Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Why the Eagles are on Top: A Look in the UAAP Stats
*note: the stats that were compiled and used were at the end of the first round. The author is taking a break from his version 8 coding just to finish this entry.
The roller-coaster, suspense-filled first round of eliminations in the UAAP Men's basketball tournament has ended. The Ateneo Blue Eagles are on top with an immaculate 6-0 card with an emphatic win over the UST Growling Tigers. Trailing behind are the pre-season favorite UE Red Warriors (5-2) and Adamson Soaring Falcons (3-3). The last four teams NU Bulldogs, UST Tigers, UP Maroons, and FEU Tamaraws all share the fourth and last place with identical win-loss slates of 2 wins as against four losses.
There must be reasons why they're positioned as such, and they're shown by the statistics of each team, each player, and each game. Stats are like grades: they measure and reflect how each team is doing/ has done so far, though on the other hand they don't capture the game experience as a whole. Trying to point out reasons behind each team's performances in the first round, I printed the stats from UBelt.com studied and compiled them (with the aid of a calculator) while going home on one lazy early morning.
Grab some popcorn. There are lots of numbers and analysis involved.
Ateneo Blue Eagles
The Blue Eagles are second in scoring, with 86.3ppg. This is a far-cry from their 70.2ppg from last season. They're led by starters Doug Kramer (15.8ppg), JC Intal (15.3ppg), Macky Escalona (11.8ppg), Chris Tiu (9.5ppg), and Rabah Al-Hussaini (8.2ppg). The supporting cast of Jai Reyes, Ford Arao, Yuri Escueta, and Zion Lattere are contributing a good 3-5ppg. While they're at fourth in total field goal attempts (with 413 total field goal attempts), worst in three point shooting (17 treys out of 70 attempts - also worst in the league), and second most fouled team in the league (with 194 attempts from the stripe), the Blue Eagles are making their shots with better shot selection at 44% FG shooting - the league's best. This also explains why the Eagles are the worst offensive-rebounding team (12.5 offensive rpg): they're making their shots, so what's the use of getting the offensive rebound?
In terms of playmaking, the Blue Eagles are playing efficient and smooth basketball. They are playing selfless basketball with 19.5 assists a game, the most in the league. That's like 39 points in one game, or even 58 points if all of their assists are converted into treys. The assists department are led by Macky Escalona (with 5.8 assists) and JC Intal (5.2 assists), with Chris Tiu and Yuri Escueta dishing out 2 assists each. Most of their assists are converted into points when they feed the "dog" Doug Kramer, who is leading the league in field goal shooting. Incidentally, Escalona and Intal (who's playing like a point-forward) are 2-3 in the league in assists. It's also worth noting that Intal dished out 10 assists in their game against UE (and two rebounds shy of a triple-double), and Escalona dished 10 assists in their game against UST and 9 assists each in their games against FEU and UP. The Ateneans turning the ball over 15.3 times a game, the least in the league. Leading the pack are Intal (3.2 TOs - 6th in the league), Escalona (2.3 TOs) and the rest with about a turnover each. What are those compared to Marvin Cruz and Bonbon Custodio, who throw the ball away at least 5 times a game? With very few turnovers, they limit the chance of their opponents to score (well, sometimes - remember Ford Arao's third quarter booboos in their game against NU?).
Speaking of their defense, still the Ateneans are dominating the field as they're allowing their opponents to score 75.3 points a game, the lowest in the league tied with Adamson. That's like leading as much as 10 points in each game. They're hauling down 29.5 defensive rebounds/game - the best in the league tied with UP and behind Adamson. By grabbing defensive boards, they're limiting their opponents' opportunities of scoring. They're forcing their opponents at least 18.5 turnovers - that's like preventing their opponents to score at least 36 points. Their steals department is something to note also as the Blue Eagles are second in the steals department with 5.2 steals a game. Intal and Escalona belong in the top 10 thieves in the UAAP as they combine for 3.4 steals a game (with each stealing at least 1.2 times).
2nd highest scoring team, most accurate shooters, most efficient basketball, least turnovers, great defense, and most especially a great fighting unit. Great basketball.
