Saturday, November 28, 2009

Defending PCCL Champs Fail to Adavnce

  • The DLSU Green Archers failed to reach the Elite 8 in the PCCL after winning it all last year as they were defeated by an undermanned Letran Knights, 83-72. The Knights led by double figures in the 1st half behind the 12 points of Kevin Alas and Archers' horrible shooting. The Archers then went on a run anchored by Joshua Webb at the end of the 1st half to diminish the lead of the Knights to a solitary point by halftime. It looked like the Archers were ready to take over the lead in the 2nd half but they struggled to manufacture points once again as they could not knock down a shot from the outside. At the Knights end of things, Jaypee Belencion and Reymar Gutilban started to wax hot from the outside. It was like a replay of the 1st half. The Knights were up big and the Archers could not buy a basket. But like in the 1st half, the Archers made a furious run and came as close as 5 in the 4th quarter. The Knights were coughing up a lot of TOs and Arvie Bringas was starting to get hot. Jaypee then came back in and hit a couple more shots and Bringas was taken out of the game because of a cut in his face. Suddenly the Archers, could not score once again. The Knights reestablished their double-digit lead and did not look back at that point. Both teams played full-court press defense for most of the game(if not the whole). Much of the offense of the Archers came from transition play while Knights got a lot of shots from escaping the Archers' press defense. The Knights played w/o their top 2 players, RJ Jazul and Rey Guevarra. Jaypee Belencion just shot the lights off as he finished with 36 points and a PCCL-record 10 3-pointers. And it wasn't like he did not have a hand in his face when he shot the ball. Coach Franz Pumaren put on different defenders on Belencion to try stop him but to no avail. I believe he's still in his 2nd year so look for more from him in the next couple of years. Kevin Alas carried the Knights in the 1st half as he scored all of his 12 points in the 1st half. This kid just has a lot of dirty tricks. He was caught a couple of times and he even fouled-out when the refs saw him intentionally trip Yutien Andrada. He's fun to watch but the refs need to watch out for him. He will the main man for Knights next year and it seems like he's ready to fill in the shoes left by RJ Jazul. Joshua Webb scored 15 points in the 1st half but he only managed to score 3 points the rest of the way. He did show some flashes of brilliant passing. He will need that next year as he will now be the main man of the Archers. Bringas looks more comfortable in the system. His soft touch inside will make him one of the primary options of DLSU next year. Maybe he can be the Nico Salva of DLSU but his consistency is still a big issue. Simon Atkins was back in action after missing most of the last UAAP season. He did a great job in throwing out outlet passes but unfortunately, his teammates were not able to convert his passes to points. He still needs to work on his shooting but his mere presence on the court definitely helped the Archers. PJ Barua was a non-factor as he finished the game with only 2 points and 1-10 shooting. Joel Tolentino was still quick as a cat and did a great job pushing the tempo but like Atkins, he failed to manufacture easy shots for his teammates. The Archers played w/o James Managahas and Bader Malabes. The Archers sorely need a perimeter who can create a shot for himself and his teammates. Kevin Alas was supposed to be that guy but he choose to play for his father in Letran. Kiefer Ravena surely fits the bill but I believe it's still a long shot that he will choose DLSU over ADMU. The Archers will also need to work on their outside shooting. Watching these Archers, I realized how lucky the Eagles to have a guy like Jai Reyes.
  • In the other game last Wednesday, the ADMU Eagles advanced to the Elite 8 as they disposed the ISAA champions, Lyceum Pirates. It wasn't a blowout from the get go as the Eagles needed some time to heat up. The Eagles started the rampage in the 2nd quarter and continued it up to the 3rd quarter. They led as much as 27 but the Pirates capitalized on the Eagles' complacency as they came as close as 8 in the last quarter. Nico Salva led the way for the Loyola-based squad as he finished the game with 17 points including 10 in the 3rd quarter. Jai Reyes played with poise as usual with his clutch baskets and leadership. They will surely miss his presence next year as Eman Monfort has yet to develop the presence on the court that Jai was able to give Coach Norman Black. Current RP Patriot Nonoy Baclao and Smart-Gilas member Ryan Buenafe played but Finals MVP Rabeh Al-Hussaini did not. ISAA MVP Jospeh Abaya looked very impressive as he led the Pirates with 17 points. His fade-away jumper from top of the key is very deadly and reliable.
  • There have no upsets so far in the 2009 edition of the PCCL. All the higher ranked teams have won their assignments. The Letran win over DLSU might be branded as an upset considering the Knights did not have their top 2 players but the Knights were still given a higher seeding in the tournament for the their Final 4 finish in their tournament compared to the Archers who did not reach the Final 4 in their mother league.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Let the PCCL Games Begin...

  • The FEU Tamaraws started out on a good note as they defeated the AU Chiefs, 79-69 in the first game of the 2009 edition of the PCCL. It was a game of runs as FEU couldn't take the Chiefs totally out of the game. The Tams led as much as 14 in the 1st half but the Chiefs came as close as 1 in the 3rd quarter. In the end, AU just did not have enough weapons against a very talented Tams team. The AU Chiefs just could not manufacture any points in the half court and were dependent on their transition play. I did not see any set plays at all. The Chiefs were relegated on giving the ball to Gio Ciriacruz and hoping that he could muster enough points to get a W. On the defensive end, the Chiefs settled for different variations of the zone defense. The zone defense was effective at times as it prevented the Tamaraws from attacking the basket but it wasn't able to stop the outside shooting of the Tams. Coach Glen Capacio's boys moved that ball with so much patience and it resulted to good quality shots. Paul Sanga and RR Garcia knocked down 2 3-pointers a piece in the second half when the Chiefs were employing the zone defense. Both JR Cawaling and Aldrech Ramos played in the game despite their commitment to Smart-Gilas. Ramos was his normal self getting rebounds and scoring on inside incursions. JR Cawaling still looked passive. He was passed good looks and it resulted to a couple of TOs. I know he's trying to be a leader by setting his teammates but FEU needs him take over the reigns of Mark Barroca and he needs to be a little bit more aggressive. RR Garcia surely is not suffering from the absence of Barroca as he scored 17 points and blocked 3 shots.
  • In the second game dubbed as a catfight, the San Beda Red Lions proved to be too much for the SSC-R de Cavite Baycats as they blew the Baycats out of the gym 91-50. The Baycats were known to be a run-and-gun team but so are the Lions. The Lions definitely took the Baycats to school on how to run fastbreaks as they got multiple opportunities for wide open lay-ups in the open court. The Baycats were trying their luck from the outside all game long but only couple of their attempts connected. The Lions also imposed their authority inside as they used their height advantage to get easy and multiple looks inside the paint. Bam-Bam Gamalinda finished with 18 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists. He still missed a couple of open jumpers but I'm pretty sure this was how Coach Frankie Lim envisioned him to play back in the NCAA. He was just barely a factor in last couple of games in the eliminations up to the NCAA Finals. But hey, he still has a chance to prove his worth in the PCCL. The Lions also played minus Jay-R Taganas, Dave Marcelo, Chico Tirona and Borgie Hermida but they did not need them in this game.
  • Both SBC and FEU will now advance to the Elite 8. SBC will face the winner in the UV-Mapua game while FEU will await the winner of the UE-UC game.
  • The next games will be on Wednesday. DLSU Green Archers will face off with CSJL Knights in a very exciting match at 2PM while the ADMU Blue Eagles square off with the Lyceum Pirates. The DLSU-CSJL game will most likely be a treat to watch but I can't say the same for the ADMU-Lyceum game. What is up with the PCCL management scheduling the better games at 2PM? Really ADMU-Lyceum and SBC- SSC-R de Cavite at 4PM? And DLSU-CSJL at 2PM? WTH.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Nate Robinson, shoots it at the wrong rim

With just 0.5 seconds left on the clock during the 1st quarter, Nate
Robinson for some strange reason shoots it at the wrong basket
which enraged his coach Mike d' Antoni.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Ron Artest throws away Ariza's Shoe after loosing it



Trevor Ariza accidentally lost his shoe during a play when Ron-Ron was
there and threw it away. Defensive tactic or unsportsmanlike behavior or
simply hilarious? You'll be the judge. Well I he'd not apologize in the
same manner as to what he did to Paul Pierce which was quite hilarious.


Monday, November 16, 2009

S-Jax Finally Traded

Looks like Stephen Jackson will finally be dealt to another team but he won't be on a team on his wishlist as he will be headed to a lottery bound Charlotte Bobcats. The Warriors will send their former captain along with Acie Law for Vladimir Radmanovic and Raja Bell. The move does give the Bobcats a scorer that they have sorely needed since the start of the season but dealing for Jackson can not solve their scoring problems completely. They should have gone the route commonly taken by most rebuilding teams. They should have been more patient with developing their younger players in DJ Augustin and Gerald Wallace, cleared cap space and improve through high 1st round picks. The Bobcats might earn a couple more wins and they might even contend for a playoff spot this season but this move doesn't put them in a better position for the future at all. Raymond Felton will be an unrestricted free agent next season and they won't have any cap space at all until after the 2010-11 season. The move might also mean that the Bobcats will only receive a mid 1st round pick in next year's draft. As blaze said, this move doesn't do anything for the Bobcats other than getting more points on the board and around 5 more wins. S-Jax's a fantastic complementary player on a contender but is a mediocre go-to-guy on a playoff spot contender in th East. I'm not sure if Jackson will be willing to play for 'Cats. Another trade? Highly unlikely but I hope so. For the Warriors, this move is a little shocking but not unbelievable. There have some rumors that Bobcats might be interested in Jackson in the past. Don Nelson has said they will do his best to send Jackson to a team on his wishlist(any Texas team, NY, Cleveland) but maybe no one was willing to pay the next 4 years on Jackson's contract. The move will create more flexibility for the Warriors as Bell's contract expires this season and Radmanovic's expires next season. Both are also quality shooters and are compatible with Nelson's system.

