran swingman scorer Cholo Villanueva and hustling rookie combo-guard Simon Atkins provide depth and punch for the La Salle backcourt, with James Mangahas filling in at the 3 and 2 spots. Villanueva’s ability to score in a variety of ways, and his underrated on-ball defense make him a nightmare match up. Mangahas is a designated 3 who is comfortable as a guard. The UE backcourt has to work overtime to keep up with the dynamic perimeter of La Salle.

Ateneo de Manila University

Among all of the teams in this picture it was Ateneo that gave the Red Warriors the most fits in their two elimination-round encounters. Were it not for a few end-game miscues those games could have easily swung to Ateneo’s favor. The Blue Eagles were not highly rated going into Season 70, with some basketball pundits not even including them in the Final 4. But the fact remains that Ateneo is arguably the best coached team in the UAAP, and has perhaps overachieved given the depth and talent they lost from the Season 69 team. 60% of their scoring and 40% of their rebounding were lost with the graduation of their erstwhile Three Kings, all of who were first round PBA draft picks.

Ateneo however remains a smallish team without a real identity. Ford Arao, the biggest revelation in Season 70, has been the surprise leader for this Ateneo squad. Chris Tiu, who has struggled with his shot for most of the season, can still nail the game winner as he did against archrival La Salle twice this season. Production after those two has been inconsistent at best. Eric Salamat puts up big numbers one game and is barely stirring the next. Jai Reyes and Eman Monfort are on the small side of the shooting guard position. Yuri Escueta may or may not play as he did in their Round 2 game versus La Salle against the UE perimeter.

Up front there have been few shows of strength from one of the biggest frontlines in the league outside of Arao. Nonoy Baclao and Zion Laterre are superb athletes who can match up against the athletic UE frontline, but the plodding Raba Al Hussaini and Jobe Nkemakolam are not exactly what the doctor ordered against the quick and lean UE frontline.

Ateneo stayed toe to toe with UE in the elimination rounds by playing a tightly controlled game, limiting UE possessions and stymieing the UE transition attack where the Warriors get most of their points. Wide bodies like Arao and Nkemakolam bulled their way around in the post and the lean forwards of UE found the going tough when things ground down to a mortal combat post game. That is probably why Espiritu became one heck of a step-back shooter from 3-point range.

Pick Your Poison

UE has beaten all three of these teams. However, Ateneo has given the Warriors the biggest scare. La Salle took them into overtime but UE eventually prevailed on sheer depth. UST has not come anywhere near the Warriors. Ateneo may not have the talent but they do have the intelligence and the discipline to stay toe to toe with the best team in the country today. In terms of personnel UST seems to be the closest match to UE, but the inability of the Tigers to play their best as a team against the Red and White was so painfully obvious in their two encounters.

In terms of the box office, any Finals match up would be a blockbuster. But Ateneo fans have put up the best attendance numbers going by the gate receipts, especially at the Big Dome. And wouldn’t the UAAP just love to capitalize on a possible Ateneo Triple Crown for Season 70?

In terms of basketball however, UST would offer the best match up, with their swift, athletic and tall perimeter and the mighty Jervy Cruz going up against the Red Skyline and their smallish gunners. And as a true blue hoops fan, there is no story more compelling than seeing a champion defending the crown.

Note: La Salle claimed the Number 2 spot in the standings and a bye as they await the winner of the Ateneo-UST match this weekend. La Salle enjoys a twice-to-beat edge regardless of who they will face. The Green Archers edged the Blue Eagles in their playoff to determine the Number 2 spot last Tuesday. This however does not change the opinions or analysis expressed in this column.