NU Bulldogs
The NU Bulldogs, I say, are the most scrappy team around. They have thrown 442 shots and made only 164 attempts en route to a 37% FG shooting (worst in the league). While they're having the worst 2 point shooting and free throw shooting at 41% and 59% respectively, they have shot 57 out of 186 from the three point land (accounts to 171 points) which have kept them afloat in their ballgames (They've made 15 attempts against UP and 13 against UST). So explains why they're the third-most offensive rebounding team with 15 caroms: they grab offensive rebounds and aim their crosshairs on the ring, miss their target, get the offensive rebound (repeat cycle). What's puzzling is their assists department - they're only sharing the ball 13 times (which translate to 26 or 39 points).
Speaking of scrappy, yes while they lead the league in steals (6.7) and blocked shots (5) and forcing turnovers (with 21.83 opponent's turnovers/game), they're just limiting their opponents to at least 83.8 points - the third worst. This can be attributed to their excessive fouls as they're giving up 28 fouls a game - which translated to giving at least 26 free throw attempts to their opponents. They're second worst at grabbing the defensive boards with 25.5 defensive rebounds a game.
Edwin Asoro is like a man possessed, as he leads the Bulldogs' charge with 17.3 points, 10.1 rebounds, 1.7 blocks, 1.3 steals, and woohoo- turnovers with 3.6 a game. Jonathan Fernandez, who incidentally hails from Pangasinan, seems to be the second coming of former NU Bulldog "Alaminos Assasin" Lordy Tugade because of his outside sniping
UP Fighting Maroons
UP tops the scoring parade with 88.5ppg: the reason being they're tied with UST having the second most opportunities to shoot the basket with 425 attempts, making 170 of them. They're also the most fouled team, attempting 209 free throws and making 146 of them. The triumvurate of Marvin Cruz, rookie Migs de Asis, and Nestor David account for half of the Maroons' output. The supporting cast led by another rookie Martin Reyes dish out about 8-7 points a game. The Maroons hauled down at least 16 offensive rebounds a game, giving them more opportunities to score (They're also the top rebounding team with 45.5rpg). However it is worth noting that the Maroons are averaging 13.7 assists per game, third lowest in the league. Either they're too trigger-happy (with 40% Field goal shooting - second worst in the league) or they have confidence in making their shots.
While the Maroons are the highest scorers in the league, they're also the worst defensive team as they gave up 91.8 points a game. That's horrible. Nine of them throw the ball at least once adding up to 18.5 turnovers a game (second worst), with highest honors going to Marvin Cruz (with 5 a game). They the most fouling team with 29.3 fouls a game (led by Buyco, Cruz, and David). In their game against Ateneo, they gave out 36 fouls (ouch), which allowed Ateneo to make 39 out of 49 free throw attempts (49 - that's half of Ateneo's points).
Leading the Maroons to the final four would be a hard task to Coach Joe Lipa, who led the Maroons to the 1986 UAAP Championship with the likes of Benjie Paras, Ronnie Magsanoc, and Eric Altamirano in its line-up.
UE Warriors
They're the pre-season favorites. Their living-up to it with a 4-2 record (as of this writing). I mean, you can speak greatly of them. Really. This season's UE Warriors could be one of the biggest teams that came from Recto since James Yap's 2002 team, or Allan Caidic's 1985 team. The A-B-C connection of Marcy Arellano, Mark Borboran, and Bonbon Custodio are leading the Warriors attack with 13.1, 14.6 and 18.9 points a game - that accounts to more than 50% of the Warriors' 84.7 output. They're the second most unselfish team with 16.3 assists a game.
However, one statistic struck me: their turnovers. The Warriors are throwing the ball 21.3 times - the worst in the league. I mean, that's the least that I'd expect out of the Warriors - but no. Ew. They had 30 against NU, 27 against FEU, and 25 against UST. Fine, they're forcing 20.1 opponent turnovers (2nd best in the league) and limiting their opponents to 81.3 points a game (3rd best), but they're throwing their balls away - that just knocks me off. Leading the UE-Give-the-Ball-Away contest are the A-B-C, who account for almost half of UE's total turnovers (with Bonbon Custodio leading with 4.7 turnovers). Had they played better ball handling, they could have given Ateneo a run for its own money.
Dindo Pumaren ought to teach his team ballhandling 101.
