Driball: Not Your Ordinary Basketball Blog

Defending PCCL Champs Fail to Adavnce

2009-11-28T00:03:00.000-08:00

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

Let the PCCL Games Begin...

2009-11-23T03:52:00.000-08:00

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

Nate Robinson, shoots it at the wrong rim

2009-11-21T20:03:00.000-08:00

With just 0.5 seconds left on the clock during the 1st quarter, Nate

Robinson for some strange reason shoots it at the wrong basket

which enraged his coach Mike d' Antoni.

Ron Artest throws away Ariza's Shoe after loosing it

2009-11-17T02:42:00.000-08:00

Trevor Ariza accidentally lost his shoe during a play when Ron-Ron was

there and threw it away. Defensive tactic or unsportsmanlike behavior or

simply hilarious? You'll be the judge. Well I he'd not apologize in the

same manner as to what he did to Paul Pierce which was quite hilarious.

S-Jax Finally Traded

2009-11-16T08:15:00.000-08:00

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

Ball Points (11-16-2009)

2009-11-16T01:42:00.000-08:00

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

Sick Dunk by Ty Lawson

2009-11-15T06:31:00.001-08:00

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

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

RoS Finally Grabs 1st Win

2009-11-15T00:21:00.001-08:00

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

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

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

Another loss for Smart-Gilas

2009-11-15T00:01:00.003-08:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ball Points (11-9-09)

2009-11-08T03:01:00.000-08:00

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

Ball Points (11-7-2009)

2009-11-06T22:05:00.000-08:00

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

NBA scores 10/31

2009-11-01T05:11:00.000-08:00

Cavs 90 Bobcats 79

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

Wizards 123 Nets 104

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

76ers 121 Knicks 115

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

Bucks 96 Pistons 85

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

Spurs 113 Kings 94

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

Rockets 111 Trailblazers 107

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

Mavs 93 Clippers 84

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

Ball Points (10-30-2009)

2009-10-30T01:24:00.000-07:00

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.

Some Early Thougths on the Young NBA Season

2009-10-29T04:38:00.000-07:00

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.

Cinderella is Actually Good in Using the Broom

2009-10-24T02:48:00.000-07:00

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.)

Ball Points (10-26-2009)

2009-10-23T06:56:00.000-07:00

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.

No More Four-ward?

2009-10-22T03:53:00.001-07:00

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.

The infamous Arboleda featured on Yahoo Sports

2009-10-20T06:31:00.000-07:00

see : http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Filipino-basketball-player-banned-for-season-aft?urn=nba,196813

Ball Points (10-19-2009)

2009-10-19T02:05:00.000-07:00

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

Ball Points (10-17-2009)

2009-10-17T01:08:00.000-07:00

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.

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

2009-10-16T18:36:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-10-16T07:36:00.000-07:00

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.

Ball Points (10-12-2009)

2009-10-14T05:37:00.000-07:00

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?

Ramon Bautista plays basketball

2009-10-12T06:22:00.000-07:00

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

Ball Points (10-12-2009)

2009-10-12T03:05:00.000-07:00

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.

Ball Points (10-11-2009)

2009-10-09T10:27:00.000-07:00

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.

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

2009-10-08T05:51:00.001-07:00

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?).

SSC-R sends JRU back to earth

2009-10-07T03:54:00.000-07:00

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.

Coach Franz Pumaren Resigns

2009-10-06T07:01:00.000-07:00

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)

2009-10-06T03:31:00.000-07:00

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.

Smart - Gilas, it's time

2009-10-05T08:50:00.000-07:00

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)

2009-10-05T05:13:00.000-07:00

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.

Win and go home (celebrating....)

2009-10-04T19:05:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-04T02:05:00.000-07:00

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.

Ball Points (10-3-09)

2009-10-02T22:03:00.000-07:00

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"

2009-10-02T05:54:00.000-07:00

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)

2009-10-02T03:31:00.000-07:00

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.

First Blood!!!

2009-10-01T04:39:00.000-07:00

Ateneo draws first blood in the UAAP Men's Basketball Finals but not without a gallant effort from the Red Army. It was a game of runs and true enough Ateneo had the final push leading to the 78-71 victory.

The absence of Eric Salamat was not magnified because of the stellar play of Rabeh Al-Hussani and (yes..) Jai Reyes. Rabeh was very effective with his offense from the high post and that spelled trouble for the UE defenders. Jai Reyes and his usual pick and roll, one dribble three point shot connected 4 times in the 4th that really made it difficult for UE to catch up. Nico Salva showed why he is the 6th man of the year by providing quality minutes off the bench. Kirk Long did a decent job on Paul Lee in the 1st quarter but nobody can stop Paul Lee for the whole game. Ryan Buenafe made the steal and then dishing it to Rabeh for the running hook from Paul Lee and that was the turning point of the ballgame.

Raffy Reyes definitely wanted to upset the defending champion and he played his best game of the season thus far. Rebounds, slashing, passing he did it all today but unfortunately Ateneo just had better composure at the end of the game. Paul Lee and Val Acuna played an average game but they have to up their level of play if UE has a chance for an upset. Elmer Espiritu was a jumping jack for the entire game by swatting shots and rebounding as well. Pari Llagas was a very effective offensively by just sitting in the paint and waiting for the pass from his slashers or putting it back for 2nd chance points; however, he needs to learn how to defend Rabeh better especially at the high post where Rabeh consistently made his 18ft jumpers.

Game 2
KEYS TO WINNING FOR ATENEO:
C - Challenge Paul Lee
Challenge Paul Lee through out the ball game. Norman Black should throw different defenders at him. Kirk Long, Ryan Buenafe, and Sumalinog should take turns defending him in the perimeter and when he blows by them (which he would eventually..) he should be met by Baclao, Salva and Rabeh to challenge his shots but also be wary of his dishes to Mr. Tambay (Llagas) down low.

B - Baclao should not be afraid of Elmer Espiritu
It seems that through out the game Baclao was somehow intimidated by Espiritu. This shouldn't happen in game 2 because only Baclao can match Espiritu's leaping (or should i say flying) ability. Elmer change a lot of Baclao's shot. Baclao should challenge Espiritu and try to get him out of the game with fouls.

C - Continuous 3pt shots
In game 2, the shotgun of Jai Reyes must be fully loaded. Eman Monfort, Eric Salamt and Kirk Long should load up their guns as well. They were a little lucky this game because Acuna, Lee and Lingganay also struggled from the three point area but don't expect that to happen again especially with their backs against the wall come sunday afternoon.

C - Championship Character
Ateneo is the defending champion and they showed us why in game 1. They should continue to show that they are the top dog in the UAAP by their steady play, composure under pressure and ability to make shots when it matters the most. They certainly showed us today why they have won 12 straight games and they are one win away from a back-to-back championship.

