By the Numbers: Sept. 4-8

By Paolo Mariano Posted Sep 9th 2013

Who would’ve thought a triple tie at first place could happen this late in the calendar? But who’s complaining? The excitement is up to the brim. De La Salle University extended its winning streak and earned a slot in the Final Four after escaping National University (NU) yesterday.  The Green Archers joined the Bulldogs and the returning Far Eastern University (FEU) in the semis. Now that the University of the East bowed out of contention, the last slot will be a toss-up between Ateneo de Manila University and University of Santo Tomas (UST). Nobody dare to blink, Season 76 is in for one heck of a photo finish.  

71

The number of rebounds grabbed by the UST in its trampling of University of the Philippines (UP). The Growling Tigers tied Adamson University for the most caroms in a game since the UAAP started using computerized stats in 2003. Eight players had at least four boards for UST, led by Karim Abdul with a season-high 21 and Aljon Mariano adding 10. The Soaring Falcons did it in a double overtime win versus NU back in August 2004.  

32

The number of points scored by FEU’s Terrence Romeo in their victory over Adamson—the most by any player this season. It’s also a new career-high for the Cavite native, who finished with a 54.2% shooting clip, including an amazing 10-of-13 from two-point area. He joined Parks and incidentally, former Soaring Falcons Ken Bono and Patrick Cabahug as the only players to record multiple 30-point outings in a single season since 2003.   

18.5%

The field goal percentage of UP versus UST—the lowest by any team in the last 10 years. The Fighting Maroons personified anemic shooting in their loss to the Growling Tigers, finishing with a 15-of-81 clip. Their top scorers, Sam Marata, Raul Soyud, and Kyles Lao only made nine of their combined 42 tries or more than half of the entire team’s attempts. Their 39-point total also the tied NU for the lowest output by any squad since 2003.    

6 

The number of consecutive wins by La Salle—its longest winning streak since nailing five straight in 2008. The Green Archers have really hit their target in the second round after a subpar showing in the opening half of the season. The roles of the players on both ends are now more defined. Guard L.A. Revilla is the only remaining player from that 2008 squad, which also had JVee Casio, Rico Maierhofer, Simon Atkins, and Hyram Bagasting.

.001

The quotient advantage of NU over La Salle. In case they still end up tied for first place along with FEU after the elimination round, the quotient system will be used to determine who gets the top spot. The Bulldogs own the superior quotient with 1.001, with La Salle and FEU tallying 1.000 and 0.993, respectively. Talk about leading by a hairline! The quotient is computed by dividing points scored by points allowed against the involved squads.