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 Acuña 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 Acuña 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.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Coach Franz Pumaren Resigns

Next season, we will not be seeing Franz Pumaren on the bench of La Salle. As expected from Franz since his brother Dindo came in to La Salle to take place as assistant head coach, rumors spread that it was an initiative for Franz Pumaren to be replaced by his brother because of his longing to run in the coming elections. Neverthless the rumors came out true. Franz Pumaren will be running for congress this coming elections.
Since Dindo now holds the responsibility as head coach, there will be a lot of pressure for him since Archer fans expect a comeback of the Green Archers to the final four next year after a disappointing season 72. Since there are a lot of people who criticize him far what happend 2 years ago he should prove next season that he is a fine "replacement" for Franz Pumaren. Obviously it will not be easy for Dindo to follow the footsteps of his brother which gave La Salle a consistent appearance in the final four and a bunch of titles ever since his brother took over as head coach. As for Dindo, it will be a very steep hill to climb.

EDIT:
BTW Franz Pumaren will still coach dunring the PCCL. His resignation will be effective on January.

Ball Points (10-6-09)

  • The Junior Archers have extended their finals series as they defeated the Eaglets 57-53. They finished the game on a 14-2 run including 4 clucth FTs to seal the deal. Kiefer Ravena was held scoreless in the 1st half and was able to finish the game with only 6 points. It was Ael Banal(19 points) who carried team in the 1st half with his outside snipping but he couldn't carry the team to the finish line. ADMU looked poised to win the championship today as they led by 8 in the 4th quarter but the guys from Ayala Alabang just took their games a notch higher and clawed their way back with their hustle and aggressiveness. Gywne Capacio came back with a better performance with 19 points but he has to settle down a little bit. He's got to be smarter when to attack or not because ADMU's defense is ready for him. DLSZ will have to establish their running game come Game 3 to utilize the talent of their players like Dela Paz. The Junior Archers have to attack quicker to prevent ADMU to set up their tight defense.
  • The Adamson Lady Falcons have swept the no. 1 seeded FEU Lady Tamaraws in their finals series with a 64-50 victory earlier today. Another disappointmet for Anton Montinola and the rest of FEU. Analyn Almazan was awarded the Finals MVP as she averaged 16.5 points and 16 rebounds in the finals. A key part of the ADU team is another of the Mangahas siblings, Katherine Mangahas. Man, how many Mangahases are we going to see in collegiate basketball?
  • Guess what, we have another national team, the RP Patriots! Don't worry this team will not be joining in the controversy between the SBP and PBA and this team will coached by a Filipino, Louie Alas. This team will be representing us in the recently formed ABL. Think of ABL as the Euroleague of SE Asia. Yes, Southeast Asia so we can expect to dominate this league. All teams will also be allowed up to 2 imports and I believe Mikee Romero (co-owner of Patriots) is considering Sam Ekwe as our import. Some notables on the team are former UST hotshot Khasim Mirza, former PBA player Rob Wainwright, former DLSU player Gerwin Gaco (no he is not a star Manila Bulletin but he's a good player nonetheless) and former Letran player Dino Daa.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Smart - Gilas, it's time