Ball Points (11-16-2009)

  • As expected, the DLSU Green Archers have booked the final ticket to the PCCL Sweet 16. ADMU, UE, FEU, UST, SSC-R, SBC, JRU, CSJL have also booked seats in the Sweet 16 for advancing to the Final 4 in their respective leagues. The UV Green Lancers have also qualified for winning the latest edition of CESAFI. Contrary to what I predicted, it was the SSC-R Cavite Baycats who advanced by beating out the Adamson Univeristy in their zonal qualifier for having a better quotient. Other teams that have adavnced through their zonal qualifiers are University of Cebu, Mapua, Arellano U, University of Manila and University of San Carlos. The league is set to start on November 23 and will be broadcasted at Studio 23. My early bet is the FEU Tamaraws. That is if the Gilas boys, JR Cawaling and Aldrech Ramos, will play in the tournament. If not, look for DLSU Green Archers and SSC-R Golden Stags to make some noise. Still, we can not count out teams like ADMU, UC or UV. ADMU still has one of the better coaches in the collegiate ranks in Norman Black. They might not use veterans Nonoy Baclao, Rabeh Al-Hussaini and Jai Reyes but they are still a very talented team.
  • The RP Patriots have notched their 4th win in the ABL as they defeated the KL Dragons in the Dragons' home court 73-63. This is the Patriots' 3rd straight win since Nonoy Baclao and Elmer Espiritu have been included in the lineup. Looks like the defense of the former UAAP stars is just what the doctor ordered for the Patriots.
  • There are some rumblings that Emeka Okafor might be on the move once again. There isn't anything imminent and there have been only discussions. If the deal does push through, that would mean that NO Hornets might be entering into rebuilding mode. They recently fired Byron Scott due to the horrendous 3-8 start and replaced him with GM Jeff Brower. I don't like this move at all. Scott is a good a coach and I believe he's being used as a scapegoat. Whenever you're paying $14M to a shooter who is currently shooting 38% from the field, you can't expect to win a lot of games. I actually like the Okafor-for-Chandler swap as it gives them another guy who can create shots for himself but its has not translated into more wins. They're already 3rd to the last in the Western Conference with Chris Paul and now that he will be out for 3-4 weeks. That might result to their burial in the Western Conference. CP3 might not come back in time to save their season and it might prompt management to start rebuilding. If they do decide to rebuild, I'm pretty sure CP3 will not want any part of it. Right now, I think they just have to be patient. Find a coach who can work with their star PG and get a guy who can create off the dribble and shoot. The Golden State Warriors have stars who want out in Monta Ellis and Stephen Jackson and the Hornets might want to start calling up Don Nelson about those guys. It will hard for them to upgrade their current roster though as they hardly have any assets. They're stuck with the 2 years and $29M on Peja's contract. The most sizeable expiring contract they have is Hilton Armstrong's $2.8M deal. The only young player that other teams might have any interest is Julian Wright and he has not been productive at all. The Hornets were considered contenders in 2007 but they fell short to the SA Spurs. Last year, there were a lot of expectations for the team but they did not even get past the 1st round with only the 7th seed in the Western Conference to show. 2007 was a fluke? Maybe. But Peja and Tyson Chandler were still productive in 2007. Maybe you can partly attribute their success in 2007 to the fact that not a single team was ready for them. Hurricane Katrina might have also motivated them to play extra hard. Fluke? Sort of. But I still believe they can still get out of their current situation but they they will have to be extra creative now.
  • What about the LA Lakers losing 2 straight after the Boston Celtics lost 2 straight. The Rockets beat the Lakers in their home court today behind Aaron Brooks 33 points and Kobe Bryant's 5-20 shooting. Kobe is shooting 34% shooting in his last 2 games and the woeful shooting could be blamed to his groin injury. He has said that he will be resting his groin but don't expect him to sit out games. Aaron's domination justifies the fact that the Lakers can not guard guard quick point guards. Jordan Farmer will have to show up sooner rather later if the Lakers still intend to defend their championship. I guess the possibility of a 70-win team is dwindling down. Maybe we should stop dreaming the feat accomplished by Chicago Bulls in 1995-96 will be done again.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Sick Dunk by Ty Lawson



This is definitely the exclamation point of beating the LA Lakers received from the Denver Nuggets as the commentators said. This guy was one of most productive players in the USA collegiate basketball as he led his team, the UNC Tar Heels, to a NCAA championship. Despite his production, he was only the 18th pick because most teams did not want any part of him because of his size or the lack of it. That didn't stop the Denver Nuggets from getting this guy. The Nuggets have been high on this kid since last year. There were a lot of rumors that the Nuggets gave him a promise they would use their 2008 2oth overall pick to draft him but Ty Lawson eventually decided to back to school and the Nuggets traded their pick when they found out that Lawson was no longer available. This year, the Nuggets traded for the T-Wolves' 18th overall pick to draft Lawson.

So far he has been one of the most productive players as he is averaging 10.3 ppg and 3.2 apg. His aggressiveness, speed and athletism have helped him to be one of the better players in his class. He's also in a very good situation playing behind a very big PG in Chauncey Billups and he's with a team that believes in him. Do I think he can eventually replace Chauncey and be the PG of the future of the Nuggets? Not yet. But this kid has game and he can produce in the grandest stage of basketball if given the chance.

RoS Finally Grabs 1st Win

The RoS Elasto Painters earned their 1st win in this conference in grand fashion as they defeated the previously unbeaten Alaska Aces. The Painters were off to a good start as they led as much as 14 in the 1st half before the Aces mounted a comeback in the 3rd quarter. Things didn’t look good for the Painters as they not only allowed the Aces to comeback in the game but also allowed them to establish an 11 point lead in the 3rd quarter. The Painters were coughing up TOs and missing their foul shots. It took more than 11 minutes for a Elasto Painter other than Ryan AraƱa to score in the 3rd quarter. I didn’t expect but RoS to recover after the meltdown in the 3rd but they did. The bench of the Aces was not able to maintain the lead and allowed the Painters to complete a fantastic play after another. In the end, the Painters just made plays when the Aces couldn’t.

Don Dulay led the way for RoS as he finished with 20 points in the game. The Aces could not stop this guy and it proved costly for them as he almost single-handedly carried the Painters to a W. LA Tenorio was held scoreless in the 2nd half. He was barely a factor in the 2nd half after exploding for 13 points in the 2nd half. Willie Miller was also not able to take over late in the game. The Aces went away from him most of the time in the 2nd half and that might have affected his rhythm. I did not see any aggressiveness from him at all in the 2nd half.

RoS desperately needs a go-to-guy in the perimeter to win. Don Dulay was that guy for them in this game but we can’t expect him to be this hot in every game. It was Sol Mercado last year but he has been off to a terrible start averaging 7.5 ppg and shooting a 29.6% from the field. I don’t think Gabe Norwood can be that guy for them. He might have the tools to be one of the best players in the PBA but I don’t think we will ever see a Norwood as aggressive as Mark Caguioa. It also doesn’t help them every damn big man they have is almost a clone of Yancy De Ocampo. I was never a fan of the Mark Telan acquisition and having a lot of players who play alike. They’ve already got a lot of players like him in Mike Hrabak and Jay-R Reyes. Norwood could surely use an athletic guy big man that he can dump the ball to.

Another loss for Smart-Gilas

Lo and behold, Smart-Gilas actually lost their game against the SLR Realtors 96-95. This was one of the few times I did not finish a game because one team was well ahead of the other. I just could not imagine how SLR could manage to win the game with how SG was shooting the lights out. SG was able to build a double digit lead in the 2nd quarter and they continued to hold onto that lead until early in the 4th quarter. I don't just don't know why SLR was able to mount a comeback. Mark Barroca had a chance to save the day for Gilas but he missed the shot.

As expected, SLR pushed the Gilas boys around and got what they wanted. The Realtors were able to cut to the basket numerous times in the 1st quarter but it did not result to conversions. Marlou Aquino took the big men of Gilas to school as taught them how to post up with the big boys. Dennis Daa dominated as he scored 11 points in the 3rd quarter and it just proves that SG just can not defend players who are much bigger than them.

I think the Realtors took the game seriously but they were not exerting a lot of effort and it allowed SG to jump to a big lead. Maybe it’s just natural for the SLR players not to play as hard knowing that it was just an exhibition game. Coach Boyet Fernandez did some experimenting in his lineups as he did not use Dennis Daa at all in the 1st half but he started him in the 2nd half along with Jason Misolas. He also fielded little-used Mark Benitez in the 1st half.

In terms of officiating, the Realtors were running their mouths at the refs for most of the game. I think they had good reason to as most of the calls favored the young boys of SG. Maybe the Realtors just weren’t used to the FIBA rules. I will have to agree with the commentators that applying FIBA rules only when playing against SG is a big sacrifice for the PBA teams.

The Gilas offense still looks good. There were a lot of extra passes and it resulted to good quality shots. I saw a lot more inside incursions by the national developmental team in this game. It’s a very encouraging sign as Gilas will not be able to win in FIBA-Asia if they stay contended with jacking up 3s but much of the offensive sets of Coach Rajko Toroman still result to jump shots. They do get into trouble when their offensive sets fail to yield a quality shot for them. They resort to one-on-one basketball when it does happen and we all know that none of the current players of SG are great one-on-one players. A Stanley Pringle and/or Paul Lee could definitely help. Running should help solve this kind of a problem and SG ran well in this game. Pushing the tempo (intelligently) must be a priority for a very small team. They got a lot of offensive rebounds but they muffed a couple of easy put backs. They can’t expect the same number of rebounds when they’re going up against the best of Asia though.

Defense is still the problem for this team. Marlou looked like the old Marlou and not an old Marlou with these guys defending him. Most of the big men of SG are just standing around. I don’t know if this is by design but it’s not working.

