me thinks we have a future

ateneo won about 8 minutes ago. the first game against la salle, the first game of the season. this bodes well for our blue eagles. could this be our year? maybe, maybe not. but regardless of this season's outcome, i think the ateneo blue eagles will extend their 9 year streak of final four stints and maybe capture a few championships along the way. why?

because ryan buenafe could very well be our lebron james.

you can quote me on that. after seeing him on his UAAP debut (as a starting forward, mind you) i am convinced that he is the type of player you build teams around. he's tall, lean and versatile. he can dribble the ball down the court, he can drive right pass you, he can hang in mid-air and he can either pass the ball or finish it on his own. much like lebron, buenafe enters the league with little skill on shooting the ball from the perimeter. but that can be improved and worked on by the ateneo basketball system. the main difference is that when james entered the NBA, he can already defend. too bad i couldn't say the same thing about the NCAA Juniors Basketball MVP last year. but again, he has four more years to improve on his game.

ateneo boasts of three other prized rookies as well: Chang Kai Shek standout justin chua, San Beda Red Cub nico salva, and vincent burke, a former teammate of Kirk Long from Faith Academy.

the only bad news about this season is that de la salle university now has Zobel's joshua webb, the UAAP Juniors Basketball MVP last year (see how he is the green to buenafe's blue?) he has the makings of a mac cardona: athletic, good defensive player, can handle and shoot the ball, can mess with his opponents head, and most of all, cocky. add a little more height and he could be a rico maierhoffer in the making.

expect buenafe-vs.-webb type of games soon. this will surely add more spice to the already flavorful ateneo-la salle rivalry.