  • This post will be sort of a mini play-by-play of the charity game yesterday. I'll try to be as comprehensive as possible but don't expect a lot from me. I'll also give my inputs while I'm discussing the game.
  • First Quarter
    • Too much CJ Giles and Japeth Aguilar as the game started. Powerade has no one who can guard CJ. I'm in favor of naturalization of a foreigner but I would not like an american player to carry the Philippines to the Olympics.
    • Finally, a basket outside the twin towers, Japeth and CJ, courtesy of Andy Barroca hitting a jumper. The other guys have to contribute. You can't expect the twin towers to score every damn point.
    • Gilas struggling in the half court so far. They're being bullied physically by Powerade as expected.
    • Japeth Aguilar has a new weapon in his arsenal. The 3 point shot. He's been able to hit the 3 point shot consistently so far.
    • As I've said before, it has been the twin tower show so far. It's a little alarming as you can not expect to win a game let alone FIBA-Asia with only two players. The one good thing about this is that the 2 big guys are getting their points off movement without the basketball. Toroman's system is getting those 2 big guys a lot of easy looks either from the outside or inside. Toroman has not used any isolation or post-up plays. His main men will definitely benefit from this kind of a system because it does not require them to exhaust a lot of energy in creating their own shot.
    • Casio helped Gilas surge ahead (as Mico would say it) with a 5-0 run to end the 1st quarter. He drove down the lane that resulted to a wide open 3 for Japeth then he buried a 3 over Willie Miller in the next play. (I think one of those 3s was changed into a long two as one point was shaved from the score of Gilas.)
    • Gilas leads after the 1st quarter 23-19.
  • Second Quarter
    • Casio and Giles are working quite well with each other. (mhazie)
    • Casio has been able to torch Arboleda with his speed and the screens set for him. I'm not really sure if he can expect the same in international ball though.
    • Mac Baracael has to play better. He has to catch that ball and drive down the lane hard. He has muffed a couple of opportunities in their fast break and half court plays. I expect a lot from this former Tamaraw as his versatility will be needed against the big boys of Asia.
    • Referees have been strict with players regarding their kicks after their shooting motions. Tiu and Ramos have been both called for offensive fouls because of their kicks. I'm not sure though if refs from international play are strict with this call.
    • Jason Ballesteros finally enters the game. I was worried Toroman would never replace his twin towers at all.
    • Powerade got a little but aggressive with Giles going to the bench. Can't say they're producing though.
    • 2 3s for my other man Dylan Ababou. (Andy's the man.) He's been able to get a couple of open looks because of Toroman's system. I'm sure he would've enjoyed a lot more open looks while he was still playing for UST.
    • Not a lot of fastbreak conversions so far. It's been either good transition defense or terrible fastbreak execution. This kind of a pace So far, Gilas has been doing a better job in setting up their half court sets. Powerade needs to create more transition opportunities as this will help maximize their advantage in terms of overall talent.
    • Casio has been the best PG for Torman's team both in this game and their match-up against the Singapore Slingers. He's not even a natural PG to start off.
    • So much cutting and hand-offs in the Gilas system. (mhazie) This kind of movement is very common in international ball and Rajko has now brought it here in the Philippines.
    • Jason Ballesteros provided a lot of quality minutes. He's been tipping the ball to his teammates. securing the defensive rebound and blocking or changing some shots.
    • Japeth Aguilar showed some signs of unselfishness as dropped the ball to Jason. Jason wasn't able to score but he did get 2 FTs. I'm not saying Japeth is a selfish player. It's just that we haven't seen him play much and we don't what kind of a player or a person he is as of now.
    • At the half, Gilas leads 49-36. The system of Toroman is responsible for this lead. Definitely not a two-man show anymore for Gilas. A lot more players have been able to contribute in this quarter.
  • Third Quarter
    • I expect Powerade to come out strong in the 2nd half just like PBL-LP volunteers. These guys need to get tougher on the defensive end and push the ball to utilize their athletism.
    • Gilas starts off the 3rd a little bit surprised with the zone defense thrown at them by Yeng Guiao. Gilas players are not executing their plays well so far.
    • Guys from Powerade Team Pilipinas are getting a lot of good looks but they're converting.
    • 2 straight zone busters made by Gilas to force Yeng to go back to the man-to-man defense. Chris knocked down a 3 while Mac shot a long 2.
    • Ranidel just knocked down Jvee on the floor with an elbow. I don't know if it's intentional though. I'm sorry, I'm really bad at judging this kind of plays. Jvee! Stop being gay and stand up already! It's going to be a lot worse when you're up against Haddadi.
    • Mac just missed a open floater from 5 feet. He has to knock down those gimmes.
    • Finally, Mac converts on a fastbreak layup.
    • Dillenger lives up to his nickname, the Daredevil, as he drives hard and lays the ball in. He's been very aggressive in attacking the paint but he's not converting on a lot of his shots though.