Mac Baracael looked tentative at times but I still like him because he’s the most energetic guy in a SG jersey. Chris Tiu is proving us all wrong with his impressive play. I’d like him to be part of the final SG lineup just as long he’s not the starting 2 guard. SG might have lost this game but at least their main guy, Mark Barroca, is back. He's averaging 17.8 ppg over his last 4 games after scoring only 4 points in his 1st game. I guess he has moved on after the controversies during his stint with FEU. He will be such an important piece in the puzzle if SG does intend to qualify for the 2012 Olympics.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Ball Points (11-9-09)

  • Rico Maierhofer really looks good in a Purefoods jersey as he led his team to a 108-102 win over the TNT Tropang Texters. He finished the game with a line of 20 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks. Amazingly, those numbers are all career-highs in his young and promising career. He looks more polished than the number 1 overall pick Japeth Aguilar right now. Sigurado ako na naglalaway si Rajko Toroman para kay Rico. I believe him when he said that Gilas would have been a lot better with this guy in their lineup. He's just so versatile and athletic. Of course it helps when you're playing with a proven star like James Yap rather than playing alongside a college kid who's only basketball-related ability is to shoot coming off screens. (He can host. He's a looker. And best of all he can give you free pizza. I guess those can help Japeth get easier shots.) Rico and Marc Pingris have benefited so much playing alongside the likes of Yap and Kerby Raymundo. So much attention is given to those superstars that Rico and Marc are given multiple opportunities to roam around for offensive rebounds. PF does have the talent but one thing that caught my attention is the lack of a 3rd scorer. The other elite teams have more than 2 guys who can create offense for himself and for his teammates. SMB has Arwind Santos, Jonas Villanueva, Dondon Hontiveros, etc. (They have a LOT more.) TNT has Jimmy Alapag, Mac Cardona and Jared Dillenger. BGK has Jayjay Helterbrand, Mark Caguiao and Cyrus Baguio. PF has only James Yap and Kerby Raymundo. Peter June Simon has been that guy for them the past couple of years but he didn't see any playing time yesterday. (I'm not sure why. Maybe an injury?) They will need his scoring ability if they want to contend for a championship. Also missing in their team is a bruiser type of a big man. They had one before in Rico Villanueva but they traded him for another long, athletic but thin big guy in Rafi Reavis. They already had Marc Pingris and Rico Maierhofer. I don't really see a need for guy like Reavis. What are you going to do with so much players who play alike? How about Don Allado? Too soft. Rommel Adducul? Not as productive as before. Jondan Salvador? A tougher but less talented version of Allado. Alex Crissano would look good in a PF jersey if you ask me.
  • Some PCCL news for you. Arellano University and University of San Carlos have already booked seats in the PCCL Sweet 16 for winning in their zonal qualifiers. They will be joining members of the Final 4 of both the NCAA and UAAP in SSC-R, SBC, JRU, CSJL, ADMU, UE, FEU and UST. They will also be joined by CESAFI champions, University of Visayas Green Lancers. Both Adamson and University of Cebu have also virtually booked seats in the sweet 16 not unless Adamson lost to a lowly SSC-R Baycats team in the final game of the Cebu zonals. The DLSU Green Archers and the MAPUA Cardinals have yet to play in their respective zonals but we can all be assured that both these teams are going to be part of the sweet 16 as well. It's just sad that most teams would only use as a tune-up tournament to give some of their young guys more experience. Expect the Blue Eagles to be competitive but don't expect to contend for the title. I'd be suprised if Norman Black will use his seniors in Jai Reyes, Nonoy Baclao and Rabeh Al-Hussaini at all. It is also uncertain if players from the RP Patriots (Khasim Mirza, Val Acuna, Elmer Espiritu) and the Gilas boys will participate in the tournament. Expect young teams teams like DLSU and the hungry teams like FEU, JRU, UV and UC to make some noise in the tournament. Another interesting development will be the appearance of the Visayas behomoths and possible Smart-Gilas recruits Junmar Fajardo and Greg Slaughter. The league was established to sort of emulate March Madness in the USA. It's hard to see it that way because most teams won't take the tournament seriously. (Yeah, I'm talking to you Norman Black! C'mon! Play it like you would play the UAAP.)
  • When Hyram Bagatsing is the best prospect in your league's draft, you're in trouble. Smart-Gilas, RP Patriots and Liga Pilipinas have provided players with a lot more options other than the PBA and the PBL. The PBA will never lose out on players because the PBA is the ultimate goal of almost every Filipino basketball player. Can't say the same about the PBL. They will definitely encounter a drop in the talent level this year. They will have to depend on the talent level of the collegiate teams all over the country. Don't get me wrong, I want the PBL to stick around. I have been a big fan of the PBL ever since and I hope they can survive through this famine.

Friday, November 6, 2009

Ball Points (11-7-2009)

  • Smart-Gilas finally won a game yesterday as they defeated the Coca-Cola Tigers 98-93. This game and the remaining games of the RP developmental squad will not count anymore in the PBA squads' win-loss record so it's reasonable to think that the PBA teams might not take the games seriously anymore. I caught some portions of the game and it seemed like the Tigers were very much interested in winning the ball game. Still, I can't say that I was impressed by the performance of the Gilas team as they defeated a team that lacks both in manpower and talent. The Tigers did not have men Ken Bono and Asi Taulava in their lineup yesterday and we can't really say that the current roster of the Tigers on paper can strike fear into other PBA teams like SMB and TNT. In my opinion, the biggest concern for the Gilas team right now is individual defense. Chris Tiu has proven that he can really score in Toroman's system but his defense is something I'm not fond of. He's lucky that the Tigers do not have a proven guard that can score 20 points night in and night out. I understand why Japeth can't guard Kerby Raymundo but I can not understand why he can't guard Beau Belga or Norman Gonzales. They're just outsmarting him. It's not like those guys are uber talented. Japeth has the tools to be a great individual and team defender but he needs to have the willingness to be a good defender. I just hope coach Rajko Toroman can motivate this kid to play up to his utmost potential.
  • After weeks of speculation, the JRU Heavy Bombers have announced that the Vergel Meneses will be the their new head coach. Derrik Pumaren is also being eyed to assist him to provide the much needed coaching experience in JRU's sidelines. I'm not really sure what to expect from Vergel as he has had little coaching experience from the past. Unlike Coach Ato Aguston, he will be under a lot of pressure as he is inheriting a very talented roster consisting of reining NCAA MVP John Wilson, former Mythical Five member Marvin Hayes and foreigner big man Joe Etame.
  • The RP Patriots have inflicted the first loss of Singapore Slingers as they beat the Singapore-based squad 70-53 at The Arena, San Juan today. The Patriots played hard-nose, physical defense that has been the signature of the recent Letran squads coached by the Patriots' coach Louie Alas. The RP squad forced the Slingers to TOs and swatted shots all game long. The visiting team just could not get into any type of rhythm in the game. The nationals of Slingers were non-factors. Their imports Kyle Jeffers and Michael Leblanc were forced to carry the load on their own and it allowed the RP squad to gank up on them.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

NBA scores 10/31

Cavs 90 Bobcats 79

Watch out.. the Cavs are close to being back at full strength.. Delonte West played his first game since being arrested for gun charges. He scored 13 pts (5-7 fg), 2 rebs, 2 ast in 24 mins of action. Not bad for someone who missed 4 training camp practices and all of the preseason games. Mo Williams is staring to find his rhythm early scoring 24 pts. Lebron made short work of the Bobcats scoring only 14 pts but having 9 ast and 7 rebs. The interior was pretty much shut by Z and Shaq having 5 and 2 blocks respectively. For the Bobcats, G Wallace scored 11 pts and pulled down 9 boards. Boris Diaw had 7 pts while dishing out 9 ast.

Wizards 123 Nets 104

Agent Zero is back, and he's back better than ever. 32 pts, 7 ast in just 30 mins on the floor. Andre Blatche had an awesome game scoring 30 pts in 15-18 shots. Randy Foye is solid with 17 pts and 8 ast. Caron Butler sat out the game due to knee injury but should be back soon as it is nothing serious. Devin Harris also sat out the game with a sore right groin. Douglas-Roberts picked up the scoring load having 25 pts, 4 rebs and 3 ast. Their off season acquisitions Courtney Lee and Rafer Alston contributed to their new team having 17 and 20 pts respectively with the latter dishing out 8 dimes.

76ers 121 Knicks 115

When you are up against the Knicks your offense will have no problems. Philadelphia had 4 players scoring 20 pts or more, AI (32), Williams (27), Young (25), Speights (20). The big AI and Lou both had near triple doubles by grabbing 11 boards, 8 ast and 10 boards, 7 ast respectively. Gallinari had 30 pts, 3 rebs, 3 ast. Al Harrington exploded with 42 pts and 6 rebounds however that effort wasn't enough to put away the 76ers in overtime. Lou Williams took a page out of Lebron's book by scoring the last 17 pts of the ballgame to rally them past the Knicks.

Bucks 96 Pistons 85

Rookie Brandon Jennings is making a name for himself scoring 24 pts to lead his team past Detroit. Warrick outscored the whole Detroit bench 21-14. The Milwaukee bench showed their worth today by putting in 52 pts. Down 49-38 at the half, the Bucks used a 28-8 run to put the Pistons away. Ben Gordon chipped in 26 pts, Stuckey had 13 pts, 6 rebs and 8 ast.

Spurs 113 Kings 94

Kevin Martin had a big game scoring 29 pts and Hawes added 22 pts but that wasn't enough to put away the San Antonio Spurs. Tony Parker and the rest of the gang made the Halloween nightmare of the kings come true. Manu Ginobili never ceases to impress by capturing a bat with his bare hands. “When you can’t dunk anymore, you have to find a way to make it into the news,” Ginobili said. “So that’s what I did. I grabbed a bat. I didn’t think it was a big deal.”

Rockets 111 Trailblazers 107

No Yao, No Tracy, No Problem for the Rockets. Their prized acquisition (Trevor Ariza) from the off-season proved his worth putting in 33 pts, while the mighty Aaron Brooks gave 28 pts as the Rockets weathered Brandon Roy's 42 pts and Aldridge's 27 to pull off the win at home. The Rockets shot a magnificent 50% from 3 pt distance. Greg Oden is still developing his game contributing 6 pts, 9 rebs and swatting 3 shots.