***
That's it kids, forgive me if I failed to analyze the darkhorses Adamson, FEU, and UST. Besides, I haven't watched all of their games except once each in their games against Ateneo. Hehe. I have lots of blogs to do and code to write. :)
Until the end of second round ;)
The roller-coaster, suspense-filled first round of eliminations in the UAAP Men's basketball tournament has ended. The Ateneo Blue Eagles are on top with an immaculate 6-0 card with an emphatic win over the UST Growling Tigers. Trailing behind are the pre-season favorite UE Red Warriors (5-2) and Adamson Soaring Falcons (3-3). The last four teams NU Bulldogs, UST Tigers, UP Maroons, and FEU Tamaraws all share the fourth and last place with identical win-loss slates of 2 wins as against four losses.
There must be reasons why they're positioned as such, and they're shown by the statistics of each team, each player, and each game. Stats are like grades: they measure and reflect how each team is doing/ has done so far, though on the other hand they don't capture the game experience as a whole. Trying to point out reasons behind each team's performances in the first round, I printed the stats from UBelt.com studied and compiled them (with the aid of a calculator) while going home on one lazy early morning.
Grab some popcorn. There are lots of numbers and analysis involved.
Ateneo Blue Eagles
The Blue Eagles are second in scoring, with 86.3ppg. This is a far-cry from their 70.2ppg from last season. They're led by starters Doug Kramer (15.8ppg), JC Intal (15.3ppg), Macky Escalona (11.8ppg), Chris Tiu (9.5ppg), and Rabah Al-Hussaini (8.2ppg). The supporting cast of Jai Reyes, Ford Arao, Yuri Escueta, and Zion Lattere are contributing a good 3-5ppg. While they're at fourth in total field goal attempts (with 413 total field goal attempts), worst in three point shooting (17 treys out of 70 attempts - also worst in the league), and second most fouled team in the league (with 194 attempts from the stripe), the Blue Eagles are making their shots with better shot selection at 44% FG shooting - the league's best. This also explains why the Eagles are the worst offensive-rebounding team (12.5 offensive rpg): they're making their shots, so what's the use of getting the offensive rebound?
In terms of playmaking, the Blue Eagles are playing efficient and smooth basketball. They are playing selfless basketball with 19.5 assists a game, the most in the league. That's like 39 points in one game, or even 58 points if all of their assists are converted into treys. The assists department are led by Macky Escalona (with 5.8 assists) and JC Intal (5.2 assists), with Chris Tiu and Yuri Escueta dishing out 2 assists each. Most of their assists are converted into points when they feed the "dog" Doug Kramer, who is leading the league in field goal shooting. Incidentally, Escalona and Intal (who's playing like a point-forward) are 2-3 in the league in assists. It's also worth noting that Intal dished out 10 assists in their game against UE (and two rebounds shy of a triple-double), and Escalona dished 10 assists in their game against UST and 9 assists each in their games against FEU and UP. The Ateneans turning the ball over 15.3 times a game, the least in the league. Leading the pack are Intal (3.2 TOs - 6th in the league), Escalona (2.3 TOs) and the rest with about a turnover each. What are those compared to Marvin Cruz and Bonbon Custodio, who throw the ball away at least 5 times a game? With very few turnovers, they limit the chance of their opponents to score (well, sometimes - remember Ford Arao's third quarter booboos in their game against NU?).
Speaking of their defense, still the Ateneans are dominating the field as they're allowing their opponents to score 75.3 points a game, the lowest in the league tied with Adamson. That's like leading as much as 10 points in each game. They're hauling down 29.5 defensive rebounds/game - the best in the league tied with UP and behind Adamson. By grabbing defensive boards, they're limiting their opponents' opportunities of scoring. They're forcing their opponents at least 18.5 turnovers - that's like preventing their opponents to score at least 36 points. Their steals department is something to note also as the Blue Eagles are second in the steals department with 5.2 steals a game. Intal and Escalona belong in the top 10 thieves in the UAAP as they combine for 3.4 steals a game (with each stealing at least 1.2 times).
2nd highest scoring team, most accurate shooters, most efficient basketball, least turnovers, great defense, and most especially a great fighting unit. Great basketball.