    • These kids do not know James Yap. He's been getting open looks all game long.
    • Here's another sign of unselfishness from Japeth. He just gave up the ball to Mac on a 3 on 1 fastbreak situation even though he could have taken the ball straight to the hoop. It's a good thing Mac did not disappoint Japeth with a good looking reverse layup.
    • Dylan knocks down another 3 off movement without the ball. This offense is so damn fun to watch.
    • Toroman is gambling on Giles with his 4 fouls. I'm not really sure if this is really a good decision.
    • Japeth electrifies the crown with a breakaway slamajama off a steal.
    • Giles has been called for his 5th foul. How will the Gilas boys react?
    • Those screens are killing Andy Barroca. He's just too small for the big boys but I'm not going to take him off the team for that or for chemistry issues.
    • Jason again providing a lot of quality minutes. He just got 2 straight offensive rebounds.
    • The offense of Giles seems less pretty w/o Giles. Casio is resorting to a little bit too much dribbling.
    • After 3 quarters Gilas, 72-58.
  • Fourth Quarter
    • Bad offense again for Gilas as they start the 4th w/o Giles
    • Giles returns to the floor for Gilas.
    • Andy scores on a fantastic play as he cut straight down from the the top of the key and received a pass from their import.
    • I think this is the 1st time that Gilas will not have any of their twin towers on the floor so let's see how will this affect their play.
    • Jason's working really hard crashing the boards but he needs to be able to score inside the paint.
    • Sloppy play so far for Gilas w/o the twin towers.
    • Jason scores on a open jumper in the paint. Gilas needs more of the that from him if they expect him to be their 2nd/3rd big man off the bench.
    • Wow. Asi just passed the ball outside when he had a clear mismatch against Chirs Tiu. Maybe Tiu is to cute to bang for the Rock.
    • With Giles back, player movement is back within the Gilas team.
    • You can see the frustration of the all-pro team based on their body language.
    • Barroca just took Miller to school with a spectacular move. He drove to his left and and followed it up with a spin move to his right for an open J.
    • Another alley-opp play for Giles. I hope we'll see more of that in the coming international competions.
    • Gilas wins the game, 98-69.
  • Game overview
    • I feel bad for Powerade. Kerby's missed follow-up dunk in the 4th said it all. I know they're better than this. Whatever happened in this game, these players did their best when we asked them to represent our country. Their lack of preparation was evident in the game. Chemistry has always been the problem for Powerade. They're known for their individual talent and hard work but not their teamwork.
    • The future looks bright right now and I hope Gilas will continue to improve. Just like jaemark said, the players on the Gilas program have their own roles. Coach Rajko is using a system that utilizes the talent of his players to their utmost (thanks mhazie for the word) potential. He's using Casio as a shooter coming off screens, he's using Andy as an isolation player, etc. That's what I'm talking about before (Find Carmelo Anthony). You can't use the same system for every single damn player. You have to adjust to the players that are given to you. When Adelman got Ron Artest in his Sacramento days, he did not stay in his usual up-tempo style of play. He swichted to a half-court type of an offense that was best suited for Ron-Ron. Adjusting to your players is a great sign of a coach in my opinion. Another thing I noticed is Gilas is composed of great complementary scorers and it benefits them to be beside one another. When I say complementary players, I'm pertaining to guys who thrive when they have a lot more scorers around him so that he won't suffer under so much pressure. A great examples of this kind of player is Pau Gasol. Pau benefited so much of having a Kobe beside him. I guess you can say the same with guys like Casio, Ababou, and Tiu. I don't think it's a coincidence that these guys won a championship in the UAAP when they had teammates who can really score (Cardona, TY and Cholo for Jvee, Rabeh for Chris, Duncil and Cruz for Dylan) and failed to win the crown when they were the main man of their respective teams. I guess you can add Aldrech, Jason and Mac to that list as we can't expect these guys to carry a team on their shoulders. So who's the main man for Gilas? I'll give that title to Andy and CJ right now. Maybe Japeth can be a great go-to-guy one day. He certainly has the tools and he's showing a lot of signs that he can. In contrast to Gilas, Powerade has a lot of no. 1 guys who'll dominate the ball and have the ability to carry a whole team. Guys like Yap, Miller and Helterbrand are who I'm talking about. Unfortunately these guys also tend to be less effective if they don't have the ball and we all know there's only 1 ball in a basketball court. I think's that's one reason why Powerade seems to have chemistry issues. The pieces just don't fit.
    • The Gilas program is still in its early stages. I hope they won't get too excited over this game. The ultimate goal is still London and not beat Powerade. Jinno Rufino has a good point, maybe we should extend this program to 5 years instead of only 3. I paid so much attention to that game that I forgot this was for a good cause. Let us all hope that the 2M that they got will be put into good use for our fellow Filipinos.