Mavs 93 Clippers 84

Interesting enough, the Mavs were the first team the Clippers defeated last season but there won't be a de ja vu this year. Nowitzki poured in 24 pts and 9 rebs, the Matrix gave 16 pts and 11 boards, the Jet contributed 16 pts, 6 ast and 4 stls. Chris Kaman had 27 pts and 11 rebounds. Eric Gordon added 16 pts. The Mavs were determined not to hand the Clippers its first win in two consecutive years. The Clippers are still without their prized rookie Blake Griffin.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Ball Points (10-30-2009)

  • It was Freaky Friday for the PBA last night and the broadcasters were asked to wear costumes. Ateanan Mico Halili wore a DLSU jacket but could not take the color of green for a whole game as choose to take it off by halftime. Chiqui Reyes wore some sort of wizard outfit. Of course, I will not forget to mention the beautiful Lia Cruz. (Click on her name to see her in costume.) She was having difficulty picking out a costume before settling on dressing up as Mico Halili. Hey, this girl would look great in ANY type of costume. Onto some real basketball talk now. Anybody who said they believe that Josh Urbiztondo and Dennis Daa can lead the SLR Realtors in scoring in a official PBA game is lying. Josh led the team a team-high and career-high 24 points and 4 assists while Dennis Daa finished with 15 points and 4 rebounds. My biggest concern for the Realtors is their depth. Their best 5 of Gabby Espinas, Kelly Williams, Bitoy Omolon, Ryan Reyes and Joseph Yeo can compete with any team in the league but the same can't be said for their bench. Guys like Urbiztondo, Daa, Ardy Larong and Chris Pacana have to contribute on a consistent basis if the Realtors expect to contend for the All-Filipino Cup title. In the 1st game of the double-header in the PBA, the Coca-Cola Tigers were able to earn their 1st win despite trailing by double-digit in the 3rd.
  • It looks like the games against Smart-Gilas will not count in the standings after all. The PBA commissioner has already sent a letter to SBP director Noli Eala notifying him of the decision of the PBA officials. Of course, the PBA ordered the change due to the lack of playing time of Gilas import CJ Giles when they played against TNT (Smart-Gilas' sister team). Their theory is that Rajko benched Giles to help boost their sister team's standing which I don't get at all. Can you blame Toroman for benching his import because his best player's head wasn't in the game? He didn't even play a single second against BGK. As far as I can remember, BGK is not a sister team of Smart-Gilas. Hey, Toroman fielded Giles as much as possible in their against BK and his boss Manny V. Pangilinan is actually a part owner of BK. If Toroman did try to help improve TNT's record by benching Giles, why didn't he do it for MVP's other team? Noli's not happy at all as well. He's saying that this latest development is a message from the PBA that they do not want the Smart-Gilas team playing in the commercial league. I'm pretty sure that this is not a objective comment at all from Eala. He has taken every opportunity to bash the PBA in the past because of what happened in 2007. What's done is done. Eala has to move on. At least the PBA is still willing to let them play with the PBA teams. Besides, the Gilas team needs international competition and not local competition. I fear that they might get sucked in the brand of play of the PBA if they play with them extensively. PBA teams employ so much isolation plays and let their star players "gumawa ng diskarte." I'm not saying the style of play of PBA players is ugly. In fact, it's a nice treat to watch. It's just that the 2 previous RP teams have not reached a respectable finish in FIBA-Asia with this style.
  • I got treated to a very lengthy game when I watched the battle between the 2 best teams of the Northwest Divison of the NBA last year, the Denver Nuggets and the Portland Trailblazers. The game took so long because of the 90 combined free throws attempts by both teams. I don't think you can blame the refs for calling so much fouls. The stars of both teams, Carmelo Anthony and Brandon Roy, were just both very aggressive driving down the lane. They actually combined for 37 FT attempts in the game. I guess the refs thought that it was also fitting to just let FTs decide the game. With 4.6 seconds remaining and Denver holding a 1 point lead, Kenyon Martin was called for a very soft foul for holding on Greg Oden. It looked like Portland got lucky as they were rewarded a golden opportunity to take the lead. Unfortunately for them, FTs ultimately gave the Nuggets the win as Greg Oden missed his two FTs. On the other end, Melo knocked down his pair of charity shots after he was fouled as he got the rebound off Oden's miss. I never liked seeing a ball game be decided on FTs. Let the players play. Melo was very aggressive in the game and the commentators said that the Melo of this year is different from the Melo of past years. I'll have to agree to that after seeing him in action. Now, if he can only turn himself into an all-around performer. That means he needs to get better at the defensive end and he needs to be a better passer. He showed some signs of that last year but he has to do it consistently if he wants to win a ring for himself. Does his team have enough to get past the Lakers and the Spurs? I don't think so but nobody expected them to be in the Western Conference Finals last year.
  • How about the blowout win of the Mavs over the defending champions, the LA Lakers? And they did it in Kobe's house, the Staples Center. The Lakers just could not buy a basket in the 2nd half. The Mavs really looked good on both ends of the floor as they were getting open shots while they forced the Lakers into difficult, contested shots. Ron Artest looked lost in his 1st 2 games as a Laker. He's shooting 4-16 from the field so far. Not a very encouraging sign if you're a Laker fan. If these Lakers come up with anything less than a championship at the end of the year, Ron-Ron is going to be unfairly blamed for it. It's not his fault the Celtics have a healthy KG this year and some new quality recruits in Rasheed Wallace and Marquis Daniels. He also shouldn't be blamed for making other contenders like the Orlando Magic, Cleveland Cavaliers and Dallas Mavericks a lot deeper this year. I just hope that Ron Artest will find a way to incorporate himself into the Lakers' system without causing so much headache. Jeff Van Gundy also remarked (repeatedly, maybe 10 times?) how having Dirk Nowitzki play as the center while putting Marion at the power forward position will create so much headache for the opposing teams' defense. I agree with him on that but if Dirk does play the 5, that would mean the either Dirk or Shawn Marion will have to defend the likes of Tim Duncan, David West, Pau Gasol, Dwight Howard, Kevin Garnett, etc. That doesn't really quite equate to a successful playoff run in my book.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Some Early Thougths on the Young NBA Season

  • Other than his combustibility, another disadvantage for the Lakers of having Ron Artest instead of Trevor Ariza is the spacing. With Trevor last year, the Lakers had at least 2 and at most 3 dependable 3-point shooters on the hard court. It's not just because Trevor is better shooter. Adding Ron-Ron to the mix also means that the Lakers will now have 3 guys who need to post up to be effective on the floor. Let's take the current starting five of the Lakers. Bynum, Odom, Artest, Kobe, Fisher. Now, Phil Jackson can not afford to make Ron a spot shooter 100% of the time he's on the floor. He has to place Ron on the block occasionally. Now, if Ron is on the block, Odom and Bynum will be forced to hang out around and become spot up shooters and they will left with only 2 guys outside the arc.(Kobe and Fisher). Odom is an able shooter but he is not a natural shooter. Bynum? You be the judge. Yes, those 2 guys can cut more to solve the issue a little bit but they can't cut endlessly. If Pau Gasol returns, he'll replace Bynum and the Lakers will have another perimeter shooter. Pau's still not a Ray Allen though. There's a big difference in having a midrange shooter than a 3-point shooter. Avoiding to post up Ron is not the solution. Ron can hit outside shots but I don't think he can hit at a consistent rate. Plus, it would be a waste if you made Ron Artest play like James Posey.
  • A lot of people are making a fuss about the 0-2 start of the Cleveland Cavaliers and I can see where they're coming from. Their new acquisitions were suppose to make life easier for the King but they haven't so far. Anthony Parker is averaging 11ppg but on 33% FG shooting. Jamario Moon is averaging 5.5 ppg and 37.5% FG shooting. Not really nice shooting. Shaq's averaging 11ppg and 8.5rpg but I feel he hasn't been much of an impact so far. Defense is also not quite there. Their opponents averaged 98ppg and 44.9% FG shooting in the their 1st 2 games. The most important thing (guy) they're lacking is Delonte West. Other than Lebron, I believe he's the most consistent player of the Cavs last year on both ends of the floor. Hey, even Paul Pierce thinks they really miss him.
  • What about the rookie class of this season? Dejuan Blair, 14 points and 11 rebounds. I've always been a big fan of undersized, hardworking, 2nd round draft pick power forwards. Paul Millsap? Carl Landry? They have always found a way to produce for their teams despite their size. I don't think the Spurs did a great job in drafting this guy. They just got lucky that most of the teams were scared of his past ACL injury. Chase Budinger, 11 points and 3-6 from beyond the arc. Who needs Brent Barry if you can have a younger version of him? (and I'm hoping he can be more) Ty Lawson, 17 points and 6 assists. I've been fan of this guy since I saw him play for the UNC Tar Heels. He might be small but this can run with anyone in the NBA and he's fearless.
  • I might have made a mistake in my fantasy league when I picked D-Wade over CP3. My rational for the move was that CP3 has more help now that he has a Emaka Okafor. I was wrong. The NO Hornets still look like a one-man team even with the Chandler-Okafor swap. As JVG said, the Hornets need a wingman who can create his own shot. S-Jack is a possibility but is GS willing to part with him for the Hornets' junk? And is he enough to take NO to the next level? Micheal Redd is an intriguing option but there are still no signs the the Bucks are going to try to move him.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Cinderella is Actually Good in Using the Broom

It looked the SBC Red Lions were well on their way to force a Game 3 in the NCAA finals as they led the Golden Stags by 10 at halftime. The Lions were playing terrific defense forcing the Stags to take ill-advised shots. They were running and converting on fastbreak plays and the Stags fell into their trap and ran with them. Jimbo was held to 1 point without any field goals in the 1st half and Mythical 5 member Calvin Abueva was saddled with 3 fouls and had only 1 point and 0 rebounds on his stat line in the 1st half. Garvo Lanete scored a total of 11 points (identical to his production in the 1st half of Game 1) on a couple of transition plays and outside shots. Jay-R Taganas was back occupying space and his heft helped Beda neutralize Abueva. The Stags' plays looked predictable. Ato Agustin was mad with his players for playing one-on-one too much. It looked like a typical best of 3 finals series wherein the Game 1 loser(Lions) was able to adjust and put on a beat down on the Game 1 winner(Stags).

