Though there is scarcity of “real” men that are bona fide students of the College of Mass Communication (CMC), it does have a men’s basketball team. And judging from history, they are no pushovers.

UP CMC’s basketball team, known as the Wildcats, were perennial champions of UP’s inter-college intramurals during the early ‘90s. Some of the men who have grazed this glorious tradition were Richard Gomez, Ryan Gregorio and Ivan Mayrina.

Then, the college always paraded a big line-up and they were getting easy wins. But now things have changed. The Wildcats’ performance over the past years has taken a nosedive. Gone are the championships and the celebration that comes with the title. 

Every new season comes a new hope for the CMC-based cagers but they always see their season end in frustration in the hands of mighty teams like that of the College of Engineering and the College of Human Kinetics.

With this season comes a new hope. And if most CMC students think that hope is all they’ve got for the team, this year’s team can live up to the expectations—and can hopefully bring back the glory days of Wildcats’ basketball.

The team took major changes during the off-season. With players like Jordan Santos and Mark Limchoa leaving the scene, a fresh wave of exciting players burst into the act. These players are expected to bring out high levels of tenacity day in and day out.

The coaching staff is overhauled as well. The Wildcats’ are now under new head coach Bien Carayag, ending former head coach’s Paul Mata’s three-year stint on the diagram board. A former Wildcat himself, Carayag has high hopes for this team.

“This year’s team is relatively small so we will have a hard time with the likes of Engineering and Human Kinetics,” said Carayag. “Nevertheless, the team’s most potent weapon is it’s quickness. This year’s team is a running team. Plus, this year’s team is a great perimeter shooting team. Expect a lot of those in the coming intrams.”

On that note, expect a lot of fastbreaks from the team come intramurals time. Leading the charge of Wildcats this year are Team Captain Carlos Miguel Locsin, Mark Mallo and Dinno Sandoval—the three highest scorers of the team.

“For this year, I was shifted from the point guard to the off-guard position. I have high hopes for this team and we hope to bring the crown back to CMC,” Locsin said.

“We will surely bring our up-tempo game for forty minutes. It’s our best weapon. We’ve got to bring out our best every game. That’s what we are going to do this year and it will give a lot of teams a run for their money,” Sandoval said.

Aside from Locsin, Mallo and Sandoval, other holdovers are coming back to the picture. They are Ralph Peralta, AJ Malabanan, Mawen Dalimot and Bam-bam Alegre.

Lending aid to the Wildcats are some supremely talented and exciting rookies that will make the team into a title contender. These new cagers are worth the wait for the team and its fans. And the result could be something better than good.

CMC’s new players are point guards Marlon Borreo and Andrew Valdez, defensive-minded baller Roland Antonio Guia, role players Eric Martinez and Julius Belotindos, big man Franklin Paul Alcones and sweet-shooting Lawrence Fernandez.

A transferee from the School of Statistics, Borreo is part of the team that won the 2005 Gilette Vector Basketball Tournament (UP Diliman- Division A) title. An icewater in the nerves point guard, expect Borreo to bring out his A game in the clutch situation.

High leaping Andrew Valdez is not just good in orchestrating plays. He is also a high leaper and an excellent outside shooter. A member of the UP CMC Broadcasting Association, Valdez will contribute heavily for the Wildcats’ cause offensively or defensively.

On the other hand, Guia is the “dirty worker” of the team. He may not score huge but his influence can be felt due to his impressive defensive and rebounding skills. Though small, Guia uses good boxing out techniques against taller opponents to pluck those loose balls.

Martinez is a former ball player at the Quezon City Science High School. Aside from his tremendous hustle and his pesky defense, he is also a threat when it comes to slashing through the other team’s defense.

Belotindos’ style of play is like that of Martinez. A no-nonsense operator on the court, Belotindos is a great player who can do a lot of damage in the art of intimidation. He guards opponents like a lint and never let them see any daylight.

Alcones is already a seasoned basketball coach and player. He has lead a number of teams to summer league championships and he also played for the Ramon Magsaysay High School basketball team. With his height, Alcones will fill in the rebounding problems of this year’s team.

Fernandez is a relatively slow player but his jumper is money in the bank. A player with a relatively wide body, he can pluck boards without jumping high, a style of play that is a throwback to PBA’s Bong “Hawk” Hawkins.

Though the team was formed for only a few months, the Wildcats have managed to reach the semifinals of the Vector Tournament before bowing out to Borreo’s side.

“It is a great start for us. Though we have only been formed for a few months, we showed some great signs of team play,” Coach Carayag added. “Of course, we will work on it to perfection. It might entail a lot of practice but then again, practice makes perfect.”

The Wildcats are hoping to bring back its winning ways. For the past three years the team suffered losing seasons, causing their early exit in the inter-college intramurals. Last year’s record was 2-3, before that was 2-3 as well and three years ago, the team won nothing in five games.

“We are definitely improving. And now with a powerful rookie group coming our way, I think that there is no other way for this team but up. We are title contenders,” Coach Carayag said.

With that, the prayers of many hopefuls will be answered when opening tip-off comes.