Ball Points (10-5-09)

  • A lot of basketball today and it started with a battle between the two best guest teams this year in the NCAA, EAC and AU. I'm really wondering why they didn't make this game as the main event for today. The other game for today was UPHSD against the AUF. Who's going to watch that game? I know those 2 teams have pretty courtside reporters but it's a meaningless game between two cellar dweller teams. Anyway, back to AU VS EAC. It was great game as expected with both teams trading punches courtesy of their star players, Gio Ciriacruz(28 points) and Argel Mendoza(29 points). I know it's not an ADMU-DLSU game but a diehard basketball fan would surely enjoy this one. EAC eventually won the game 86-81 with Argel coming up big in the clutch. Guys like Argel and Gio will definitely benefit from their squad's guest appearance in the NCAA. Aside from getting more attention from scouts, they also got a chance to test their skills with some of the best players in the collegiate ranks like RJ Jazul and John Wilson. It's too bad Gio has played his last game in the NCAA as his team will not take part in the F4 but I hope we'll see more of his spunk in the coming PCCL. I'm not sure if he can make it the pros as he reminds me of a Yousif Aljamal. An undersized big man who works hard, plays smart, can drive and can shoot the ball from the outside. He's not the biggest guy. He's not the fastest guy. He's not highest leaper. He still produces for his team despite those physical limitations but those limitations might hinder him from going to the PBA but who knows. Maybe he can work harder on his game and can show the scouts that he has what it takes to play with the big boys. Right now, I can see him succeed in the PBL with his abilities. Building his name in the PBL will surely help him reach the PBA. For Argel, his ability to score even against contact might be enough to get him in the PBA. I'm not sure if he is graduating this year. I'd like to see him in a better team either in the NCAA or the PBL. I want to see if his success is solely because on the fact that he's on a bad team. (By the way, AUF won a meaningless game 73-66. )
  • In the first game of "Pinoy Basketbol Kakampi nyo", PBL-LP was too much for the pretty boys from NCAA and UAAP. The first half saw the UAAP-NCAA volunteers (Yes they are not stars.) dominate the game with fluidity and shooting. The second half was a different story as the men from LP-PBL took the game to the boys. They just played with much more aggressiveness and hunger. Guys like Melegrito and Leynes were playing hard-nose defense on the UAAP-NCAA guards which disrupted the offense of the collegiate players. Revenge for Gerilla? This guy dominated the guy inside and out. Maybe he wanted this game to make a statement against the school that threw him out of their basketball team. How about Joshua David Spider Webb? This kid took the game seriously and was finding loopholes to get to the rim. His ability to get to the paint is phenomenal. How about Gerwin Gaco wearing a vintage Harbour Centre jersey? It certainly brought a lot of good memories back. Go Oracle! Go for no. 8! Well, they just answered our question, j_myxx. Mangahas and Mirza were on the other team which I don't get. Those 2 guys did nothing for LP-PBL. They should've been on the UAAP-NCAA team. Gelo Montecastro made me eat my words. He was fantastic in the 1st half but Jan Tan? WTH is Tanuan doing in the LP-PBL team? Still it is a game for a good cause so we can't thank these players enough.
  • Smart -Gilas destroys Powerade 98-69. Excellent display of teamwork by the Gilas boys. More on game tomorrow. Can someone tell me how I can get those T-Shirts Gilas wore in their warm-ups. How about Lia Cruz? It's been a while since we last saw her. She was hot. Damn.
  • More on UE-ADMU finals. I'm sorry. I know I said we won't see any double digit lead wins in this series but we did. I think it was just human tendecy to relax knowing your up one game. I just did not think this ADMU team was capable of getting into a mental lapse as they did in game 2. This team was so flawless going into the finals that I believed that this team would always give themselves a chance to win with their fantastic system. Boom has been mentioning how James Martinez really feels bad about not being part of this UE team. So I was wondering how this guy could have changed this UE team if he was healthy. He would surely give UE a lot more depth which was big concern after Game 1 but his absence has led to emergence of guys like Reyes and Lingganay. Only God knows what would've happened if James played this year.