The Stags were expected to let the Lions eat them alive in the 2nd half but they weren't ready to give up just yet. Gilbert Bulawan was the lone bright spot in the 1st half for the Stags and he continued to carry the load early in the 3rd quarter. Ronald Pascual came in the game and hit a couple of jumpers that helped push Baste back in the game. Suddenly, SSC-R was executing better and the SBC was not able to run. The Lions were coughing up a lot of TOs and it allowed the Stags to grab the lead 54-50 but it was the Stags' TOs that gave the Bedans the lead back 56-54 at the end of the 3rd.

Jimbo Aquino then returned to his old form and an unleashed 5-0 run to start the 4th. Jimbo then knocked down a dagger 3-pointer to give the Stags a 66-58 lead right after a small altercation with Bambam Gamalinda. Calvin Abueva returned with 6+ minutes to go but he was no longer needed as the Stags were able to establish a double-digit lead already. Even injuries to Aquino and Bulawan were not able to give the Lions a chance to come back in the game. The Lions did not hit a single FG and were able to manage to score only 5 points in the 4th. It also did not help their cause that Hermida was taken out of the game in the 4th (He bled right above his eye when he was inadvertently hit by Pamboy Raymundo's shoulder). The Lions were not able to recover from the run unleashed by Jimbo and the rest of the Stags. They just looked lost and helpless as they saw the Stags celebrating their eventual win, 76-61.

None of the Lions stepped up to save the day for Frankie Lim. Garvo Lanete tried his best but it's clear that he still can't take over the shoes left by the likes of Pong Escobal, Yousif Aljamal and Ogie Menor. JR Tecscon had his moments as he scored 5 of his 10 points in the 3rd but couldn't do much more to help the team. Sudan only made his 1st FG with only less than minute left in the 3rd. His physical gifts should have allowed him to control the paint especially with Calvin Abueva sitting on the bench with foul trouble. In his defense, Frankie did go away from Sudan (just like how I suggested) in his offensive sets and concentrated more on his other guys but his other guys did not come to play a championship game. Graduating players Bambam Gamalinda, Jay-R Taganas, Chico Tirona combined for only 4 points. Their other rookie sensation, Rome Dela Rosa, scored only 2 points and still could not buy a basket from the outside. It was evident that SBC was going to lose if SSC-R was able to find a way to slow down the tempo. Most of Lions' players are very effective in the open court but can not find a way to score in half court sets.

I'm going to to join the Ronald Pascual bandwagon. The guy can just jump. He hit a couple of crucial jumpers in the 3rd that proved to be crucial in their comeback run. His leaping ability made it difficult for the Lions to contest his shots. The guy can also finish on a break and can rebound. The only knock on him is his age. I'm not sure if he should really be called a rookie. It was Finals MVP, Jimbo Aquino who carried this team in the 2nd half but credit should also be given to Bulawan. The guy carried this team when Jimbo and Calvin were nowhere to be found. What about Del Rio taking a page from Eric Salamat's book and giving the Beda crowd a couple of salutes? (Like he did something to contribute for their Game 2 win. Haha) Jimbo truly deserves this MVP award. Jimbo's 3 pointers in the 2nd half were not good shots but the important thing is he made them. Great players just show up in big games. He wasn't able to win this year's season MVP but I'm sure John Wilson is willing to trade trophies. Pamboy Raymundo was also a key ingredient of this championship run by the Stags. He's not going to score a lot of points but he has done such a good job in setting up his teammates for easy shots. A lot of credit should also go to the Atom Bomb, Coach Ato Agustin for not only for coaching the team but also for assembling it. He sure did found a couple gems in the Pinatubo twins (Pascual and Abeuva), Eric Gatchalian and Ian Sangalang.

And as they say Bravo Baste!

(I got the title from Butch Maniego. He compared the Stags to Cinderella for their Cinderella story this season and he pointed out the Cinderella was known to be good in using the broom. In this case for the Stags, they did a pretty good job sweeping the heavily-favored SBC Red Lions.)

Friday, October 23, 2009

Ball Points (10-26-2009)

  • The RP Patriots have improved to 2-1 as they defeated the Thailand Tigers 74-61 with the help of some of its new recruits. Former Finals MVP Nonoy Baclao, Defensive Player of the Year Elmer Espiritu and UE hotshot Val AcuƱa were all recently signed up by the Patriots to strengthen their lineup. According to the article, it was Elmer's and Nonoy' defense that ultimately gave RP the win. UST's Khasim Mirza and Val AcuƱa combined for only 2 points in the game and are still uncomfortable with the team's system. As they say, your offense will be off at times but you can always count on your defense to be there for you whatever happens. The PBA have lost on a couple of young stars because of the Gilas program and if the Patriots do find a way to sign up more collegiate stars long term, it will only make matters worst for the PBA. Still, I doubt that it will affect the popularity of the PBA as they have already established stars like Mac Cardona, Willie Miller and James Yap.
  • So far it has been the finalists of last year's All-Filipino Cup, TNT and Alaska, that have been most impressive. (Both are also undefeated) Let me talk about my Aces a little bit here. The great thing about the Aces so far is that it hasn't been the Miller show. Other guys are contributing. Borboran(Remember him? The star of the All-choker UE team in 2007?), Fonacier, Hugnatan and Tenorio have all chipped in and I just hope that they all won't choke come crunch time. (Tenorio actually leads the team in scoring with 16.25ppg while Willie Miller is averaging 16ppg)
  • It's the battle of behemoths in the CESAFI Finals as Junmar Fajardo's UC Webmaster is squaring off against the Greg Slaughter's UV Green Lancers. So far, UV is leading 1-0 in the best of 5 series and Game 2 is scheduled today but I'm terribly sorry as I do not have any updates on the game.
  • Review of old news. It was earlier announced that the John Wilson was this year's NCAA MVP. Why the hell did the UAAP and NCAA base the MVP award solely on stats? All of a sudden the game is only about stats? C'mon we're better than that. I don't also get why the NCAA had to prevent Aquino from receiving the award just because he was suspended. Fine, if Jimbo can't get it, give it to Sudan. My favorite player in the NCAA is John Wilson but he didn't show up when his team needed him the most. That's not a MVP to me. He's the MVP because he scored a 37 points against CSB? Damn.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

No More Four-ward?

SCC-R wrote the latest chapter of their Cinderella story as they defeated the heavily-favored SBC Red Lions 72-68 (double overtime) in Game 1 of the NCAA finals. It was a very exhausting game and even the fans were getting tired of cheering. (Just ask commentator Alan Gregorio about the length of the game. I think he failed to go to the bathroom in halftime. Haha.) The Stags held a 8 point lead in the latter stages of the 4th and it looked like they were on there way to a Game 1 victory. But a strong surge by the Lions in the 4th allowed them to force the 1st overtime. The Lions' rally was anchored by rookie Rome Dela Rosa who knocked down two crucial FTs and hit a long 2 which tied the game. In the 1st overtime, it was Borgie Hermida who tied the game with a strong drive to the paint. In the second overtime, the Stags were able to establish a 5 point lead courtesy of a 3 point play by Abueva and 2 FTs by Jimbo. Beda wasn't ready to give up yet as they were able to diminish the lead once again behind 4 clutch FTs by Superman, Sudan Daniels. Both teams failed to score a FG after that point and it was Calvin Abueva's 2 FTs that ultimately sealed the deal for the Stags.

The Lions had a hard time scoring in the half court. It was only when they were able to run that they were establish some sort of offensive rhythm. Guys like Dela Rosa, Gamalinda, Tecson and Lanete were not able to knock down their outside shots and it paved the way for the Stags to clamp down in the middle. It was only in the 1st overtime that Bambam was able to hit from the outside as he knocked down 2 3-pointers. Rome missed a lot of open perimeter jump shots which allowed the Stags to gank up on Sudan. (Rome did make a big perimeter jump shot to force overtime.) Kudos to the Stags for not bowing down after letting San Beda come back numerous times in the game. Their body language did not look good at the end of regulation but they were still able to manage to win the game. One thing that worries me is that the Stags struggled to make any FGs in the last 12 minutes of the game (last 2 minutes of regulation, 10 minutes in the 2 overtimes). I can only recall 1 FG made by the Stags in that time span and that's the 3 point play by Abueva over Marcelo and Gamalinda in the 2nd overtime. Most of the points of the Stags late in the game come from FTs from Ian Sangalang and Jimbo. On the other hand, SBC was able to get FGs from Bambam Gamalinda and Borgie Hermida late in the game. Fouls were also a big concern for Coach Frankie Lim as Dela Rosa, Bambam and Jake Pascual all fouled in the game. The depth that has made SBC a title contender for years was non-existent in the 2nd overtime. Lim was forced to use guys like Tirona and Tecson late in the game as his main guys were fouled out already. Borgie's injury did not help as well. Borgie injured his ankle as he stepped on Maconocido's foot. (Judging from the replay, I think there was intent from him to injure Borgie but he wasn't called for a foul for his action.) Borgie did come back in the game and helped keep San Beda with his intensity. However, he was taken out of the game in favor of a cold-from-the-bench Chico Tirona when SBC was still very much in the game and with only less than a minute remaining. Playing Tirona in the dying seconds of the game did not make sense so Borgie might have been experiencing a great deal of pain at that point.

Jimbo scored 24 points in the game but he was unable to manufacture FGs for his team late in the game. He did most of his damage early in the regulation. He did fish a lot of fouls in the 2 sessions of overtime while he was setting up in the post. The main man for the Stags was Calvin Abueva who finished with 11 points, 23 rebounds and 5 blocks. This guy was able to create opportunities for his teammates when he was able to dive down open lanes. Other than Jimbo, he might be the Stags' best isolation player because his speed, strength and leaping ability. Pamboy Raymundo (who for some reason is called by the Arena Barker in a special manner) did a great job setting up his teammates but he was clearly fatigued as an injured Borgie Hermida was able to blow by him multiple times late in the game. Young Stags PG Gatchalian was like a lost kid when he entered the game. Fortunately for Coach Ato Agustin, he did not commit any crucial TOs.

