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Season 75 Rookie Watch

Of the incoming freshmen in the UAAP's 75 Season basketball wars, La Salle's Jeron Teng and National University's Mark De Guzman stick out like a sore thumb. Both have been impressive during the pre-season tournaments, and even locked horns during the Fil-Oil Cup finale that the Bulldogs won.

Teng was the most sought-after player coming out of high school in 2011. A 40-point output is a normal day in the office for him. He is strong, agile and definitely skilled. When he attacks the basket, it's almost an automatic two points. The son of former PBA enforcer Alvin Teng once scored 104 points for Xavier School in a Tiong Lian match-up against Grace Christian. And in the Fil-Oil, the younger brother of UST stalwart Jeric Teng proved that he is ready for men's basketball, after averaging a team second best 10.8 points, on top of 4.4 rebounds. He was even tasked by new Archers coach Gee Abanilla to take the game-winning shot against archrival Ateneo, which he converted. We can expect Teng to play major minutes for DLSU in his rookie year, where he is also favored to take home the best rookie plum.

De Guzman was a former Philippine Youth team standout under coach Eric Altamirano, who is also the NU tactician. A transferee from the College of St. Benilde, he posted norms of 9.3 markers and 4 boards for the Bulldogs in the Fil-Oil. Surely, De Guzman will be one of NU's top gunners this season. In 11 Fil-Oil games, he drilled 23 treys. He is most likely to be Bobby Ray Parks' main back-up in offense.

Adamson's Jericho Cruz has surprised many during the pre-season, collecting 10.1 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He even outplayed his more illustrious teammates like Alex Nuyles and Roider Cabrera in the Fil-Oil. Cruz will definitely be one of the key players for the Falcons this year.

The University of the Philippines has reason to be excited with its prize find Raul Soyud. He played over 18 minutes per game in the Fil-Oil, and posted norms of 7.8 markers and 6.3 caroms. In the same tournament, he was the Maroons' third-best performer. Actually, UP has one more exciting rookie in Chris Ball, who put up decent numbers during the summer. But as of this writing his status is uncertain due to incomplete paperwork. If he gets the green light however, he will be a welcome addition to the Maroons' frontline.

Former PBA guard Mark Anthony Tallo's son Mark is now ready to show his wares in the big league, after an amazing high school stint in Cebu and a year in the Blue Eagles' camp. He was impressive in his residency year with the Green Archers, where he became the best player in DLSU's Team B. In the Fil-Oil Cup, Tallo gathered numbers of 5.6 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. He will be a crucial back up at the point and two-guard positions.

Defending champion and five-peat seeking Ateneo will need a stable point guard with the graduation of Eman Monfort. Coach Norman Black will rely heavily on rookie playmaker Nico Elorde, a key recruit from La Salle Zobel two years ago. The point position is probably the Blue Eagles' weakest spot, and Elorde will have his hands full measuring swords against the likes of La Salle's LA Revilla, UST's Jeric Fortuna and FEU's RR Garcia. But Elorde has nerves of steel, at least based on his performance in the Fil-Oil Cup, where he averaged 1.9 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 13.8 minutes.

There might be some more surprises from first timers in this year's UAAP wars. But the abovementioned rookies are certainly the ones to watch out for this season.

Editor's note: The blogger's views do not represent Yahoo! Southeast Asia's position on the topic or issue being discussed in this post.