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Win and go home (celebrating....)

Sad to say, Thursday will be last day of the UAAP Men's Basketball. There will be tears. There will be a celebration. There will be a champion. It all boils down to one game.

The Ateneo Blue Eagles and the UE Red Warriors have certainly provided us with an entertaining series. Booming triples, dare devil drives, some elbows here and there (Monfort I am looking at you..), monster blocks, great coaching and of course, the players playing with all their hearts.

There is only one key to winning on Thursday. Throw all those stats away. That key is who wants it more. The team that wants it more will prevail on Thursday afternoon. The UE Red Warriors are out to prove that they are heartbreak kids no more while the Blue Eagles are trying to win back to back titles since the current finals format was introduced. The players will play all-out (Don't expect Eric Salamat to have a bad game..he will come out firing). There's no question about that. It will be up to the coaches, the school, the community of both sides to motivate their players. They will play a big role in giving that extra boost their team needs in order to win. Who spent those extra hours in the gym working on their game? Who spent another hour studying the game of the other team? Who will be more composed under all the pressure? Who will get that extra possession for their team? Who wants it more?

In the end, will the Red Army finally be having a celebration that they truly deserved even way back during the James Yap era and during the 14-0 season?

or will the Blue Babble Batallion once again win back to back titles and prove they are really the number one team this year as predicted by everyone even before the season started?

I am excited!!!

Can we fast-forward to thursday already??? PLEASE...