KEYS TO WINNING FOR University of the East:
C - Change the Rotation
Paul Zamar should NOT be playing. He isn't doing anything productive. No offense, no defense. I do not agree with the starting 5 of coach Lawrence (zamar, reyes, espiritu, val and llagas). I would start the usual lingganay, lee, val, espiritu and arcibar (he will defend rabeh). llagas would be my 6th man and raffy reyes so they would match the intensity of long and salva off the bench for ateneo. Dig deep in your lineup. Put in a young player that will play his heart out and not Paul Zamar who looks like he was still sleepy during the game.

B - Bother Rabeh and Jai
Rabeh has too many open looks from 18ft out. and Jai Reyes had to many open shots off the pick and roll. UE has to defend this a lot lot better in game 2 or the series wil be over on Sunday. Let the guards bother Rabeh when he gets it near the free throw line. Switch on the pick and roll and let Jai Reyes shoot over Llagas or Espiritu. Jai Reyes is contagious and once he gets his shot going everyone in Ateneo makes shots as well.

C - Cut down on Hail Mary threes
Ok Paul Lee, you are on a hot streak right now and nobody in the league can stop you but you should stop jacking up threes 5ft beyond the three point line. It wastes one possesion for you team and it also alters your shooting touch because the next shot you shoot will definitely be strong. You won't be always as hot as the FEU final four game. Paul Lee has to pick his time when to light up the score board but he should realize that slashing to the hoop and handing it out to Mr. Tambay is a lot better that shooting from 25 ft out. But when you are hot, just keep shooting. (hahaha..)

C - Challenge the Character of Ateneo
They did it in the first game and they should do it again in game 2. They should keep the pressure for the whole game. UE has the tendency to be on a slump for 5 mins then they will turn it on for the next 5 mins. These inconsistencies will not win you ballgames against the defending champions. They should bring it from the first second upto final seconds of the game. Just like what UP did in the frist round.

Prediction: UE by 4

ADMU Draws First Blood

2009-10-01T03:40:00.000-07:00

Ateneo Blue Eagles wins over the UE Red Warriors 78-71 in Game 1 of UAAP Finals
Both teams with some minor tweaks in their starting lineups. Austria started over Kirk Long for ADMU. UE started with Paul Lee in the bench. Zamar and Reyes started in their backcourt while it was the usual trio of Acuna, Espiritu and Llagas up front. UE started out pretty alright for the 1st couple of minutes without Lee but he started out slow and needed some time to get into the flow of the game.
Rabeh dominated Llagas at the start of the game. Pari was just standing while Rabeh showed his full arsenal of moves. It was all business for the big man as he remained focused all game long. Pari needs to get more physical with Rabeh. He needs to push the former UAAP MVP out of his comfort spots. Rabeh is just unstoppable if he gets the ball where he wants. There is no way that UE can defend him one on one. As good as Eric is this year, Rabeh's the main reason why ADMU is one win away from back-to-back championships.
As expected, you won't see a game blown wide open in this series. UE was able to make 19-1 run in the 2nd quarter to grab the lead by halftime. Coach Lawrence made great adjustment when he switched to smaller unit (Espiritu, Acuna, Lee, Reyes, Lingganay) and played zone defense. Nonoy Baclao isn't really known for his low post moves as this was evident as he failed to score on the hot shot small forward, Acuna. Rabeh also struggled to score on the small unit as they sent multiple defenders whenever he would get the ball down low. Plus, a great shot blocker was awaiting for him. Acuna gave Nonoy, known as a great defender, a lot of headaches on the other end. His height and ability to shoot and to drive proved too much for the former Finals MVP.
UE did a great job taking care of ball in the 2nd and 3rd quarter. Unfortunately their turnovers late in the game were probably to blame for their loss. ADMU, known for their great execution, showed their end game brilliance in this game. You never saw a sign of panic from these Eagles even when UE finally took the lead. Their experience was a key factor in this game. UE needs to pick their shots. I know they've got guys who can knock down a shot from anywhere but you can't beat this Eagle team only with talent.
UE needs to work on their defense. First of all, Jai can only hit a shot when he's open. The guy can brag all he wants but even a guy like me will be enough to stop the guy. You just have to challenge his shot and there's no way that he can make a shot. (So Jai, stop loading your gun. You gun is a measly water gun.) Jai is getting open shot after open shot when he comes off the screen. UE bigs need to show to prevent an open shot and it's not like the screener is rolling hard towards the basket. I know they're in a zone but they need to be aware of where Jai is on the floor. The only thing he can do is shoot so why is it so hard to stop him? Additionally, UE needs to defend harder on the free throw area. Rabeh is getting open shots in FT area for too often. He's already unstoppable down low so you might at least stop him from the perimeter. UE should also consider putting a quicker guy on Rabeh and have him front the man mountain from Ateneo. UE needs to change their defense to try to limit Rabeh.
The Red Warriors got a lot of help from Raphy Reyes. He was very active all game long and provided the Warriors the much needed spark. He scored a lot of crucial baskets and gave UE a lot of hustle plays. UE needs to get a lot of help from the other guys. Zamar, Raphy Rudy and their other bench guys need to be part of the game. They have to provide something positive in Game 2 if UE wants to equalize the series.
A well deserved SMOY award for Nico Salva. All season long, he has been able to provide ADMU quality minutes. This guy can score with the best of them. He'll knock down open shots and won't take bad shots. He has also been able to ability to score one-on-one. In one play in the 2nd quarter, he was able to score on DPOY, Elmer Espiritu, by throwing a couple fakes on him.
Paul Lee had a slow start as he came off the bench. ADMU also did a great job clogging the lane whenever Paul was on attack mode. Unfortunately for ADMU, you can only limit great players and not stop them completely. He was usual self (taking and making difficult shots) come 2nd quarter.
UE's very lucky Eric Salamat didn't show up. He was averaging 1.2 points in the finals for his career and his 4 points today surely didn't help. INVESTIGATE HIM FOR GAME-FIXING! OR BETTER YET TAKE HIM OFF THE TEAM TO IMPROVE TEAM CHEMISTRY. Just like how FEU did it.

Top 15 Players I'm Looking Forward to See Next NBA Season

2009-09-30T22:13:00.001-07:00

15. Devin Harris - Along with Brook Lopez, these two guys are going to be the cornerstones of the Nets' franchise. Whether their owner is Russian or not, I'm sure this guy is going to dominate next season especially now with VC gone.

14. Luis Scola - This year, he'll have to step up his game being the best healthy big man of his team. Can he dominate the NBA scene like he does in the international scene?

13. Tyreke Evans - This guy impressed a lot of teams in workouts on how he can score on smaller guards. The only problem is the plethora of scorers on the Kings' roster. I still believe the Kings should have picked Rubio but maybe they really did see something special in this kid.

12. Andre Igoudala - He's going to be the main man for Sixers now that Andre has bolted to the Blazers. This guy can do a lot of things for his team. Hopefully he'll have a healthy Elton Brand alongside him this season because he can use all the help that he can get.

11. Jonny Flynn - Who needs Rubio if you have Flynn? Minnesota fans will forget about Rubio if this guy does not disappoint. He'll have to beat out another quick guard in Sessions if he wants to start for the T-Wolves though.