NU Bulldogs
The NU Bulldogs, I say, are the most scrappy team around. They have thrown 442 shots and made only 164 attempts en route to a 37% FG shooting (worst in the league). While they're having the worst 2 point shooting and free throw shooting at 41% and 59% respectively, they have shot 57 out of 186 from the three point land (accounts to 171 points) which have kept them afloat in their ballgames (They've made 15 attempts against UP and 13 against UST). So explains why they're the third-most offensive rebounding team with 15 caroms: they grab offensive rebounds and aim their crosshairs on the ring, miss their target, get the offensive rebound (repeat cycle). What's puzzling is their assists department - they're only sharing the ball 13 times (which translate to 26 or 39 points).
Speaking of scrappy, yes while they lead the league in steals (6.7) and blocked shots (5) and forcing turnovers (with 21.83 opponent's turnovers/game), they're just limiting their opponents to at least 83.8 points - the third worst. This can be attributed to their excessive fouls as they're giving up 28 fouls a game - which translated to giving at least 26 free throw attempts to their opponents. They're second worst at grabbing the defensive boards with 25.5 defensive rebounds a game.
Edwin Asoro is like a man possessed, as he leads the Bulldogs' charge with 17.3 points, 10.1 rebounds, 1.7 blocks, 1.3 steals, and woohoo- turnovers with 3.6 a game. Jonathan Fernandez, who incidentally hails from Pangasinan, seems to be the second coming of former NU Bulldog "Alaminos Assasin" Lordy Tugade because of his outside sniping
UP Fighting Maroons
UP tops the scoring parade with 88.5ppg: the reason being they're tied with UST having the second most opportunities to shoot the basket with 425 attempts, making 170 of them. They're also the most fouled team, attempting 209 free throws and making 146 of them. The triumvurate of Marvin Cruz, rookie Migs de Asis, and Nestor David account for half of the Maroons' output. The supporting cast led by another rookie Martin Reyes dish out about 8-7 points a game. The Maroons hauled down at least 16 offensive rebounds a game, giving them more opportunities to score (They're also the top rebounding team with 45.5rpg). However it is worth noting that the Maroons are averaging 13.7 assists per game, third lowest in the league. Either they're too trigger-happy (with 40% Field goal shooting - second worst in the league) or they have confidence in making their shots.
While the Maroons are the highest scorers in the league, they're also the worst defensive team as they gave up 91.8 points a game. That's horrible. Nine of them throw the ball at least once adding up to 18.5 turnovers a game (second worst), with highest honors going to Marvin Cruz (with 5 a game). They the most fouling team with 29.3 fouls a game (led by Buyco, Cruz, and David). In their game against Ateneo, they gave out 36 fouls (ouch), which allowed Ateneo to make 39 out of 49 free throw attempts (49 - that's half of Ateneo's points).
Leading the Maroons to the final four would be a hard task to Coach Joe Lipa, who led the Maroons to the 1986 UAAP Championship with the likes of Benjie Paras, Ronnie Magsanoc, and Eric Altamirano in its line-up.
UE Warriors
They're the pre-season favorites. Their living-up to it with a 4-2 record (as of this writing). I mean, you can speak greatly of them. Really. This season's UE Warriors could be one of the biggest teams that came from Recto since James Yap's 2002 team, or Allan Caidic's 1985 team. The A-B-C connection of Marcy Arellano, Mark Borboran, and Bonbon Custodio are leading the Warriors attack with 13.1, 14.6 and 18.9 points a game - that accounts to more than 50% of the Warriors' 84.7 output. They're the second most unselfish team with 16.3 assists a game.
However, one statistic struck me: their turnovers. The Warriors are throwing the ball 21.3 times - the worst in the league. I mean, that's the least that I'd expect out of the Warriors - but no. Ew. They had 30 against NU, 27 against FEU, and 25 against UST. Fine, they're forcing 20.1 opponent turnovers (2nd best in the league) and limiting their opponents to 81.3 points a game (3rd best), but they're throwing their balls away - that just knocks me off. Leading the UE-Give-the-Ball-Away contest are the A-B-C, who account for almost half of UE's total turnovers (with Bonbon Custodio leading with 4.7 turnovers). Had they played better ball handling, they could have given Ateneo a run for its own money.
Dindo Pumaren ought to teach his team ballhandling 101.
***
That's it kids, forgive me if I failed to analyze the darkhorses Adamson, FEU, and UST. Besides, I haven't watched all of their games except once each in their games against Ateneo. Hehe. I have lots of blogs to do and code to write. :)
Until the end of second round ;)