UE Forces Rubber Match

  • UE started with the five that gave them a 19-1 run last game. Elmer, Acuna, Lee, Reyes and Lingganay. All 5 guys were patrolling around the perimeter and Rabeh had his difficulties guarding the quicker Elmer Espiritu. It was a close game in the 1st quarter so you can't say that this lineup was able to destroy ADMU. It did however gave UE a scoring punch off the bench with Pari Llagas.
  • Chongson finally trusted his bench in this game. I was little scared for UE since Coach Lawrence made his 1st substitution with only a minute left in the 1st quarter but he used his bench for more than a half of the second quarter. He played with a lineup of Reyes, Zamar, Tagarda, Duran and Llagas for around 6 minutes and it gave his starters a lot of rest. Tagarda and Duran looks like pretty solid role players as both guys provided a lot of energy. TJ Manotoc provided a great point about playing young big men like Duran. The worse thing those guys can do is give up a hard foul on Rabeh which isn't really a bad thing at all. Tagarda as Boom would put it is UE's energizer bunny. The guy was all over the court huslting. He did take an ill-advised jumper in the 2nd quarter but he got 2 straight offensive rebounds that was crucial in UE's run in the 2nd half. UE's bench was pivotal as they gave the starters a lot of rest while still keeping the scoreboard close.
  • A lot more attention was paid to Jai and Rabeh but ADMU continued to do the right thing and moved that ball around against that zone defense (Did UE play zone defense the whole game? I never noticed them play man to man at all) and that paved the way for the other guys like Chua and Austria to get open looks. UE improved their defensive rotation in the 2nd half to lessen ADMU's open shots as they were making their run.
  • ADMU played out of character in the 2nd half. Poor defense and jacking up shots early in the shot clock cost them the game. They lost their focus especially Rabeh. Pari was getting under the skin of the former MVP with his physical play. Rabeh tends to just stand around when he gets frustrated and that's not something Norman Black wants. I'm sure he's going to get an earful from Norman tonight. Even the usually composed Kirk Long got on the wrong side of Norman when he rushed to their front court and was charged an offensive foul. (He just entered the game when that play occurred and he was quickly replaced by Austria)
  • Val Acuna disappeared in the 1st half. Nonoy scared the hell out of him with an amazing block in the 1st half. Coach Lawrence called him out for being too cautious and for not attacking Nonoy's defense and he responded well in the 2nd half. He was back torching the Eagles with 3 pointers and nifty moves in the 3rd quarter. This guy is so damn talented for his size. Too bad we won't see much from him as he will be graduating this year. (I'm not sure about this but Boom did say Val is a graduating player.) He'll have to cut down on his forced 3 pointers if he wants to end the heartbreak for UE this Thursday.
  • Elmer Espiritu was on fire today. He was consistently checking if his feet was set behind the 3 point arc and firing long ranged bombs all game long. He was also knocking down tough fadeaway Js against the Ateneo big men and lets not forget his spectacular alley-opp play in the 4th quarter. This was the Elmer that UE needed. He needs to be factor not only defensively but also offensively if UE wants to win against the Eagles. The commentators were asking Coach Lawrence to give Elmer some rest all game long. He gave that to them and it worked wonders for the Red Warriors.
  • I think I saw Joseph Yeo in that game. Ow, sorry. That was actually Raphy Reyes. He looks like a very good player. I think he'll still be around next year to help Paul Lee around. He's very athletic and energetic but he needs to be smarter on the court. A dependable jumper will also help I guess.
  • Paul lee kept on barreling over everyone in the 1st quarter. He was actually able to fish 2 fouls from Kirk because of that but Jai also drew Paul's second foul because of that. Chongson used a nice simple play that gave Lee a new way to score. Llagas would the ball in the perimeter and would pass the ball to the cutting Lee. Llagas' jumper kept Rabeh honest on defense so it gives Lee more space to operate. ADMU was able to check the play a couple of times in the 2nd half so Chongson can't expect this play would still work come Thursday. Lee never stopped driving even though he was blocked a ton of times in this game. That's what we call focus. It was all business for the Mythical 5 member and he was well under control for most parts of the game. Chongson does need to utilize a couple more plays to free Wowwow-Lee to score. Don't expect Norman to fall for the same tricks in Game 3.
  • Where the hell is Eric Salamat? 4 points? He was very aggressive when the game started but he vanished as the game went along. He's seems to be a happy go lucky guy and he has showed in the past that he's a very clutch player so it really makes me wonder why he's disappearing on the grandest stage of the UAAP. Is he just too friendly with Raphy? Maybe a little bromance among the two is keeping Eric's mind out of the ball game.
  • WTH is with those hidden punches? I first saw it in the UST-DLSU game with Camus and Mendoza trading punches. The UAAP should do a better job at controlling this kind of behaviour. Monfort was caught with this but I also saw Rabeh do it as well. Llagas also got away with a similar move but no suspensions please for crying out loud.
  • It will be difficult for UE to win because they were very hot from outside today especially their big men. I'm sure ADMU will make the right adjustments and will be able to check UE's offense. The Eagles' opponent is themselves. If they play the right way once again they are almost unbeatable. UE has better one-on-one players but ADMU has the better system and they still have Rabeh. Eric will be the key as he has the ability to destroy UE's zone defense to open things up for their shooters. The role players for ADMU should also knock down the open shots. So much attention will be given to their main men so it is up to them to punish UE. For UE, they have to be creative once again with their adjustments and force ADMU to play out of character once again.
  • It's a good thing I'm not rooting for Ateneo anymore. Remember 2006? A 3rd seed coached by a rookie coach up against a no. 1 seeded Blue Eagles team? Seeing JC Intal, Doug Kramer, Macky Escalona and the gang unable to win the crown against an underdog UST team led by Jojo Duncil, Allan Evangelista and Jervy Cruz still kills me up to this day. You can only imagine how much pressure ADMU is under right now. It's going to be interesting to see how these Eagles led by Jainamite and Rabeh react.
  • Great quote by Coach Lawrence as reported by Tiff, "Hindi pwede puro puso lang dapat may utak din!" or something like that.