10. Baron Davis - This guy is one of the most talented PGs in the league period. He'll have Blake Griffin as his new playmate but he needs to get along with his coach (which I doubt) if he wants to go up in the standings.

9. Allen Iverson - Can he return to his glory days? Going to the Bobcats would have made a lot more sense especially with their need of a scorer. Memphis is stacked already stacked with scorers but just as Nike says, just do it.

8. Amare Stoudemire - They were already returning to their old style of play and he just scored back-t0-back 40+ point games when he injured his eye. This season, the Suns are going to play at the pace that made us all love them and that means more dunks for Amare. They might not be close to winning a championship but Stat can surely help you win a championship in your fantasy leagues.

7. Manu Ginobli - The Spurs surely missed this guy last season as they were ousted in the 1st round of the playoffs. He seems to be back in shape and the Spurs need the old Manu back if they want to challenge the Lakers.

6. Ron Artest - Blame him if the Lakers won't repeat. That's what he said. On paper, he's a better player than Ariza but how the pieces fit for the LA is another story. He's such a fun player to watch. I love him so much for bringing the Rockets past the 1st round and I hope he can finally win himself a ring.

5. Greg Oden - He's been under a lot of pressure from other people and from himself. He seems to be a little relaxed this season and I sure do hope he can bring that enthusiasm on the court. He's not a bust (yet) and I believe he can finally showcase his talent this season.

4. Derrick Rose - Just like Igoudala, he will now be the main guy for his team with Gordon's exit. Too often did we see Gordon dribble the shot clock away and jack up an ill-advised shot. We won't see that anymore this season as the ball will be in Derrick's hands 80% of the time. Is he ready to join the elite class of Lebron, Wade, Kobe and CP3 this season? He surely does have the talent to do so.

3. Lebron James - He's aching to win it all this season. The Cavs' management have already done their job of surrounding him with quality players. Now, it's all up to the king.

2. Gilbert Arenas - He's playing more and talking less now. Gil is Gil. He won't be able to shut up completely but he's more focused now and ready to show the world that he's back. Indications from Chicago says that he's ready to give Lebron some love in the playoffs once again.

1. Tracy McGrady - All of his career, he's never been known to as determined as his buddy Kobe. He's been so dependent on his talent. Now with a new contract on the line and probably his career, he has taken the necessary steps to make sure that people will not remember him as the best player we never saw. The Rockets are being cautious about his return. They don't want last year to happen again. They aren't going to lose anything as they are expected to be lottery team this season. (That's what you all think but this Rockets team is ready to crash the party in the Western Conference) Morey is not yet shopping him as he's waiting to see if T-Mac can return to his old self. I want to see the old T-Mac not an old T-Mac please.

Top Courtside Reporters

2009-09-29T22:47:00.000-07:00

I was googling around to check if I spelled the name of Kyzelle O' Conner right and I stumbled upon this list. I was so inspired of his work that I decided to make my own. These courtside reporters combine the 2 things guys love the most. The opposite sex and sports. My version will only include my top 5 but I'll include a couple of honorable mentions. My basis for their rankings is the quality of their reports (10%) and their looks(90%.) You can click on their names if you want to see their pictures.

5. Rizza Diaz (EAC)- She's not probably going to win Miss Universe anytime soon but she's that not bad looking at all. She's a pretty damn good reporter as well and she is definitely what we call a veteran.

4. Kryzelle O' Conner (FEU)- Despite being a look-a-like of Karylle (as Maegan Young said), she won't anywhere higher than 4 in my list because of her bad reporting. (Maybe Maegan should replace her!)

3. Erika Flores (UP) - I didn't realize how beautiful this girl is until late in the season. Too bad UP wasn't close to being part of the F4 this year. Bring her back next year!

2. Michelle Mediana (AUF)- This girl is making me regret not watching AUF games. She might be beautiful but she can't compare to the next girl in reporting.

1. Jessica Mendoza (ADMU)- She's no. 1 on my list because I get to listen to her everyday at Magic 89.9. She's arguably the best reporter among this year's batch even without her looks.

Honorable Mentions

*Erin Torrejon (DLSU)

*Fairy Sy (UPHSD)

*Marcia Cruz (MIT)

So who's on your fave 5?

Ball Points (9-29-09)

2009-09-28T20:21:00.000-07:00

The SBP has organized a couple of exhibition games for the benefit of the victims of Typhoon Ondoy. The event, entitled "Pinoy Basketbol Kakampi Nyo", is scheduled on Monday at the Big Dome. The 1st game is a match up between the collegiate stars (UAAP and NCAA) and the stars from the PBL and Liga Pilipinas. In the main event, we will treated to a duel between the the two existing Philippine national teams, Smart-Gilas and Powerade. I know it's just a exhibition game but I can't help to think that maybe Noli Eala is trying to see if this Gilas team has what it takes to match up with Yeng's team. Smart-Gilas has to be competitive in the game. If Powerade does blowout Gilas, expect Yeng Guiao and other PBA officials to bash the Gilas program and use the game's result as a justification for Powerade to continue representing the country in international competitions.
The juniors' and womens' finals in the UAAP have been postponed once again. The games will now be held on Saturday. The games were originally postponed from 9/26 to 9/29 due to Ondoy. There still no announcements if the UAAP mens' finals game 1 will also be moved. The Wedesday games (AUF vs MIT, SBC vs CSJL) in the NCAA have all been moved to Friday.
A lot of players have already expressed their frustrations on media day. S-Jax has reiterated his trade request despite being retained as the team's captain. Lamarcus Aldridge has expressed his displeasure on contract negotiations. Also, Kenyon Martin still not found the heart to forgive Mark Cuban for his "thug" comments. Of course there are also a couple player who are looking forward to next season. There's T-Mac, Agent Zero and KG who are all looking to bounce back after injury-plagued seasons. There's Eddy Curry losing a lot of weight. Then of course there's the Shaq promising to get the king a ring.
Media day also means a lot of gay pictures and amazing quotes that should make your day.

Ball Points (9-28-09)

