Sports Event Flashback : 1971-72 UAAP Senior Basketball Champion University of the East

Sports Event Flashback : 1971-72 UAAP Senior Basketball Champion University of the East

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The UE Red Warriors holds the longest senior basketball championship run with seven straight UAAP titles. They also hold the longest finals streak appearances, with sixteen straight from 1957 to 1972. The team has also represented the country at the 1967 Summer Universiade.

Dimunitive Giovanne Ardeo could call the. shots with his fast plays while the defenses could be handled by husky Eusebio Ong and Arturo Parducho, two of the Goldies carryovers from last year's crew. The Tamaraws, on the other hand, could bank on sharp-shooting Valerio delos Santos, UAAP's top scoring cager last year and another candidate for the national team. Delos Santos may yet be the league's version of Korea's Shin Dong Pa if he could maintain the top form he showed when he played for the Yco Painters. Giving Delos Santos the much needed support are skipper Jose Dizon who had also improved himself by playing for the University Textile Weavers in the MICAA, and a bunch of carryovers from last year's squad. Former tracksters Osmundo Legaspi, Joy Rivera and Rolando Tuazon all playing their second year in the series may provide the much needed defensive plays. Adding support to the Tamaraw assault are promising rookies which include Santiago Rodriguez, a recruit from the UE Pages. The National University Bulldogs, last year's runner up and the intact Adamson University Falcons are this year's dark horses. The Bulldogs have lost first stringers Reynaldo Sigua, Lim Eng Beng, Arturo Arzaga and Felixberto Laureano. They, however, still have the Castañedas, Oscar and Leonardo, and a much-improved Anthony Pan and Agustin Morales. The Falcons, who will be playing their second year in the series, are still intact and could also be a serious threat to the top teams. Not to be ignored are the University of the Philippines Parrots whose spirited efforts last year paid off when they spoiled the debut of the Goldies. Although Rodolfo Villareal, UP's top scorer, will be missing in the line up, the Parrots could still provide the tournament's upsets with their brainy coach, Fely Fajardo in their bench. This year's competition, no doubt, will be one of the closest in the history of the series. With the opening of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) 1971 basketball season, this often asked question will again crop up: who will win this year's championship? "Ask this of any 10 avid UAAP followers and nine will surely answer without hesitation: the University of the East Red Warriors. The defending varsity champions, UE undoubtedly will be the prohibitive choice basing on the performance last year of the Red Warriors. Despite the loss of such stalwarts as Rudolph Kutch, Rodolfo Soriano, and Johnny Revilla, the Warriors still boast of a formidable line up that could give UE its scoring punch. Speedy Reynaldo Franco will surely spearhead the Warriors' title-retention drive. He has shown great improvement during his stint with the Crispa-Floro Redmanizers, the country's top commercial team today. Gangling Jerry Gomillon, UE's six-foot-twoinch center, could well control the slot with rookie Alfredo Belvis giving him a helping hand. Fast-driving Rodolfo Codinera and leftover Reynaldo Dugo could fill the gap vacated by Soriano while Jaime Reynoso, younger brother of veteran Alberto Reynoso, and an improved Reynaldo Vallejo could maintain the defenses. The greatest asset of the Warriors, however, is their strategist, Virgilio "Baby" Dalupan who will again call the plays. Opposition, however, may be stiffer this time than the Warriors had last year. The University of Santo Tomas Glowing Goldies, the perennial rivals of the Warriors and a hardened Far Eastern University Tamaraw quintet will provide UE a run for the money. With clever William Adornado, skipper of the victorious RP Youth team and a candidate for the RP team that will compete in the coming Asian Basketball Conference in Tokyo, UST has the scoring machine that could stop the Warriors. Adornado, like Franco has sharpened his skill in the MICAA where he also played with the Redmanizers.