UAAP- Captain Kirk

I've made it a bit of a tradition to buy the jersey of my favorite graduating player from my alma mater's basketball team (Ateneo De Manila) every UAAP campaign. This year's man on the spot- Kirk Long.

In terms of his skill set, Kirk's not a knock down shooter, nor is he a high scoring combo guard you go to in the last ten ticks of a game for the game winning drive. He's actually the sort of fellow whom you almost expect to miss free throws, or, clang jumpers, with his "push shot" being what it is and all.

At the end of the day, though, every coach sort of wishes he had a Kirk Long on his bench whom he could field at will. Why? Because the guy plays tenacious defense, and with defense, come tons of chances to score which more than make up for his offensive deficiencies. Kirk plays with unwavering enthusiasm, unbelievable gusto, and yes, savvy telling of a five year UAAP veteran. He's the fellow you rely on to do the dirty work- diving for loose balls, guarding the other team's top gun, and setting picks for the Kiefer Ravenas of the world. Kirk is a captain out on the floor for the Blue Eagles, and it shows.

Save fpr the Eagles' 16 point loss to the Adamson Falcons on September 10th, every time Kirk Long plays 27 minutes or more, Ateneo wins by an average of nearly 10 points. While you might say that Ateneo has cagers like Slaughter, Salva, and Ravena to carry their scoring load, it's Long (along with fellow defensive stalwarts Bacon Austria and Tonino Gonzaga) that prevent the UAAP's wing great wingmen (the likes of Ray Parks, RR Garcia, etc.) from getting their game going. Steals, deflections, and lockdown D on the perimeter help create easy transition and and paint point opportunities for the Eagles. Good defense leads to high percentage offense, and it's Kirk Long that anchors Ateneo's stifling D.

So this blonde bomber shot 3-15 from the floor in a win versus UST last August 4th. So he tallied five turnovers in the Ateneo-La Salle encounter last August 28. These stats aren't, by any stretch, reasons for Coach Norman Black to smile- but somehow, he figures he can live with it. Kirk Long fulfills his role like few others can- and then some.

When push comes to shove, you'd still want the hustler over the clean n' clear kid on your side. The latter would be content to watch things fall where they may. The rugged guy would carry a net and run from end to end in the hope of catching every falling star- whether real or imagined. The rugged guy would play tell he bleeds. That's guts. That's effort.

That's Captain Kirk at his best.

-MC-