2009-09-27T03:43:00.000-07:00

Ondoy has not spared anyone. It has affected so many lives including a couple of basketball personalities. I've heard reports that ADMU's Jai Reyes and Rain or Shine's Jay-R Reyes are all stranded at their homes together with their families. Purefoods' assistant coach Koy Banal (former head coach of the FEU Tamaraws during their championship runs with Arwind Santos) was also reportedly stranded and hanging on a tree. Also, Red Bull governer Tony Chua has passed away when a strong current dragged him while he was trying to get something from his car. The one good thing about Ondoy is this will unite us all. This is evident in the comments of some online basketball fans as they would rather worry about the status of our fellow countrymen rather than trash talking about the upcoming UAAP Finals. Of course there are still a couple of idiots who care only about their school winning in the Finals and doesn't give any shit about the calamity victims. I sure do hope that this will serve as a lesson for all Filipinos to unite as one for the benefit of our country.
The big game today in the NCAA with no. 1 seeded SSC-R Golden Stags squaring off with the no. 2 seeded JRU Heavy Bombers (tied with San Beda at 2nd place) has been postponed. The new schedule for the game is still TBA. This game will have a lot implications on who will get the twice to beat incentive in the Final 4. (All NCAA games today have also been postponed.)
Raja Bell is reportedly being shopped around the league. Look for the Bobcats to trade him to contender who can give them something of some value. The Lakers, Spurs and the Cavs are already loaded in the 2 spot and doesn't really have anything that the Bobcats want. The Magic could trade for him by sending JJ Redick and Anthony Johnson. Trading Bell to the Celtics for Brian Scalabrine and Tony Allen/JR Giddens will also work financially. Both trades will give the Bobcats a young player (JJ Redick/Giddens/Tony Allen) and an expiring contract (Scalabrine/Johnson) and they can save money by buying out either veteran. JJ Redick would be great addition to the Bobcats as the team does not have much shooters on the team but it's highly unlikely the Magic will trade him because of his strong showing in last year's playoffs against the likes of Ray Allen and Kobe Bryant. The Magic already has a couple of lockdown defenders in Barnes and Pietrus so trading for Raja seems unnecessary. Bell in Beantown might make more sense as I don't think acquiring Marquis Daniels will be enough to provide the Celtics the much needed depth in their championship run. Bell would be great pickup as the Celtics sorely missed the presence of a perimeter defender who can shoot like James Posey. Bell could help spell the aging duo of Ray Allen and Paul Pierce. The Celtics might need to send draft picks to convince the Bobcats to agree to a trade as Tony Allen has yet to show that he can be a consistent rotation player on a NBA team and Giddens has yet to showcase his potential on the hard court.
A couple of veterans point guards, Rafer Alston and Antonio Daniels, are seeking to move to another team where they could play significant minutes. This will be contracts years for the both of them and this might be their last chance to earn a long term contract in their careers. Rafer's wish list includes New York and Miami. Rafer can finally give Mike D'Antoni a consistent PG to run his system but don't expect him to be the next Steve Nash. The Knicks could send the inconsistent Chris Duhon(6M) for Rafer(5.2M) and it will work under CBA rules. Miami has also been reported as a desirable destination for Skip To My Lou as Dwayne Wade would love to have him to in a Heat jersey this season. Both NY and Miami are willing to take on Rafer's contract as he is on an expiring deal and this will not hinder their 2010 free agency plans. There's not much interest in Daniels as he has not produced the last couple of years. A buyout is the logical choice so that a contender can sign him up for the vet's minimum.

Ang pwede mong maasahan sa UAAP Finals ngayong taon

2009-09-26T05:40:00.000-07:00

*We've mentioned in the blog's description that this will not be your ordinary blog so I'm going to try something unorthodox. Once in a while, I'll being publishing posts in Filipino. I just hope that it won't result to a disaster.

1. Mga magandang panoorin na laro.

Ang 2 kupunan ay parehong galing sa mga sunod-sunod na panalo. Ang Ateneo ang nanalo sa kanilang huli laro at huli sila natalo sa UP. Habang ang UE naman ay nagtagumpay sa huling walong laro nila at ang huling nakatalo naman sa kanila ay ang mkakalaban nila sa Finals, ang mga Bughaw na Agila. Maasahan natin na ang ang dalawang magkakalabanan ay parehong may kompyansiya sa kanilang sarili kung kaya't maipapakita nila ang tunay nilang galing sa laro.

Magiging maganda and Finals dahil hindi rin siguro tayo mkakakita ng masyadong tambakan sa Finals ngayong taon. Napakita na nilang dalawa na kaya nila makahabol kapag sila ay nalalamangan ng lampas ng sampu. Pareho sila nanalo laban sa mahusay na FEU Tamaraws kahit na nga bang natambakan na sila sa simula o gitna ng laro. Kapag ay isang kupunan ay medyo nakakalayo na, sigurado ako na kayang kaya ng kabila na makasagot at makahabol kaagad. Alam kong hindi makakapayag ang mga manlalaro na basta-basta matalo na lang ang kanilang kupunan. Magiging masaya panoorin ang laban dahil para magiging boksing ang laban kung saan sila'y magpapalitan ng mga malalakas na suntok.

2. Matitinding magkakatunggali na indibidwal na manlalaro

Ang pinakainaabangan na labanan ay yung sa pagitan ng 2 manlalaro na dating magkakampi noong sila ay nasa hayskul pa, si Paul Lee at Eric Salamat. Silang dalawa ay parehong importante sa kanilang kupunan. Pareho silang mahusay sa takbuhan at sa paggawa ng mahihirap na tira. Pareho din silang masaya panoorin dahil sa istilo nila ng paglalaro.

Makikita rin natin ang labanan ng dalawang mahusay na malalaking mam sa loob sa pagitan ni Al-Hussaini at Llagas. Hindi tulod ng 2 mokong na si Lee at Salamat, sila Rabeh at Pari ay simple lamang ang mga galaw pero ipektibo naman sa pagkuha ng puntos para sa kanilang kupunan. Mahihirapan si Llagas na bantayan ang MVP noong isang taon pero kailangan muna ni Rabeh na tumigil sa kakadakdak nya sa referees at magpokus na lang sa paglalaro ng basketbol.

Mapapanood din natin ang dwelo laban sa 2 napakahusay sa panunupal na si Baclao at Espiritu. Pangalan pa lamang ay nakakatakot na si Nonoy Baclao. Siya ay isa sa pinakamagaling pumiwesto sa depensa sa buong UAAP. Napakagaling niya sa timing at paggamit ng malagagabang mga galamay niya sa pagsupal ng mga tinitira ng kanyang binabantayan. Si Espiritu naman ay isang taong di mo malaman kung may spring sa kanyang mga sapatos. Napakataas ng kanyang talon kung kaya't nakakasupal din siya ng mga binabato ng kanyang kalaban. Kaya ilayo ni Elmer si Nonoy sa loob upang madalian pumasok ang kanyang mga kakampi sa loob dahil sa kakayanan niya tumira ng tres. Meron din naman tira sa labas si Nonoy kahit papaano kung kaya mailalayo rin niya si Elmer kung sakali sila nga ang magbabantayan.

3. Mga astig na galaw

Hindi ito magiging SA-DET na finals kung saan ay magiging nakakaantok ang laro. Si Salamat at Paul Lee ay ang mga magbibigay ng mga nakakakuryente na galaw. Sila Baclao at Espiritu naman ang mga salarin sa pagbabalik ng mga tira sa lupa. Sigurado din ako makakakita tayo na mga dakdak galing kay Elmer. Siyembre hindi mawawalan ng mga ang mga tres galing kela Lingganay, Reyes, atbp.

4.Mahuhusay na courtside reporter

Sayang hindi naten makikita ang 2 magandang reporter na si Jessica Mendoza at Kryzelle O'Conner (Wala man lang kasi ung UP sa Final 4 wala tuloy si Erika. haha) Pero ayos lang dahil andyan parin si Jessica at magiging masaya na ako doon. Di lang siya maganda, magaling din talaga siya magsalita. (Medyo nahihirapan nga lang siya itugma ang pananalita niya sa basketbol) Si Tiff naman ay isang mahusay din na reporter(Hindi tulad ni Eric Torejon at Kyrzelle O' Conner).

