Round 1 of UAAP Season 86 is over but the playoff race and the championship chase remain wide open.
While the Ateneo Blue Eagles stumbled against more than a few less-fancied teams, they still own convincing victories against both the La Salle Green Archers and the UP Fighting Maroons.
The NU Bulldogs are, once more, right up there with the 'big boys' they've long pursued.
Even the Adamson Soaring Falcons, UE Red Warriors and FEU Tamaraws remain alive and kicking, while the UST Growling Tigers finally broke through into the win column.
With Round 2 just right around the corner, here are five takeaways we got after the first seven games.
Doubt, disrespect, dislike Ateneo -- but you will still have to deal with Ateneo
In this modern era, players and coaches come and go. Yet two things remain the same: Tab Baldwin is the cream of the crop as a tactician and Ateneo will show up in big moments and big games.
The Blue Eagles have lost to the Soaring Falcons and Tamaraws, but come big-time battles against archrival Green Archers and modern-day fierce foe Fighting Maroons, they came out on top. Not only that, they won by five and ten, respectively.
It's also no coincidence that Mason Amos -- the 6-foot-7 Filipino-Australian touted to be the blue-and-white's next big thing -- turned in his best outings yet in those wins, averaging 15.5 points, 3.0 triples, and 7.5 rebounds.
Casual fans or supporters of other schools may think this is the most vulnerable Ateneo team yet, but the fact remains that Ateneo is still gonna Ateneo.
Kevin Quiambao may be playing his last season for La Salle and in the UAAP
We're not saying for sure that there's international interest for Quiambao -- or even that he's going to go pro locally. What we're saying is with the numbers he's putting up -- 16.9 points, 9.6 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 1.1 steals -- he's far and away the most impressive player in a league still waiting on its next crop of superstars.
La Salle's engine is humming along en route to standing as the MVP frontrunner. He's edging out reigning and defending awardee Malick Diouf of UP, teammate Evan Nelle, FEU's L-Jay Gonzales, and UE's Noy Remogat.
Offense or defense, inside or outside, talent or effort, Quiambao has it all -- and he's turning himself into a red-hot commodity not just for the Green Archers, but for prying eyes as well.
The strongest start for UP's strongest squad -- in recent memory, at the very least
Let's just get this out of the way: Yes, UP fell to a very game Ateneo side in the highly-anticipated rematch of last season's finals. Still, the Fighting Maroons are off to their best start in the Final Four era, and are in pole position by after beating fellow 6-1 team National U.
Baldwin told the truth when he said State U has the best guards he has seen in his time in the UAAP, with the maroon-and-green boasting a rotation of Gerry Abadiano, Harold Alarcon, JD Cagulangan, CJ Cansino, and Janjan Felicilda. Add to that the likes of Diouf and Francis Lopez, and coach Goldwin Monteverde has a fully-loaded arsenal.
They may not have a game-changing talent such as Carl Tamayo and their youth and inexperience will still hold them back more than a few times, but the depth on display when UP plays is scary.
Get used to NU being a championship contender
We have said it many times before -- and perhaps we're already sounding like a broken record -- but just about everybody has to get on the National U bandwagon.
This dogged squad built in the image of tough-as-nails coach Jeff Napa can just about go toe-to-toe with any team. As deep as UP. As determined as Ateneo. As hungry as La Salle.
And while it's true that players like Kean Baclaan and Jake Figueroa are not yet household names, they are in fact superstars in their own roles. Baclaan is top three in assists and Figueroa is just a stat sheet-stuffing workhorse. Figueroa can also get a defensive stop on the opponent's best player and then hit a cold-blooded shot to swing momentum.
They wanted to join the so-called 'big boys', didn't they? Well, they're all grown up now.
The UAAP is a never-ending coaching chess match
Baldwin. Monteverde. Napa.
There's also Nash Racela for Adamson, Topex Robinson for La Salle, Jack Santiago for UE, Denok Miranda for FEU, and Pido Jarencio for UST. A big reason why the UAAP is competitive is because of the brilliant minds calling the shots.
Every game is specifically schemed. UP utilized its lengthier and rangier players against an athletic National U. Ateneo forced Quiambao to beat them all by his himself. UST pushed Gonzales out of his comfort zone in its breakthrough win against FEU.
All that happened in the first round and we can't wait for more coaching chess matches come Round 2.