Friday, October 2, 2009

Ball Points (10-3-09)

  • As expected the UAAP-NCAA All-Stars will not be featuring the best players from both leagues on Monday' charity event dubbed as "Pinoy Basketbol Kakampi Nyo". The team will be composed of Joshua Webb (DLSU), Jan Colina (ADU), Jewel Ponferrada (NU), Jeric Fortuna (UST), Paul Sanga (FEU), Reil Cervantes (FEU), Woody Co (UP), Macky Acosta (MIT), Allan Mangahas (MIT), Mark Sarangay (MIT), TG Guillermo (MIT), Marc de Guzman (CSB), Gelo Montecastro (CSB), MC Abolucion (CSB) and Jan Tan (CSB). Players from UE and ADMU will not take part in the event as they are currently gutting it out in the UAAP Finals. (The UAAP Finals will be done by that time if ADMU wins the game tomorrow.) Players like Ababou and Aldrech Ramos will also not be part of the team as they are part of the 2nd game of the event with Smart-Gilas squaring off with Powerade. Players from JRU, SBC, SSC-R and CSJL were also excluded in the lineup to give them time to prepare for their remaining elimination games and the Final 4. Then players from EAC, AU, UPHSD and AUF will also not take part in the event as they have games scheduled on the same day. That means no Argel Mendoza, no Gio Ciriacruz and no Matt Carney. So who's left for the NCAA? MIT and CSB. It's a good thing that both teams even lent their players despite being in a slugfest for the 6th seed in the NCAA that will give them a chance to play in the PCCL. Knowing that they can only get players from two teams, the NCAA should have allowed the UAAP to field more players to make the game a little bit more interesting. No Kokoy Hermosisima? No Khasim Mirza? Montercastro over Jeric Teng? Jan Tan over Chris Camus? And where the hell is Edwin Cornejo? I know it's just a charity game but the 2 leagues should made the necessary adjustments to make to field a much more competitive team. Joshua Webb will look like Dwayde Wade with this team. I don't know who the LP and PBL will field but I can already see a blowout.
  • As first seen on patayangbutiki.com and firequinito.com, Chris Tiu's brother Charles tweeted about an incident in a scrimmage between TNT and Smart-Gilas. Apparently, CJ Giles threw an elbow at Ranidel de Ocampo which then caused the TNT players to gank up on the Smart-Gilas import. Ranidel has been known to get under the skin of some of his opponents like Hamed Haddadi in the past so no surprises here. Maybe these large-headed professionals couldn't take the fact that a couple of kids and an american were blowing them out as Charles Tiu said or maybe Giles couldn't take the physical nature of Pinoy basketball as firequinito said. I guess Monday's charity event won't be just a charity after all. Maybe Yeng can add Mac Cardona to the team just to make things more interesting.
  • The NBA has now expanded the use of instant replay starting this season. The NBA will now allow officials to use instant replay to check if a shot or a foul occurred before a 24 second violation. The NBA refs can also use the said technology to determine who touched the ball last before it went out of bounds if the game is already under 2 minutes. These changes might slow the game proceeding a little bit but I'll take that delay to allow the refs to call the games much more accurately.
  • Just like their seniors' counterparts, the ADMU Eaglets are one win away from a championship as they upset the no. 1 seeded DLSZ Junior Archers 80-73. As expected, Kiefer Ravena led the Loyola -based squad with 33 markers, 9 boards, 4 dishes, 3 steals and 3 shot blocks. ADMU will be nowhere near the finals w/o this kid. This guy is indeed impressive with natural ability to score and basketball IQ. What also makes this kid standout is his calmness and smoothness on the court. This kid will just destroy the opposing team's defensive with his swagger while operating with the basketball. He's still in his 3rd year so he'll still be around with the Eaglets next year and we'll all have to wait one more year to see him in Eagles' uniform. Al Bugarin and Von Pesummal also provided quality minutes for the Eaglets. Nico Elorde also caught my attention with his toughness and aggressiveness but guarding Kiefer all game long will take a definitely take a toll on your game. Louis Fortuna also looks good with his shooting, basketball IQ and energy much like his older brother, Jeric Fortuna. Luigi Dela Paz and Gweynne Capacio (who looks more like Mark Andaya rather than his father Glen Capacio) were both out of their elements as they were frustrated all game long of the incredible defense the Eaglets threw at them. This game was exciting all throughout and even terrible commentary (I know its just a juniors' game but why would put Sid Ventura and Eric Tipan together. They're already bad individually so what do you expect if you put them together?) will not prevent me from watching Game 2 on Tuesday.