Ball Points (9-26-09)

2009-09-26T03:11:00.000-07:00

The Stags' record finally has a blemish. The Letran Knights just handed them their first loss of the season yesterday and they did with conviction with an 80-63 victory over the NCAA's no. 1 seed. The Stags struggled with the physicality of the Knights all game long and Knights might just have found the Stag's Achilles' Heel. The two lone representatives of the NCAA in the Gilas program, Jazul and Guevarra, were impressive in this one as they scored 27 points a piece. This might be a blessing in disguise for SSC-R as this loss will give Ato his first chance of preparing for a game right after a loss. It's not going to be easy though as they are set to face the rampaging JRU Heavy Bombers next Monday. JRU is also looking to bounce bask after barely beating AUF 85-81 last Wednesday. It's going to be interesting to see how this Stags will react right after a defeat.
Smart - Gilas defeated the Singapore Slingers 70-67 last Wednesday. As I said before the result of this game hardly matters. The goal of SBP is to expose these guys to the international game to prepare them for the 2011 Fiba -Asia tournament (qualifier for the 2012 Olympics). JV looked very impressive in orchestrating the offense. I think he's much more comfortable when he's not appointed as the main man of the team. He's going to have less pressure on himself with guys like Ababou, Barroca and Aguilar on the team. A lot of CJ Giles in this one. He provided the team with a reliable option in their half court sets and a lot of highlights (Check out the 0:55 mark of this video). The team also needs to run a little bit more and refrain from depending on CJ to produce in the half court. Japeth was also impressive in this game. He seems to be comfortable with Gilas. (maybe because he's the star of the team. haha) Barroca ended up with only 6 points because he missed a couple of shots he usually makes. He is coming off a lot of drama and maybe he still needs some time. This team is still incomplete as the collegiate tournaments are not yet done. The 2 Fil- Australians were non-factors in the game as expected. This team still has a lot of potential and I'm hoping that they'll be the answer to our woeful showings in past international tournaments.
Stephen Jackson and Carlos Boozer are still with their teams as training camp approaches. It looks like Jack will still be a Warrior this season as their aren't any ideal situations for him right now. It also doesn't help that he just recently signed a large contract extension and contenders are already loaded in his positions. Utah is also having a lot of difficulty of finding a trade partner and having Boozer around might mess up the team's chemistry. The team's frontline is also clogged up. Their top 4 frontliners are a combined $48M approximately in salary this year compared to the defending champions' $41M. Look for Boozer to be pursued more by the other teams when the trade deadline approaches as he is on an expiring contract if he is not yet traded before the season starts.
It looks like we're going to finally see the Spark back in the PBA's next season. BGK surely will welcome the return of their man and this should make the perennial contender even stronger this season. His return will also move Helterbrand back to his natural position, PG. Helterbrand has gotten used to being the team's SG but I'm not expecting him to struggle returning to his old position especially now that he has his partner back with him.
The UAAP Men's Basketball Championship Game 1 has been moved to October 1. The Juniors' and Women's games scheduled today were also suspended due to the typhoon.

Shaq vs Michael Phelps

2009-09-24T05:29:00.000-07:00

Yes it's the BIG GUY again! Whats up with him? Well he has his new tv show "Shaq vs". The show is about Shaq squaring of with different athletes. Recently he just called himself the "black Michael Phelps" and he is about to prove it but Michael Phelps is about to prove him wrong.

If Shaq wins Michael Phelps will say on cam that Shaq is the best on the other hand, if Shaq loseshe'll go synchronized swimming. Watch and enjoy!!!

Count them out and they'll prove you wrong..

2009-09-24T03:53:00.000-07:00

UE books the final ticket to this year's UAAP finals with a very impressive 78-72 victory over this year's host, the FEU Tamaraws.
A lot of people (including me) predicted an ADMU - FEU finals this year in the UAAP and I guess we all had good reasons to believe so. The Eagles are the defending champions and they only lost one starter and a couple of role players. (Chris Tiu, Mike Baldos, Yuri Escueta, Jobe who?) Then there's the ever dependable Norman Black who always finds a way to discipline his large-headed players to play basketball the right way. FEU did lose a lot of key players like Fernandez and Baracael but their talent and depth was undeniable. Andy Barroca made a lot of noise in the off-season with his stints with Oracle and Smart-Gilas and he was also joined by his teammates Ramos and Cawaling in Smart-Gilas. Guys like Cervantes, Sanga and Knuttel were also coming back to help FEU get a crown. Of course they were also able to recruit a couple of quality players in RR Garcia and Pipo Noundou. Unfortunately for FEU, you still had to play the games to win a championship
UE has always been in the Final 4 in recent years but have yet to translate those F4 appearances to a UAAP crown. The past UE teams have crumbled under pressure from the time of coach Boyzie Zamar , James Yap and Ronald Tubid up to the time of coach Dindo Pumaren, Mark Borboran and Marcy Arellano. This year, no one was giving them shit and maybe that's how they like it. No pressure. No expectations. Just plain old basketball. As the game's commentators said UE was the hungrier team.
UE was undeniably the dark horse of this season. The core of the team was coming off a successful PBL season under Lawrence Chongson and it ultimately lead to his hiring as UE's head coach when Dindo called it quits. This guy pressed the right button when he freed up the offense and allowed the players to just play . When you place your players in a free-wheeling system , you're going to give your players control of what the team is going to do on the floor. In order to be successful in this system , you need players who are smart and creative enough to make their own decisions on the floor. Chongson has one damn good one. Paul Lee. In a restricted system like FEU's, the coach is responsible for placing his players in a position where they can be great. Players like Carmelo Anthony, JR Cawaling and Reil Cervantes are great fits in this system as they need the ball in particular spots to be productive. The same can't be said with players like Derrick Rose, RR Garica and Barroca as what makes them good is their creativity and their ability to make the right decisions on their own. I'm not saying Capacio's a bad coach. In fact I like him for his emphasis on defense and his discipline but you have to adjust to the players you have. You can't treat every player the same way. You can't ask Yao Ming to come off screens and spot up for a 3 point shot. (Maybe you can, the big does have a soft touch.)You need a system that will utilize the talent of each of your players.
The game started out fantastic. The two teams combined for only 4 TO's in the 1st half. The 2nd half was a different story as FEU stacked up their turnovers that eventually caused them the game. It was a game of runs like the ADMU-FEU game. Whenever FEU would build a double-digit lead, UE would respond with their own run and like the ADMU-FEU game, FEU couldn't execute at the end.
Where did JR Cawaling go? This guy is so damn gifted but he finds a way to magically disappear. He was a beast in the first half. I was already rejoicing when their captain finally showed up. Little did I know, he was planning an escape plan. His aggressiveness was nowhere to be found in crunch time and he let his teammates down once again. Hey! Why isn't he off the team yet?!
Noundou had a decent game but he took so many ill-advised jump shots. He was so successful driving down the lane and stopping for a close ranged shot in the 1st half and continuing that might have changed the result. I wonder why he settled for outside shots (even 3 point attempts), which he missed most of them, when Cervantes was being guarded by Paul Lee on the block. Credit him for playing his heart out despite the injury.
When Cervantes did get the ball at the block against Lee, he couldn't take advantage of the situation 100% of the time. This guy needs to develop a better post game either facing up or backing down and stop taking turn around jump shots. His partner Aldrech Ramos also missed a couple of open shots which he normally converts. RR Garcia's poise went down the drain. His lack of experience was evident in the game. I also didn't see Sanga in the game. Wonder where he went. I think he joined JR on his early vacation. Game-fixing? Kick them out as well FEU!
Espiritu was non-existent offensively but he did change a lot of shots and blocked a few ones as well. Llagas moves so well in the shaded area and his teammates are so good in giving him the ball at the right spots. Rudy Lingganay gave his team a big boost with 15 points and his poise in the end game. Acuna showed the complete arsenal in this game. He mixed it up with 3 point shots and amazing drives and totaled 17 points in the game. Lee? Nothing else should be said about this stud. This guy threw a couple of questionable shots in this game but he did make some them including a couple of difficult threes. He wasn't the leading scorer in this one but he was certainly their main man. This guy is genuinely happy when his teammates makes incredible plays off his dishes. This guy was even tapping the number 6 patch (James Martinez) on his jersey at the end of the game. Just goes to show how unselfish he is.
Schools are now aiming to win it all in the year that they are hosting but yet another host school failing to win the crown. Bad omen for the next year's host? (DLSU)
These guys needs to improve on their FTs. Paul Lee missed 2 FTs at crunch time when they had a 76-72 lead with less than 2 minutes remaining. This is unforgivable for the team's best player. Good thing for him it didn't come back to haunt them.