Sudan Daniels had a hard time getting the ball down low and he still struggled to score when he did get the ball against Gilbert Bulawan and Ian Sangalang. I think coach Frankie has to go away a little from Sudan and set up his perimeter gunners. Sudan isn't a reliable low-post option yet. Making Sudan roam inside and let him wait crash the offensive boards and wait for drop passes might yield better results in the half court for the Lions. They just waste to much time setting up Sudan and it's not like Sudan gives Beda sure 2 points when he's posts up.

Don't count out the Bedans yet. They've beaten the Stags two in a row in the past and I think they can do it again. The Lions just to need to play defense. Their defense fuels their running game and their running game is key to their offense. With offense and defense clicking, the Lions will have a huge chance to win the series. Outside shooting will also be as important for them. Lanete and the other guys have to wake up. For the Stags, they just need to execute their plays, be patient and run back to play D.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Ball Points (10-19-2009)

  • I guess there will be a surprise team in the NCAA Finals just like the in the UAAP. Everyone expected the JRU Heavy Bombers to be one of this year's finalists in the NCAA. Everyone, except Ato Agustin and his boys as they have booked the 2nd and final ticket to the NCAA Finals after defeating my dear John Wilson and the rest of the Bombers, 79-64. A great start by the Stags in the 1st quarter was enough to put the Bombers away for good as they led 29-8 after the 1st. The Bombers started out good as they got 4 early points from John Lopez off open looks as a result of the attention given to his other teammates like Wilson but it was all downhill after that. The Bombers relied too much on one-on-one action while the Stags were taking easy shots off transition offense and ball movement. The 2nd quarter saw the Bombers play with a lot more energy and they were able to make some headway courtesy of their zone defense and full court press. Still, these weren't enough as the emergence of the other guys like Pascual and Gatchalian was enough for the Stags to keep a double digit lead at the half. In the 3rd quarter, the Bombers started out w/o their MVP, Wilson, but was able to crawl back and came as close as 8 to the Stags midway in the 3rd. It was a classic comeback wherein JRU just played with a lot more energy while SSC-R played too relaxed. Abueva helped the Stags build a huge lead in the half but he was also responsible for the Bombers' comeback as he was called for an unsportsmanlike foul (2FTS and ball possesion is given to the opposing team). He did make up for it as it was his dominance in the paint (scoring, rebounding, defense and everything else) that gave the Stags a 20-point lead after the 3rd. No one can stop this guy in the paint. No one. Not even Sudan Daniels. He just needs to stay in the game and remain composed. The Bombers still tried to comeback in the 4th but Ato's boys always had an answer for them. I expected the Stags to play as good as they played today but I did not expect the Mandaluyong-based squad to play this bad. The Bombers were 0-18 from beyond the arc before Agas hit a banked 3-point shot at 1:47 mark of the 4th. This team depends so much on outside shooting and it's hard to imagine them winning a game if they can only hit a single 3 pointer. The Stags were able to get easy shots when they running and it was when they slowed down that they had difficulty scoring. JRU decided to slow down and dump the ball to Sena at the post and it did not work at all. All the points Sena scored were all from midrange jumpers. Coach Ariel has a plethora of talented perimeter players and setting up more in the half court meant that his perimeter gunners had to bleed for their points (Si Wilson hindi dugo tumutulo eh, sipon! Yup, Wilson wasn't 100% as he has a flu but that isn't a valid excuse. He didn't show up today and as a result JRU doesn't need to show up in the NCAA anymore this year.). JRU should have played a faster tempo to allow players like Njei, Wilson and Hayes to get easier looks. If there are no numbers? Dump the ball to Sena but don't dump the ball to Sena with 23 seconds on your shot clock. Can I ask for Coach Ariel V's head? This Stags team is a one-man team but their man isn't Jimbo but Ato. He has done such a brilliant job coaching this team and he'll have more firepower in the Finals with guys like Pascual now ready to step up.
  • The RP Patriots have lost in their second game in the ABL to the Sinagpore Slingers 74-69. We can't really expect RP to dominant the Slingers as they are a very competitive team. I don't have much details about this game as I wasn't able to watch it.
  • Wow, as first reported on patayangbutiki.com, RP Patriots' import Brandon Powell may be a Filipino. I would love to see this guy in a PBA jersey or better yet in a Smart-Gilas jersey.
  • Arboleda will be suspended for the rest of the 2009-10 season. Only 1 year? Not enough. Even for a kind-hearted and merciful person like me. :D

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Ball Points (10-17-2009)

  • It was my first time to watch a PBA game live and I was treated to a boxing match. Wynne Arboleda was ejected for attacking a fan who was throwing P bombs at him. BK has already apologized to the fan in their official statement (Thank FQ and Fmango for this one) but I haven't read anything about any sanctions the PBA will hand to Wynne. This topic has been getting so much attention so I won't dwell on this too much anymore.
  • Because of the Arboleda incident, not much attention was given to the Gilas' loss in their 1st official game in the PBA. I'll have to admit that I am very disappointed with Gilas. They already had a 13 point lead and they still lost. The Gilas program is still very young and has a long way to go. If you think about it, these players from Gilas are just a bunch of untested rookie role players in the PBA. JVee wouldn't score 28 points if he was drafted by a PBA team. Rico, Ogie and Marcy who were all supposed to be part of the Gilas team aren't the superstars of their teams (yet). They just come in, provide energy and play quality minutes. This is not an excuse for them to let the rough (and dirty) play eat them alive though. This kids have to grow up because we need men to play against the Haddadis and the El Khatibs.
  • Hey! Let's not all forget the NCAA Final 4! As expected, SBC has advanced to the Finals for the 4 straight year as they defeated an undermanned Knights 82-76. It wasn't an easy win as expected though. The Knights' tough defense was enough to keep them in the game despite not having their uber athletic SF, Rey Guevarra. It would have been a treat if Rey was on the hard court. In the other F4 match-up, the Bombers were able to force a do-or-die a game on Monday with a 72-65 win over the Stags. This is the Stags' 3rd consecutive loss and their 4th loss in their last 5 games so momentum will definitely be on the Bomber's side but Coach Ato will be given a chance to adjust. Plus, he will have an intact lineup on Monday as Jimbo Aquino will be reinstated from suspension by then.
  • Things aren't looking so good for the SMB Beerman as they dropped their second straight game to the Alaska Aces in the PBA's first out-of-town game this conference. The Aces pretty much controlled the game for the 1st 3 quarters but the Beermen were able to mount a rally in the 4th and last quarter. They came as close as 1 to the Aces courtesy of Arwind's energy and a couple of open inside looks for Dorian but the Aces' outside shooting was too much for the Beermen. It was their outside sniping that gave them a double digit lead in the 1st 3 quarters and it was also their outside sniping that gave them a comfortable cushion once again in the 4th. Willie Miller knocked down a tough 3 pointer and LA Tenorio followed it up with 2 more as the Aces finally pulled away in the last quarter. Arwind was a non-factor in the 1st half and the shooters of SMB were not connecting from the outside. They sorely missed Pingris' energy (traded to BK then to PF) and Jay Washington's (injured) ability to post mismatches in this game. SMB needs to execute their plays better, run more, play defense and play with a lot of energy and intensity if they want to contend for the championship.

Friday, October 16, 2009

Wynne Arboleda attacks a fan during a game vs Smart Gilas, BK won 115-105

Wynne Arboleda a.k.a. "the snatcher" threw a few punches to a Smart Gilas fan which was apparently sitting only a few inches away from the court. This whole incident happened yesterday during the debut game of the PBA guest team(Smart Gilas) vs the Burger King Whoppers as BK won 115 to 105.



This “punch-a-fan” thing started when the fan was cursing Wynne maybe because he was hurting the Smart Gilas players. A few moments later after the foul was made, Wynne was provoked and attacked the fan with a kick and four punches. Luckily, the guy managed to defend himself and the punches thrown at him apparently missed but the kick hit him. Wynne already earned himself a flagrant foul in the first quarter before this incident happened.

After that occurrence, the 13 point lead of Smart Gilas vanished instantly. We were watching the game in Araneta and hoping for a blowout game for Smart Gilas but instead, it was a blowout game for the other team. All I could say is that the game was like an initiation for the boys. Sneaky punches were thrown, luckily for BK refs didn’t see it. Smart Gilas couldn't defend well because players are in foul trouble. I think every player has a foul and about at least four of them have 4 or more fouls. Even obvious flops for the BK players were called.

One more thing, Burger King should be called “Floppers” instead of Whoppers.

BTW, Here are some things Chris Tiu have to say about the game :

-"Today, we got clobbered, literally and figuratively, by the BK Whoopers! It was more of a boxing match than a basketball match. We expected it, but we didn't see it coming this bad."

-"For me it's not so much about the X and O's. It was their viciousness that got us out of our normal rhythm. 4 flagrant fouls in the first half and Winnie Arboleda's "attacking a fan" moment saw our 13 point lead disappear at an instant. Our players became hesitant to drive to the basket and dive for the loose balls. And that is what all coaches will probably instruct their players to do when playing against a younger, skinnier and faster team. It was a fitting initiation for us in our debut game in the PBA."

King James has acquired a new weapon...

As good as Lebron is.. he just acquired a new weapon that every player in the NBA would fear. No one would even dare touch him and no one will even defend him because it's just too risky to try. It's not a turnaround fadeaway jumper like Kobe Bryant. It's something scarier than that.



James has been diagnosed with flu like symptoms and Cavs doctors are treating it as if he has the dreaded Influenza A H1N1 virus. Test results have yet to come out but the doctors are treating it as if James tested positive. Not only James acquired the Cavaliers' new secret weapon; Coby Karl, Darnell Jackson, JJ Hickson and Andre Barrett also exhibited flu like symptoms.

