Team Preview: Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals

Overall Record last season:  4 -14,10th place

Head Coach:  Gerald Esplana

Assistants:  Andy De Guzman, Mark Manosca, Mario Manosca

Players:
Acebron, Jan
Asunscion, Dan
Chiong, Franz
Duran, Herdy
Happi, Cedric Noubi
Jamon, Jan
King, Igee
Mallari, Jefferson
Mendoza, Nelson
Monteclaro, Nikki
Morada, Jorem
Paguia, Elyzer
Pillas, Doods
Saludo, Edsel
Sanchez, Rap
Tayongtong, John
Yaya, Russell

A general is the highest-ranking military officer but in the NCAA, the EAC Generals ranked the lowest in 2011.  They only managed to snare four victories in 18 attempts.  This year, under second-year coach Gerry Esplana, the Generals are hopeful of staging a better showing and climbing up the ladder board, after overhauling half of the roster.

Key Losses
Four of their finest last season won’t make a comeback for the Generals this 88th Season.  Claude Cubo, the second best scorer last year with 11.7 points, plus 7.3 boards, played out his last stint in 2011.  Former national youth player Joshua Torralba, who sizzled with 10.4 points an outing in his rookie year, opted to play elsewhere.  Emilian Vargas (8.5 points, 4.2 rebounds) and Elyzer Paguia (7.8 points, six rebounds) are out as well.  That’s a solid 38.4 points, a whopping 55% of the team’s average output per game last year, which will have to be sourced from other scorers.
 
Key Additions
There is reason for EAC supporters to get excited this season and hope for a more decent showing, and that’s new recruit Noube Happi.  Happi was a source of happiness for the Generals as he made waves in the Fil-Oil Cup with outstanding numbers of 13.8 markers, 14.4 boards and 1.3 steals per game.  He is the projected messiah for this team that is hungry for respect in the NCAA.  Also expected to play major minutes is Nikki Monteclaro, a consummate three-point specialist, who converted 15 treys in seven games in the Fil-Oil.  Former Arellano Chief John Tayontong will be donning the EAC jersey this year, and has added 5.8 points and three boards for the Generals in the pre season.  From last year’s juniors champion San Beda, Francis Munsayac joined Emilio Aguinaldo College during the summer after he impressed the coaching staff in a couple of tune up games.  Last year, he was an alternate point guard for the Cubs, where he piled up seven points and 4.7 assists per outing.

Holdovers
Last year’s top gunner for EAC, Jan Jamon, is back to see action in Season 88.  He averaged 13.7 markers last year but took a backseat to Happi in the recent Fil-Oil Cup, registering just five points per game.  But he is also a major contributor in rebounding, with at least four rebounds per game.  Also raring to stage a dramatic return is veteran Russel Yaya, who played with a lot of energy in the Fil-Oil, posting norms of 9.6 points and five boards.  Other returnees for the Generals are Remy Morada, Franz Chiong, Igee King, and Rap Sanchez.

Season Outlook, Strengths and Weaknesses
The Generals should do a slightly better job this year.  In the Fil-Oil, they defeated fellow NCAA teams College of St. Benilde and Arellano University.  The entry of Happi should provide the team with more inside presence, something the Generals never really had all-throughout their NCAA existence.  But they remain a second-rate team compared to the other rosters.  Although the Generals can very well improve on last year’s record of just four wins, they are most likely to stay in the bottom three.

Perhaps EAC’s edge is its unpredictability.  The team has so many players with similar abilities that it is difficult to tell who will deliver the goods in a particular game.  Anybody from Monteclaro to Jamon to Morada to Tayongtong can wax hot on any given day.  And with Happi taking care of business in the shaded area, the outside players gain more confidence.  Surprisingly, during the Fil-Oil, the Generals were second best in rebounding, with 48.1 caroms per game, even besting top collegiate teams like San Beda, NU, FEU and Ateneo.  Of course, this was mostly due to Happi’s tournament-leading 14.4 boards per game.

The biggest problem of the Generals is being error-prone.  They committed the most mistakes in the Fil-Oil, with 173 turnovers in just eight games.  Also, coach Esplana will need to fine-tune so many things in the Generals’ game to at least make it to the middle of the pack.  Their overall offense needs some remedy as the team finished 17th out of 18 teams in scoring in the Fil-Oil, with an average of barely 61.5 points per game.
 
Prognosis
The Generals’ offense is a work in progress.  Because they are not a big team, they try to run, but in the process commit numerous turnovers.  The solution would be a controlled transition game.  They must try to score on their early offense whenever it’s available, but not force the issue when they don’t have the numbers.  When forced to the half-court set, the Generals must be patient and look for the best opportunity to score.  A patient passing game is ideal where scoring opportunities are abundant.  This way, they can score on cuts to the basket or open shots as a result of screens.  Or they can set up Happi in the post.  But they must constantly move the ball so everybody can have a chance to shoot.  Unlike most other NCAA teams, EAC does not really have a scorer good enough to be the go-to-guy.