Ball Points (Inspired by patayangbutiki.com’s Butiki Bullets) (9-22-09)

2009-09-22T06:43:00.000-07:00

Finally! Something wrong about Ateneo! The credit goes to blaze for finding this story. This is an issue worth following. If Jobe is proven ineligible before the finals, will the Eagles be even allowed to play in the Finals? Maybe that’s why he's not part of the roster anymore. This may mean another suspension to perennial Final 4 contender next season. Nothing’s final yet and maybe this is just a propaganda to harm ADMU’s reputation. UPDATE: CHED has already released a statement regarding the issue and they have stated that Jobe is eligible for tertiary education. Nice try FEU but better luck next year.
As reported here and here, Smart - Gilas will be facing off with the Singapore Slingers tomorrow in a tune -up match. The result will hardly matter in this one. The main goal of the Gilas program is to expose these young collegiate stars to the international brand of basketball. Smart-Gilas will also be reinforced by 2 Fil-Aussies in this game. Basketball isn't a popular sport in Australia so I'm still skeptical if this guys can make an impact but I guess looking for more players all over the world won't hurt. The SBP should try looking for players are around 6'6" to 6'10" who are versatile enough for the international game. A guy like Nikkah Bahrami wouldn't hurt their cause as well. UPDATE: Gilas won 70-67 behind Cj Giles(21 points), Aguilar (14 points) and Casio (10 points).
I was looking for some highlights of Nikkah and I stumbled upon this video. The reporter was asking about the death of one of his teammates and I don’t think the reporter knew he was asking about Nikkah’s brother, Aiden. The reporter even asked for the name of the player. (Aiden died in car crash with his fiancé. Iran did pretty well without the other Bahrami and they even defended their FIBA-Asia crown against the heavily favored Chinese National Team)
Looks like Warriors are having some difficulty in accommodating Jackson's request. The teams on his wish list are all deep in the 2 and 3 spot and I don’t think they’ll be able to create space for the Warriors’ captain. (Cavs have The Chosen One, Moon, West and Parker. Spurs have Ginobli, Jefferson, Mason and now Bogans. Mavs have Marion, Howard and Terry. My Rockets have Ariza, Battier, a couple of promising rookies and hopefully a healthy T-Mac.) These teams may choose to play small ball but their rosters are still too deep to find a spot for him. Even other contenders like the Celtics, Magic and Lakers are deep at his positions as well. If he wants to join a contender this season, he’ll have to live with the fact that he might not get to play in the end game. Moving to New Orleans might make some sense especially with inconsistencies of Peja. Ending the game with CP3, Capt. Jack, James Posey, David West, Okafor/Peja(small ball?) isn't too shabby at all. Trading Mo Pete and Devin Brown for Capt. Jack will work financially. The move also frees up Golden State of committing to Jackson for 4 years since Brown’s contract will last for one more year while Peterson’s will only have 2 more years. The question is will Bower accept a 4 year contract averaging about $8.8M annually for a player who won’t guarantee you a spot in the Conference Finals. Sure he’ll improve the team and make bring CP3 a smile on his face but the Western Conference still has a lot of talented and deeper teams that are itching to dethrone the Lakers.

Adolf Hitlers reaction to the loss of La Salle

2009-09-22T05:27:00.000-07:00

I didn't know Hitler was a "Green archer die-hard fan". As soon as he hears the news about the loss of La Salle to NU which means an early vacation for the archers, here's what happened....

***note : I don't own this video. Props to the person who made this.

UE anyone?

2009-09-22T02:18:00.000-07:00

University of the East is known as a team who is always a contender. They have been in the final four for a long time but they have never won a championship since time in memorial. They always finish strong during the eliminations but somehow fades in the Final Four. The James Yap era is a big disappointment because they certainly had the best team (in terms of line-up) that year. And who beat them? Anyone remember Jec Chia? The 14-0 season is certainly another disappointment as they were upset by the Green Archers in the finals. This year, however, is a different season. There were no predictions that they would make it to the finals. This year was already preordained as an Ateneo-FEU finals. But UE have different plans, and particularly their player named Paul Lee.

In their encounter last Saturday against the FEU Tamaraws, it was both Paul's show. Apparently, Paul Sanga and Paul Lee engaged in a shootout and it was a hell of a game to watch. Paul Sanga shot the lights out and tried to will his team to victory. 6-11 3pt FG and most of them were coming of the screens while falling down. He finished with 22pts and unfortunately could not sustain his gallant effort because of cramps. And that is where the other Paul took over. Paul Lee wasn't shooting the ball well from close range. It was too close for him. Too easy. He hit 6 threes in the 4th quarter (including one over riel cervantes, one from the parking lot and one from the mrt station) and the Tamaraws had no answer, no Mark Barroca.

Paul Lee's performance reminded me of Lebron James in game 6 of the Eastern Conference Match-up against Detroit. He just would not allow his team to lose. No Final Four breakdown anymore. Paul Lee dominated the game with his 26pts, 8 rebs and 7 ast. He had this look in his face that says "Why can't I miss??" and I'm sure the Tamaraws were asking themselves the same queston. He was in the zone, on a roll, unconcious, on fire, crazy, insane, hot and all other superlatives you can think of. It should be illegal for someone to be this good. It just isn't fair. But that what a superstar brings to a team. They can provide whatever the team is lacking and they win ballgames. And that is what Paul Lee is to the University of the East.