The Cavs will be heading to Texas for final two preseason games. They have 11 players on the injured list as of now. (preseason roster is upto 20 players..) Daniel Gibson (may pasa sa buto nya sa buntot?? pero sa tingin ko ung tail bone ung buto malapit sa puwet sa spinal cord. bruised tail bone eh.. anu tagalog nun?), Anderson Varejao (may pasa sa wrist. anu tagalog ng wrist?), Danny Green (may pasa sa puwet!!! hahahaha..wla lang..), and Mo Williams (eto!! my favorite!!! namamaga ang kanan nyang itlog!!! hmmm.. bkt kaya??? treatment: abstinence.) Delonte West is still out for personal reasons and Leon Powe is still recovering from knee surgery.

Cleveland is still lucky this happened during the preseason. They will be healthy come Oct. 28 and it should be interesting to see the Cavs and Celtics matchup right off the start. The battle for the number 1 spot in the east will start from game 1 up to game 82. Boston, Magic and Cavs will be fighting for that spot and none of them can afford a slow start this season.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Ball Points (10-12-2009)

  • The Lions have secured the no. 1 seed in the NCAA as they won their playoff against the SSC- Golden Stags, 71 -65. Apparently, Jimbo Aquino was thrown out of the game for throwing a punch at Jake Pascual. I wasn't able to watch the full game so I'm not sure about this. Also, Borgie Hermida is getting a lot of love with his performance in this game. He will be certainly needed by the Lions in the F4 (and Finals most probably) for his experience as he is one of the only two remaining starters of last year's championship squad. These Red Lions have been stuck in 2nd place since they suffered a defeat at the hands of the Stags in the 1st round. They only tasted the share of 1st place last Monday when they defeated this Stags. Are the Red Lions peaking at the right time? Is SBC going FOURward? I certainly hope not. I'm getting sick of seeing Frankie Lim win championship after championship.
  • Here's a post regarding Franz Pumaren and his master plan. Can you imagine Kiefer Ravena in a DLSU jersey? A staring lineup of Ravena-Agovida-Webb-Bringas-Van Opstal would surely be enough to give DLSU a Final 4 appearance and possibly multiple championships. A combination of Dindo Pumaren and a talented deep team like the 2007 UE team doesn't really sound that good to me though.
  • Finally, the Japeth Aguilar drama ends. What's with Lito Alvarez giving BS answers? It's not like we all didn't know that he was eventually going to trade Japeth for picks(which he will use to draft young players then sell them once they've established their names in the PBA) and cash. Why is the PBA allowing teams like BK and RB stay in the league? I know Mark Heisley (Memphis Grizzlies owner) is cheap bastard but he's not selling OJ Mayo and Rudy Gay and he just traded for the $28M 2 year deal of Zach Randolph (which is a dumb move).
  • Capt. Jack no more. Jackson has relinquished the role of being the Warriors' captain. He has not yet changed his stand on being traded and is actually open to a buyout. A buyout after just signing a $27M 3 year extension? Talk about having no sense of commitment. He's already got his guaranteed cash so WTH with the GS Warriors. Right Jack?

Monday, October 12, 2009

Ramon Bautista plays basketball

Meet the famous Ramon Bautista a.k.a. DJ BONER showing he can jam.

Ball Points (10-12-2009)

  • On the last day of a very long elimination round in the NCAA, the SBC Red Lions have secured the 2nd twice-to-beat advantage in the F4 as they defeated the SSC-R Golden Stags 71-67. The win by SBC means they will now have a playoff with the Stags (Yup, another game with the same both teams) on Wednesday to decide who will be the no. 1 seed. The winner of the game in Wednesday will face the depleted Letran Knights while the loser will square off with a very talented JRU Heavy Bombers in the F4. Whoever the Stags will face in the F4, they will have a twice-to-beat advantage like the Lions. It was the Lion's defense that ultimately gave them the win. The Stags held the lead from late 1st quarter up to the 3 minute mark of the 4th. After the Lions were able to finally grab the lead, a seesaw battle ensured between the 2 heavyweights as a couple of lead changes and ties occurred in the latter parts of the game. With less than a minute remaining in the game, SBC sent a double team to Jimbo Aquino in midcourt that resulted to a turnover. The costly TO by Jimbo eventually resulted to a breakaway layup by Bam-Bam Gamalinda that gave SBC a 69-67 lead. In SSC-R's last chance to tie or win the game, Pamboy Raymundo attempted to hand the ball to Jimbo but Jimbo was well covered by the Lions. Pamboy was left w/o any other option and fell on the hardcourt and turned the ball over to SBC. Calvin Abueva stepped up big time as Gilbert Bulawan was suspended for this game. Abueva was all over the court driving hard to the basket, blocking shots by Caram and Dela Rosa and boxing out and defending RP's own version of Superman, Sudan Daniels. I can't figure out why SBC is having a hard time getting Daniels the ball while Rabeh Al-Hussaini had the time of his life jacking up countless shots over smaller guys in the UAAP. Is Ateneo spacing the floor better because they've got better shooters? Lanete and Tecson are pretty good outside shooters while Jake Pascual and Bam-Bam Gamalinda have reliable midrange shots. Or are teams from NCAA just doing a better job of denying the big man his touches?
  • The PF Tender Juicy Giants beat the BK Whoppers in convincing fashion 93-80. BK looked like a collection of barely-got-into-the-league players and some all-stars from LP and PBL. What makes things worst is 2 out of their 3 most talented players in Ronjay Buenafe and Gary David play the same position and their highly touted rookie Japeth Aguilar is expected to be traded to TNT after a couple of games. Do you expect a starting 5 of Beau Belga, JR Quinahan, Mark Yee, Gary David and Wynne Arboleda to compete with SMB or TNT? This team actually looks like they're not that far in terms of talent from Red Bull. I don't know how this team is going to compete in the PBA this season.
  • Norman Black has announced a couple of prospect players for the Ateneo Blue Eagles next year. Sweet shooting Blue Eaglet Ael Banal and a couple of big men from their Team B in Jason Escueta and JP Erram are being eyed by Norman to fill in the void left by his veterans Rabeh, Nonoy and Jai. Man, when will Ateneo's reign in the UAAP stop? I hope those big guys will need some time to develop to give way to some of the other UAAP schools like FEU, DLSU and Adamson. Also mentioned in the article is Rabeh Al-Hussaini keeping his options open. Negotiations have already stared between Gilas and Rabeh's camp but it seems like Rabeh in a Gilas unifrom is not yet a done deal based on Rabeh's comments in the Inquirer article. The smart thing to do to for Rabeh is to join Smart-Gilas. I'm sure he won't enjoy the same amount of success in the PBA as he's going to bang against bigger guys in the pros. I'm a little skeptical if Rabeh can be succesful in Toraman's system but maybe Toroman has something up his sleeve because he's been clamoring for the UAAP Finals MVP to join the squad for some time already. Like the 6'9 giant from Cebu Junmar Fajardo and UE guard Paul Lee, Rabeh has been included in the Gilas lineup in the PBA despite not having a contract with the national team yet.

Friday, October 9, 2009

Ball Points (10-11-2009)

  • Rey Guevarra has played his last game in the NCAA as he tore his ACL and will not be able to join the team in their Final 4 run. Rey Guevarra is one the most athletic swingman in Philippine collegiate basketball today and is also a member of Smart-Gilas. An ACL injury is one of the most threatening injuries to basketball player's career especially for players who depend on their athletism like Rey. It's a pity the Knights will not have a chance to upset the Stags one more time. Rey is such an integral part of Letran's success this year and it is doubtful if they can put much of a fight against a resurgent Stags team. This guy would have also looked so good in Toroman's system with his leaping ability and his improved shooting. I do hope that Gilas will take necessary steps to ensure Rey would return to 100%. He's got so much promise and I won't mind seeing him in a Gilas uniform once again.
  • Smart-Gilas destorys the RP Patriots 87-66. The Gilas program is looking better and better as time goes by. The Patriots weren't expected to put much of a fight against Toroman and his boys but it is important to note that the Patriots are reinforced by 2 American imports namely big man Jason Dixon (former import of Coke in the PBA) and the very athletic Brandon Powell. Japeth scored a total of 24 points including a couple of triples and dunks but managed to secure only 4 rebounds. He should be able to get more rebounds than that for a guy of size and leaping ability. Gilas' import ,CJ Giles, was limited to only 2 points as I believe he was plagued by foul trouble most of the game. At least, Gilas was able to show that they can win even without much production from Giles.
  • Kay haba-haba ng prusisyon sa simbahan din naman ang tuloy. Japeth Aguilar finally agrees to play for BK in the PBA. I believe it is only for 1 year 1.8M deal and not a 3 year deal as mentioned on the article to which the link above goes. It's hard to see how Japeth can manage to play on both BK and Smart-Gilas but don't be alarmed Gilas fans. Also mentioned in the article is the agreement that Japeth will only play a couple of games for BK and he will be eventually be traded to TNT and will then be released to Smart-Gilas. One of the main problems of Gilas is how they could secure the services of Japeth without ruining the healthy relationship of SBP and PBA. Now, if the rumor is indeed true, the only thing Gilas has to think about is how to win on the court.
  • Norman Black calls his young center, Justin Chua, a pretty good player in an interview with Hardball. He also adds the that Chua just hasn't been able to get much exposure because he's playing behind the league's best center. Ateneo having another dominant center next year is a pretty scary thought for the other UAAP teams. Bear in mind that Rabeh was barely a factor for Ateneo is his 1st 3 years. He was only a guy with size who can shoot from the outside back then and then boom, he wins the league MVP in his 4th year. A big guy down the post is such an integral part of Black's system so developing his young bigs in Salva and Chua will be key if Ateneo wants a 3-peat.
  • RP Patriots have won the first ever game of the ABL as they defeated Indonesia's Santria Muda 76-69. From what I heard from the game broadcasters, I guess we can think of Santria Muda as the Indonesia's TNT or SMB. The game was very close from the 1st quarter up to the early stages of the 3rd. It was a couple of steals of Christian Coronel that started RP's run that would eventually result into a double digit lead. The Indonesians was able to mount a rally in the 4th but the Pinoys were able to hold on to the lead and win the game. A lot of players from Indonesia, especially import Alex Hartman, were getting really frustrated with physical play from the Filipinos. Maybe they had a little too much "gulang" from our countrymen. Khasim Mirza who was expected to be key part of this team scored only 1 point and it came on a FT late in the game that was result by a foul of SM to stop the clock. He was clearly frustrated with the lack of playing time when he was taken out of the game when he committed a couple of mistakes in the 3rd. Big man import Jason Dixon was horrible from the field missing a lot of gimmes inside. He was getting a lot of easy looks because SM's big man Theo Little was in foul trouble but Dixon was not able to convert on those looks. I was quite impressed with our other import, Brandon Powell. He did miss some inside looks but he was a key part of this win as he played hard nose defense on sharp shooting Hartman and limited him to only 13 points and forced him to bad shots. Brandon also caught my attention with his hustle, energy and superb athletism.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Masarap Nga Maging Atenista Ngayon (Pero Next Year Asa na Kayo)

