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Elmer Espiritu of University of the East pulled off a major shocker as he bested heavily favored JC Intal of Ateneo in the slam dunk competition of the Bantay Bata 163 UAAP-NCAA All-Stars Saturday at the Philsports Arena.

Coming in second behind Intal in the elimination, Espiritu did a 360-degree, double-clutch jam to score a 48, enough to beat the former. Intal, the 2004 champion, had a perfect 50 after a rim-rattling windmill jam in the qualifiers but missed what could have been the winning dunk — a between-the-legs one-handed tomahawk slam.

Intal, wearing the old No. 24 San Miguel jersey of his coach Norman Black, had time to roll in a two-handed double-pump dunk but drew just 47 points from the judges to lose by just a point.

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Who’s the better player, Ken Bono or Samuel Ekwe?

Who owns the loudest roar, the Tigers of Santo Tomas or the Lions of San Beda? Who’s the better league, the UAAP or the NCAA?

These and more are the backdrops as the best and the brightest of the top two collegiate leagues in the land clash on Saturday in the Bantay Bata 163 All-Stars at the Philsports Arena (formerly ULTRA).

Most Valuable Player (MVP) Bono will lead the UAAP pack that includes fellow Mythical First Team awardees Jervy Cruz of victorious UST, JC Intal of Ateneo de Manila, Marvin Cruz of State U and Jeff Chan of Far Eastern U.

Ekwe, the Nigerian 6’8” behemoth who was this year’s rookie-MVP for triumphant San Beda, on the other hand, will spearhead the NCAA side along with teammate Yousif Aljamal, Jason Castro of Philippine Christian U, Floyd Dedicatoria of Jose Rizal and Khiel Misa of Perpetual Help.

Pido Jarencio of UST will coach the UAAP boys while Koy Banal of San Beda will be the bench tactician of the NCAA quintet.

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Jose Rizal University (JRU), a late-bloomer in this year’s National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) basketball competition, topped the ranking among non-seeded teams in the 4th Collegiate Champions League.

The Heavy Bombers of coach Ariel Vanguardia gathered 29 votes from the sports media who attended the lunch hosted by Solar Sports yesterday at the National Sports Grill.

They ended their campaign in the 82nd season of the oldest collegiate league in the land with victories over heavyweights Philippine Christian University (PCU) and Mapua.

Also getting wildcard tickets were defending Colleges and Universities Sports Association (CUSA) champion Philippine Maritime Institute (PMI) and University Athletics Association of the Philippines’ (UAAP) National University (NU). The Admirals got 19 votes while the Bulldogs received 12.

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Defending champion Far Eastern University won’t be back to defend its Collegiate Champions League (CCL) crown when the tournament opens shop on October 4.

After bombing out in the 69th season of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball tournament, the Tamaraws reportedly disbanded their team, leaving them without a ready squad that is expected to be given a wild card entry for the Oct. 4-14 tournament proper.

“From what we’ve told, FEU has disbanded its team, with coach Bert Flores as the only remnant from last season,” said event chairman Rey Gamboa during the formal launching of the meet Tuesday at the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum at the Pantalan Restaurant in Manila.

Even if it manages to form a new core, Gamboa said FEU won’t still qualify since under the Champions League rules, only the current official team of a school is allowed to see action.

The Tamaraws are the defending back-to-back champions of the tournament featuring powerhouse teams from the major collegiate leagues around the country.

The University of the East Warriors won the inaugural staging of the meet considered as brainchild of current State U mentor Joe Lipa.

Even in the absence of FEU, Gamboa, the former Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) chairman, still sees a stiff competition among the 16 teams vying for honor as the best collegiate team in the Philippines.

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University of Santo Tomas (UST) fought for the No. 3 spot against Adamson on Thursday as if it was already the championship crown the Growling Tigers were trying to snare, so it was no surprise when they eventually ended up as the third seed in the 69th University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball wars when the final buzzer sounded at the Philsports Arena.

And looking at the final score – 85-71 – and the manner in which the Tigers punctuated their ruthless hardcourt massacre of the Falcons, you can just imagine how hungry these España-based dribblers are for the coveted crown, making them a very dangerous squad in the Final Four round which begins on Sunday.

From just a tight 41-40 halftime lead, the Tigers roared their way to victory with a ferocious offensive break-away in the second half, and with the fiery tandem of Anthony Espiritu and Allan Evangelista orchestrating a blistering hoop attack that not only took the wind beneath the poor Falcons’ wings, but likewise sent a chilling message to UST’s Final Four opponent – the University of the East Warriors – who were in the gallery watching the match in full attendance led by coach Dindo Pumaren.

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