**Hats off to Pari Llagas (19pts, 12 rebs) and Val Acuna (17pts 5-103pts FG) for their consistent numbers.

Go Fight Red and White!

DLSU: Following the leader, but where’s the leader?

2009-09-21T07:14:00.000-07:00

This year was very crushing to the loyalists of the Taft based squad as this is the only time that the Green Archers have failed to reach the Final Four since the emancipation of the format. To add insult to injury, the lowly National University Bulldogs were the ones who closed the door on the Archers as they fell to 6th place (Adamson University bested them because of the quotient rule) to end the 72nd season of the UAAP. Based on the performance of the rookies and the sophomores of the squad, next year would be a whole better year for them. Headed by King Archer hopeful Joshua David Webb, the cast of Maui Villanueva, “Tayshaun” Andrade, Arvie Bringas and Joseph Marata, the Archers are looking good and would definitely enter the Final Four next year. On talent alone, these guys could’ve undoubtedly made the Final Four already this year. The situation however made it hard for coach Franz Pumaren to properly balance the team. The team, though brimming with talented freshmen and second year players still had “savy” veterans that were present from the last DLSU championship team. James Mangahas was touted to be the King Archer for the year however his performance seemed to indicate otherwise. Other veterans Bader Malabes, Peejay Barua and Ferdinand couldn’t help the cause as well. Their performances were mediocre at best marred with inconsistencies that had fans scratching their heads. Actually in my eyes, they performed the same way had during the past year. You must understand that these players were molded to be role players. And they stuck to that monicker up until the end. The glaring lack in a leader who they could go to and someone who the players would look up to was evident. Actually, the problem was that none of these players were groomed to be a leader during the previous years. Rico Maierhofer was supposed to be this team’s leader. Since he went pro, the coaching staff had to put these role players into a spot that they aren’t really comfortable with. Putting it into perspective, imagine Jordan and Pippen leaving the 1998 championship team. Who would’ve carried the load Toni Kukoc? That’s the same thing that happened to these Archers. It would’ve been hard for Pumaren to directly expect a lot from his youngsters considering the its their first time to be logging more minutes.

For the future, as early as now the coaching staff has to clearly define the roles of the youngsters. They shouldn’t be as dependent to one primary go to guy as what happened to the other older players. These guys have to be taught as early as now how to lead. Especially for Webb if he is the future of the team. Proper training and recognition for the first and second option should be given so that the system would be properly implemented. With a cast this talented, these guys should be given chances to grow as early as now so that any body can step up if the opportunity calls for it. The future looks bright for DLSU with all that talent. Proper development and growth however must be stressed. Talent alone cant propel you to the top. As a reminder, Kwame Brown anyone?

Ball Points (Inspired by patayangbutiki.com’s Butiki Bullets) (9-21-09)

2009-09-21T05:02:00.000-07:00

This will be portion of our blogsite wherein I’ll try to assemble basketball related news and provide my two cents' worth (Thank you for the beautiful lady for the correction on how to use two cents) about the topics. I’ll try to post daily just as long as I have a lot of free time.I promise I’ll keep it short compared to my other blog posts. As indicated in the title this portion was inspired by a portion of an excellent site, patayangbutiki.com’s Butiki Bullets. The name was suggested by the intelligent yet corny blaze.
Apparently, DLSU’s Bader Malabes has been sent back to Bahrain as Rick said in his blog post and I think a couple of veterans like Ferdinand have been taken off the team because of their lack luster performance this season. Poor guy. I know he had a horrendous UAAP season but he did help DLSU win a championship. I think you can blame his struggles on his decision-making and his position this year. He was often placed at the 1 spot when Atkins went down with an injury. Why the hell are you going to place a bad decision maker at a position that requires an advanced understanding of the game? He was able to show his talent while playing the 3 spot and when he had guys like JV alongside him who can take the big shot and make the right decisions. He can definitely drive inside (not finish though) and hit an open 3 occasionally. At least Barroca’s been given a chance to graduate in FEU. This guy has been sent back to his home country and what happens now to his girlfriend?
Thank God I can watch the PCCL this year. (Yes I don’t have BTV) I do hope that teams would take the PCCL seriously this year unlike last year when ADMU practically was playing with their bench. The PCCL is great venue where you can see competition between NCAA and UAAP schools. This also gives spectators a chance to see provincial schools and how their players (like Fajardo and Slautgher) can fare against players from Manila.
Toyota will back in the PBL this coming season. At least the PBL will have 6 teams this years and that means more competition for my bet, the Oracle Titans. I’m just wondering, where will the PBL get their players this year. As far as I know, players with less than 2 years in the NCAA or UAAP are not yet allowed to join so guys like RR Garcia and Jeric Teng will not be in a PBL jersey yet. I’m not sure about this though. Of course you have the Gilas boys. Their schedule will probably not permit them to join their mother teams in the PBL this upcoming season. Then there’s the age limit of 25 years old which will even lessen the pool of players for the PBL.
On a side note, what will happen to the Oracle Titans this year with the Barroca controversy. Glen Capacio is the head coach of the Titans and a lot of their players like Ramos and Sanga are part of their roster. Barroca has told through his agent that his relationship with his coach has been tarnished alreadyalthough Barroca might not even have the time to join Oracle this year with his schedule with Gilas. What will Mikee Romero do to resolve this and will this prevent him from achieving an 8-peat?
There are a couple of come-back attempts by Davonn Harp and Antoine Walker. Davonn Harp? Isn’t he N years old already? I guess he can still push his way around with his muscles and I guess Asi and Mick are also N years old as well. If he does have something left in the tank, I’m sure Barako will be shipping him to a contender for some more cash. Antoine has always had an issue with his conditioning and it finally cost him his job. A lot of guys like Antoine and T-mac are finally doing their best to get into shape now that their future contracts are on the line. Money really does talk.
The San Sebastian Stags have made history and achieved a record breaking 15-game winning streak. Of course it helps that the NCAA has 3 more teams (which means 6 more games than the normal 14 but with PCU being suspended this year it became 12+6 games for each team) and a handful of pushover teams this year. They did beat the 3-peat Red Lions and the ultra talented Heavy Bombers and they still had to play the games themselves. They also came in the season with a very underrated lineup so kudos to Coach Ato for doing such a brilliant job with this team. It's going to a be rough road to the Final 4 for them as they are set to face Letran, JRU and San Beda in their last 3 games. In the first game this Monday, Mapua looked like ADMU as they destroyed EAC with their crisp teamwork and execution.