  • Congratulations to the Ateneo Blue Eagles for winning back-to-back UAAP Men's Basketball Championship as they defeated the UE Red Warrios 71-58 last Thursday.
  • I think Lawrence Chongson lost the coaching battle. Norman Black was able to adjust to UE's zone defense and he was well prepared for UE's offense. I'm also wondering why Lawrence did not use the same rotation patterns he used in Game 2. As they say, if ain't broke, don't fix it. Who the hell is Flores? Where's Tagarda? Why is he leaving his starters for so long on the court? He already knew that minutes played by his starters was big issue in Game 1 and he did good in adjusting in Game 2. Then he lets Elmer play N minutes again just like in Game 1. Why is that? He wasn't able to trust his bench much in the finals because he did a poor job developing his bench in the eliminations. I know it's frustrating to see your bench players give up the lead but you need to expose them for them to get better. It's what we call investment in your bench players. Also, I think UE played one-on-one too much and it resulted to them taking difficult contested shots. I know I'm sounding like a broken record calling out coaches on doing a better job in getting their star players easier looks but it works. Plus, it actually gives you a better shot at winning a championship. UE (don't blame only the coach on this one, blame the players too) should have done a better job not to settle for bad shots. Jai Reyes hardly takes a bad shot in the game. He might take a contested shot once in a while but he'll only take the shot if he knows that he has enough daylight to knock down the shot. On the other hand, Val was taking shots off the dribble with a defender closely guarding him. A simple pick-and-roll might have done the trick. Val doesn't need much space to convert on a shot but he still needs some space. I don't care if you Kobe Bryant or Val Acuna or Ferdinand, you will miss a shot most of the time if you've got a defender on your face. I'll have to agree with Norman Black that UE has system. It's just the his system lets his players create their own shot. I don't mind having Paul Lee on a isolation most of the time but Elmer and Val aren't really as good as Paul in creating their own shot. Maybe I few isolation plays for those guys is alright but you can already count their shots as automatic if they're open. I liked how they set up Elmer for open jump shot in their 1st possession in game 2. So why not call the same play or something similar to that play instead of dribbling for 23 seconds and taking bad shot?
  • This is a well deserved Finals MVP for Rabeh. He's the main reason why ADMU has been a contender in the last 2 years. I know I said Eric was the ADMU's season MVP but I said that for his consistency on both ends of the floor and his focus on the game but that all disappeared in the finals. I think Ateneo would have won lesser games if Rabeh was gone compared to when Eric leaves. Not like most people, I wasn't really worried about Ateneo if Eric wouldn't show up again because the Eagles have proven that they can win w/o Eric when they won game 1. Their real barometer is Rabeh. He was distracted a little bit in game 2 and it cost them a sweep. Together with Nonoy, they are Ateneo's pillar of strength down low.
  • Let me give some love to the other guys. Basketball is a team game and you can't win only one player. Jainamite was a key part in Ateneo's 2nd straigth championship. I know I hate the guy but he can really light it up if you give him an easy look. He's been their floor leader as well. I was little bit worried about ADMU with Tiu's departure not because of Tiu's points or outside shooting but because of his leadership. DLSU looked very good to win it again in season 71 but they sorely missed the leadership brought by TY Tang and Cholo Villianueva. Fortunately for Ateneo, Jai stepped right in to lead this team on and off the court. Don't get me wrong, I still hate the guy. Let's not forget last year's Finals MVP, Nonoy. He's not going to get a lot of attention because he's not a great on offense but his defense is probably as important as Rabeh's offense. Salamat and Buenafe also showed up in time to win Ateneo's 2nd straight championship. Guys like Kirk and Bacon was also key to Norman's system because he needs guy who will do their roles w/o hurting their team's chances of winning. (Let's leave missing or making bad shots to Buenafe.)
  • Sid Ventura picked the UE Red Warriors because it seemed the stars were aligned for them just like how it was for UST in 2006. Rookie Coach(Pido and Lawrence). Typhoon (Milenyo and Ondoy). 3rd seed beating a 2nd seed (UST beats UE and now UE beats FEU). Controversy within the 2nd seeded team(Custodio and Barroca). Ateneo being the no. 1 seed. It looked like he was right except for one thing, the composition of this 2009 team. In 2006, his best offensive player was a perimeter player(JC Intal). In 2006, his best big man was much known to score on offensive rebounds and open inside or outside looks (Doug Kramer). In 2006, he his PG was more of a slasher than a shooter (Macky Escalona). This year, Norman had low post threat offensively (Rabeh Al-Hussaini). He had defensive presence inside (Nonoy Baclao). He had a PG who could knock down open shots when his big man gets doubled team (Jai Reyes). In short, the 2009 ADMU Blue Eagles were more of a traditional half-court team. A team perfect for Norman Black's system.
    Black has always been blessed with talented players like Tenorio, Intal and Bugia in the past but it was only when he had Rabeh that he was able to lead this team to a championship.
  • I believed ADMU's opponent was only themselves. If they play tough defense and execute Black's game plan like how they did most of the season, they will win it all and true enough they played like how they did all season long and won the crown. If UE was able to somehow get Ateneo to play out of character in game 3, they might have already ended their long championship drought (Has it been 24 or 23 years?).

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

SSC-R sends JRU back to earth

  • The SSC-R Golden Stags have assured themselves a twice-to-beat advantage in the F4 as they beat JRU 84-78 courtesy of clutch baskets from leading NCAA MVP candidate, Jimbo Aquino and Jonathan Semira.
  • This game looked like the charity game between Smart-Gilas and Powerade. Much like Powerade, JRU is composed of individually talented players but was content on going one-on-one on every play in their game against the Stags. On the other hand, SSC-R emulated the fluidity and teamwork demonstrated by Smart-Gilas. Coach Ato Agustin was able to design plays that gave his players, especially Jimbo, easy scoring opportunities. Both Wilson and Cagoco did not hit a single 3 pointer in the game despite being known as deadly shooters from beyond the arc. Letting those guys come off a couple screens ala Ray Aleen would have opened up a couple looks for them and might have resulted to a couple of conversions. Having Sena move around before he posts up like how Yao does would have made the Stag's defense less prepared for him. I know these guys are much more talented than their counterparts from the Stags but they're going to spend a lot of energy just to create a shot for themselves if you isolate them too much. I think it's ok to let Njei and Wilson go one-on-one occasionally as they have proven they can score on anyone in the NCAA but it's part of Coach Ariel's job is to make his players' job easier. Jimbo Aquino is such a phenomenal scorer like Wilson but you rarely see Ato Agustin let me create his own shot. A lot of the points Jimbo scores are from movement w/o the ball. I don't know want to put all the blame on Coach Ariel V because his players might have done a lousy job in executing their plays or worse, they might not even executed them at all. JRU is not going to win the title if they continue to play this way. They've got to help each other. I think if you only count only the top 8 (most coaches usually use a rotation of only 8-9 players in the playoffs players) of each team in the NCAA, JRU will emerge as the best team man-for-man. (If you count the whole team, SBC is the most talented team. Unforunately for them , you can only use a maximum of players at a time.)
  • I know JR Sena is much better known his finesse but he's got to use his wide body to attack the thinner big guys of the Stags. He's got to avoid taking those fadeaway jumpers and resort more to attacking the basket strong.
  • One reason why JRU was the last team to taste their 1st loss in the second round was the emergence of their younger players in Lopez and Agas. I didn't even notice the Lopez was already playing. He's a very energetic guy off the bench but he needs to play smarter. He's got to maximize his athletism. Agas had his moments in the game but I think he's capable of much more. Then again, guarding Jimbo Aquino might have taken a toll on his energy level
  • Etame Joe made a special appearance in this game. He even scored the 1st basket. He wasn't much of a factor in the game but I believe he's not yet 100% so it's going to be interesting to see how much can he help JRU in the Final 4.
  • There was in incident in the 3rd iquarter that resulted to a couple of Ts, Bulawan's ejection and Abueva fouling out. Hayes fell on the floor as he drew a offensive foul from Abueva. Hayes then stood up in Abueva's face and he made it look like he was just picking himself up from the floor. Abueva was irritated with Hayes' action so he shoved him away and was called for an unsportsmanlike foul, his 5th and final foul. Bulawan, who was about to enter the game on the next deadball situation rushed to his teammate's aid and was ejected for entering the court despite not being part of SSC-R's current 5 on the floor. I'll have to agree with Bill, it's not like he didn't know the rule. The rule is kinda silly but it's there to prevent any altercations from getting bigger. Abueva needs to keep his temper down because SSC-R was very lucky to win this game w/ their 2 big men and he will be a key part in SSC-R's Championship hopes.
  • JRU was not able to capitalize on the absence of 2 of Stag's big men. I didn't see JRU eagerness to win the game. As the commentators said, JRU thought they already won the game when the ejections were already handed out.