The Most Amazing Dunk "EVER"

I bet nobody has ever done this before. All that i can say is he would win
the NBA slam dunk contest of he landed perfectly.

Ball Points (10-2-09)

  • The SBC Red Lions have proven their worth as title contenders as they disposed the 4th seeded Letran Knights, 76-64. The Lions dominated from start to finish. It was also an ugly game from start to finish. In the the 1st quarter alone, more than 20 fouls were committed between the two teams. What made things worse was the pile of TOs by both teams. Coach Louie Alas was also ejected middle in the 1st quarter for 2 technical fouls. The officials were tightening things up because of all the commotion that happened in the game between MIT and AUF. I think the refs overreacted this time around. There was no flow at all in the game. Officiating made the game unbearable. The Knights were clearly on the losing end of this adjustment as the team is known for their physical play. They weren't able to adjust to the way the calls were made and it might have cost them this game. They had 2 players with 3 fouls and another 2 with 2 fouls in the 1st quarter alone. However, this game will not affect their standings as they are safely locked up in the no. 4 spot but a cause of concern is Guevarra's injury. He landed awkwardly after going up for fast break layup late in the 4th against Sudan. He immediately looked at their bench and said "tuhod" after the incident. I'm not sure what his injury is but it will surely be a big blow to his career and to the Knights if he severely injured his knee.
  • In the 1st game today, MIT defeated AUF for their 4th straight win. This was also an ugly game as a lot of trash talking and scuffles occurred in the game. Stevens even received an elbow from Gomez with only seconds remaining in the game which was already decided. Coaches and officials did a good job to prevent any brawls from happening but a lot of players were ejected for coming out of their benches. MIT is looking sharp and are now the favorites to the get the no. 6 seed which will give them an opportunity to compete in the PCCL. CSB (tied at 6th place, 5-11) has 2 more remaining games against MIT and UPHSD. EAC (tied at 6th place, 5-11) has also 2 more remaining games against AU and the rampaging JRU Heavy Bombers. MIT (7th, 5-12) on the meantime has only one game remaining against the CSB Blazers. The CSB-MIT match will probably decide on who will get the no. 6 seed. The Cardinals have all the momentum right now and I don't know if CSB can show up with their complete lineup because of their injuries.
  • Joshua Webb(DLSU), Jon Colina(ADU) and Woody Co(UP) have been confirmed to take part in the 1st game of Monday's charity event pitting the UAAP-NCAA stars against the LP-PBL stars. If ADMU, UE and Smart-Gilas players will not participate in the 1st game, you can expect guys like RR Garcia, Reil Cervantes, Khazim Mirza and Kokoy Hermosisima to complete the UAAP cast. It's not yet clear who will be fielded for the NCAA as players from F4 teams might not take part in the event but you can expect guys like Gio Ciriacruz and Argel Mendoza to represent the NCAA.
  • Training camp just begun but a lot of players are already hurt. Bill Walker (BOS) is out for 6-8 weeks with a torn meniscus in his right knee. Aaron Gray (CHI) fractures left fibula and could miss 2 months. Eddy Curry (NYK) is injured once again. He reportedly tweaked his hamstring and calf. No. 1 overall pick Blake Griffin (LAC) will also be out 5-6 days with a sore knee. The no. 4 overall pick, Tyreke Evans (SAC) also has a bone bruise and is considered day-to-day. Rashad McCants will not be signed by the Rockets because of his abdominal injury. Comebacking Gilbert Arenas (WAS) reportedly has a limp as well.