High Scorer

By Ruel S. De Vera, Associate Editor Sunday Inquirer Magazine OF all the different incarnations of basketball players, it is the scorer that captures the fancy of fans the easiest. Now, some fans have a soft spot for hardcore hustlers--those who dive for every loose ball--also known as energy guys while others like stoppers--lockdown defenders usually assigned to a team's best shooter--but everybody likes someone who leads the box scores. The most interesting place to see scorers in action in Philippine basketball is in the college leagues, because scorers are encouraged to score more and more in the hopes of outscoring the other team in an all-out arms race. They will learn to defend much later on, preferably when they turn pro. It is thus when they're in the UAAP or the NCAA when we see these players waxing brightest. Yet even among these ultimate weapons on the collegiate hardcourt, there are various classifications: 1) The Bombers--Perhaps the prototypical college scorers, longbombers are shooters, perimeter players who are deadshots from beyond the college arcs. Not only can these shooters spread out the offense and keep defenders from crowding the middle, but, in the zone-defense world of college hoops, can actually score with impunity if left unmolested. And most of them can hit long toms even with a double-team, often with a form that is impeccable. The three-point shot is always the best option. The University of the East's James Yap is today's prototype, a jump-shooter with killer range, the telegenic evolved form of previous UE hitman Alan Caidic. De La Salle University's Ren-Ren Ritualo is another player who uses screens immensely well. Far Eastern University's Arwind Santos is a rangy player with slam dunk capability, but his primary weapon of choice remains the rainbow jumper. College of Saint Benilde's Sunday Salvacion, National University's Lordy Tugade, University of the Visayas' Elmer Cabahug and Mapua Institute of Technology's Freddie Hubalde are representative of this wave. 2) The Pure Scorers—These players can score on a wider variety, somehow always finding a way to do it. Disciplined and determined, they are usually very nimble and can shoot from the outside, drive and draw fouls with ease, leading to free throws. They come in all sizes, but the perfect example is Mapua Institue of Technology's slippery Forunato "Atoy" Co, who could score in every conceivable way, throughout her career. Other examples are San Beda's elusive Elmer Reyes, Colegio de San Juan de Letran's Genesis "Donking" Sasuman, Adamson's long-limbed Kenneth Duremdes, Lyceum's Gary David and Ateneo's metronomic Ritchie Ticzon. This class is home to the scoring point guard, represented by the likes of La Salle's Mike Cortez, Philippine Christian University's Jason Castro, Manuel L. Quezon Un iversity's Wynne Arboleda and FEU's Gerry Esplana. 3) "WTF" scorers: A sub-classification of the Pure Scorer, these indefatigable players don't have a classic form or a prototypical game, but instead can score easily with the most mind-blowing array of shots. You never see the ball coming, with baskets scored off acrobatic twists, quarter-court hooks and even end-of-shotclock heaves. The top exemplar is without a doubt Green Archer Mac Cardona, who has the most unusual form but also the most unstoppable game. Jose Rizal University's Ernani Epondulan is a jitterbug points machine who creates shots out of thin air. What makes them different is that they score with numbing regularity despite their unorthodox skill set. Long-armed Jun Jabar of Southwestern University, University of Baguio's Jubn Marzan and Dennis Abbatuan are two other players who score without any probable reason. 4) The Showmen: Another sub-class of the Pure Scorer, the Showman does not score as much all the time but can demoralize opponents simply by scoring a crazy layup against five players. Very dangerous in crunch time, though also injury prone, they are top attractions on their teams. They have the flashy monikers to go with the flashy game. Letran's Samboy "The Skywalker" Lim is the all-time premier avatar. JRU's Vergel "The Aerial Voyager" Meneses, Ateneo's JC "The Baby Rocket" Intal, UST's Cyrus "Skyrus" Baguio, San Sebastian College-Recoletos' Paul "Mr. Excitement" Alvarez and University of the Philippines' Nestor "Nestorminator" David channel him. 5) Big Men: Dump the ball into the behemoth waiting in the paint and wait for two points. These muscular centers and power forwards take up a lot of space and some have low post moves to flummox the defender. When all else fails, a quick lob pass and you've got a dunk. Usually not very good free-throw shooters, so there's a lot of fouling down low with the game on the line. Adamson's Ken Bono, Ateneo's Rico Villanueva, UP's Benjie Paras, UE's Jerry Codinera, La Salle's Don Allado, National University's Danny Ildefonso are representative of this class. 6) Multitaskers: Both University of Santo Tomas center Dennis Espino, PCU's Gabby Espinas and Perpetual Help's Bong Hawkins are peculiar specimen in the sense that, while they are big men and good scorers, they are skilled finesse players, a throwback to the days of do-it-all bigs Mon Fernandez of University of San Carlos and Abet Guidaben of University of San Jose-Recoletos. Of all the multitaskers, the classic model is MIT's Alvin Patrimonio, who can score, rebound, defend and pass with an unprecedented efficiency. 7) Perimeter Bigs: An even more unusual sub-group is the perimeter-proficient big man, usually centers and power forwards taller than 6'5" with amazing strokes from beyond 18 feet. Exhibit A are the De Ocampo brothers, Yancy and Ranidel, from St. Francis of Assisi. JRU's Manny Victorino had a killer mid-range game, though he never got as far out as the three-point line because it was counter-intuitive in those days to do so. Letran's Allan Salansang is a more recent version. Read about James Yap in the January 25, 2009 issue of the Sunday Inquirer Magazine.