UST forces rubber match with ADMU

2009-09-21T04:16:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the title guys. Haha.
As expected, ADMU books a seat in the finals with a crushing 81-64win over the UST Growling Tigers. (Maybe Crying Tigers after this game.)
ADMU is simply the better team and are still the favorites to win the UAAP crown with this victory.
ADMU just plays the game the right way. They’ll play defense, rotate the ball and take the best shot possible.
UST needs to study how to defend the pick-and-roll. I don’t get it why they keep on giving Jai Reyes an open shot after he comes off the screen. The guy only knows how to shoot and either switching (which should work fabulously with UST since they basically have 4 perimeter players and an agile big man on floor always) or fighting through the screen will be more than enough to neutralize Jainamite. Why is UST double teaming the screener every single time knowing the guy who came off the screen is a deadly shooter?
I hate Jai Reyes but he surely looked like a back-to-back champion in this game. He torched UST by hitting every open shot they gave him in route to 17 points. The guy is too cocky for what he can do for his team. He’s just a measly shooter who benefits from the attention the opposing defense gives to Rabeh and Eric. (Fine, his leadership has been crucial this year for ADMU especially with the graduation of Chirs Tiu and yes this is his girl.) Eric Salamat has every right to salute to the crown every play because he has been an integral part of Eagles’ offense and DEFENSE but Jai needs to shut up and play basketball.
Eric Salamat probably is the MVP of this Ateneo team. (I’m sorry Rabeh, I think you’re too busy talking to the refs and crying about ticky-tacky fouls. ) The guy was either snatching the ball or tipping the ball to his teammates. He was part of every defensive play in the 2^nd quarter. On the other end, he would draw the defense and make spectacular passes to his teammates. He was literally everywhere on the floor. He took a back seat in the 2^nd half as he wasn’t needed as guys like Jai and Ryan were barbecuing the Tigers. His stats of6 points, 5 assists and 4 steals are not indications of his brilliant performance.
So sad to see Ababou and Mirza graduate on such a humiliating finish to their collegiate careers. Mirza reverted back to his old form and jacked up a ton of 3s instead of doing a Corey Maggette and fish a ton of fouls. Ababou did manage to get his number quietly but I’m sure he would’ve liked to go down fighting a closer fight. Fortuna and Teng had their moments but they should’ve done a better job of setting up those guys instead of taking ill-advised shots.
I know their offense includes a lot of 3 point attempts but I’m sure Pido doesn’t want them to take a 3 on every damn possession. Ateneo runs for high percentage 2 point attempts and they do such a great job of selective fastbreak. They know when to push the tempo or to set up in the halfcourt.
Hats off to Pido Jarencio this year for his new design of UST’s offense. A lot of people were expecting DLSU or ADU to enter the final 4 this year but Pido adjusted to the arsenal he was given this year without his MVP, Jervy Cruz. It’s going to be a rough year next year for them unless they’re keeping another RP youth member and another 20-10 guy in their team B.

Andy..Andy..Andy..

2009-09-21T03:26:00.000-07:00

Why did it have to be Andy?...

Of course, you might have heard by now about probably the biggest news of the UAAP season 72. Andy Barroca quits the FEU basketball varsity team due to the allegations hurled at him. These accusations were based on his sub-par performances on the last 2 elimination games where he averaged 7.5 PPG and 3.5 TOPG and shot 33.33% from the field far from his season averages of 12.71 PPG, 2.57 TOPG and 44.58% FG. This was evident in the ADMU – FEU game last 9/12/2009 where he managed to score only 8 points. Apparently some of his teammates asked Coach Glen Capacio to take Andy out of the game because they were suspecting that he wasn’t playing to his abilities but another story says that only the team officials are accusing him and his agent said that his teammates do not believe the allegations threw against him. Personally, I don’t believe that Andy threw the ADMU game or any other games but I’ll admit it that my opinion is biased because I love Andy Barroca to death and I truly believe he will be a key part of Smart-Gilas’ campaign for 2012 Olympics. Plus it helps that he has an identical name with a beautiful girl. Now let’s try to evaluate whether or not Andy played to his ability in that ADMU game. In their game against ADMU, Coach Glen decided to tinker his starting lineup by placing Andy back at the point and putting Sanga at the 2 spot. The result? Andy scores all of his 8 points on that game courtesy of 4 made shots from the field against the lowly defense of Jai Reyes. A common denominator among all his 4 field goals, the play was set for him. Andy is the kind of player that needs to dominate the ball to be successful at the offensive end. As Rick Olivares said, Andy was so successful with Smart – Gilas and Oracle because he was given the ball and control of the offense. Of course this year in the UAAP, the point guard chores have been handed over to RR Garica and Andy had to slide to the 2 spot for the most part of the season. This means that he’ll have less control of the offense. Remember when Steve Francis played the 2 spot because Orlando wanted to give a young Jameer Nelson the break that he needed? Steve Francis struggled and it marked the start of the downfall of his career. Players are going to struggle if you won’t play them at the right position and if you’re not going to give them the role that is suitable for their talent (In this case Andy’s a scorer). But I don’t think you can blame Coach Glen on playing RR and Andy in the same backcourt. RR’s a heck of a player and he probably needs the ball more than Andy since Andy’s a better shooter and it makes sense to put a scorer on the shooting guard position.

Andy did commit a couple of mistakes in that game. He missed 2 FTs at the end of the 1^st half but even Steve Nash can miss 2 straight FTs. Now let’s move on to the 4^th quarter. Andy sort of took a back seat in their offense and was contented on just setting up the play and I guess he had good reason to do so since guys like Sanga and Ramos were on fire. Losing the 18 point lead wasn’t his entire fault but he did play a part. A play called for Andy to post up against Jai. He backed down against Jai and took a turnaround J. He missed the shot but it didn’t really matter because as how Mico Halili would put it “He was caught dancing with wrong pairs of shoes”. He reacted a little bit against the call but didn’t show much emotion while arguing against the referee but I don’t think he’s really an emotional player. He’s going to talk with the referees but he’s not a Sheed. The second play called for him was a curl with Reil setting up the screen for him. He was double –teamed but he still forced the shot against the defense of a Nonoy Baclao. This was clearly a bad decision on his part and he should’ve made the pass to a wide open Cervantes. Was this intentional? Maybe. Maybe not. A lot of players do force their shots not just Andy. He also committed 2 fouls that led to 4 FT attempts. One foul had him going for a steal. He had a clear chance to get the ball but shouldn’t have he just back off especially knowing that they were already in the penalty? The other foul was a silly frustration foul. A friend of mine said, “That’s why it’s called a frustration foul, he was frustrated”. He looked a little lax after the call but like I said he’s not really known to be an emotional player.

Based on my love for Andy and examining the game against ADMU, I’ll have to conclude that FEU made a mistake of accusing Andy of game-fixing and this might come back to bite them at their asses especially now that UE won last 9/19. Can’t the guy just have a bad game? He hasn’t been known to dominate in the UAAP despite his talent and besides this guy has been playing non-stop and maybe the guy’s just burned out. How come JR Cawaling (5.5 PPG and 4.5 TOPG in their last 2 elimination games plus a couple of stupid fancy pass attempts) or DLSU veterans (Barua, Mangahas, Malabes) are not accused of game fixing? There are always 2 sides of a story and maybe Barroca feared for his life and didn’t want to end up like Barracael. Throwing a simple basketball game is easier than being shot. Maybe a patron of ADMU gave him 20M to allow ADMU have an easier route to back-to-back championships and money does talk especially for a guy that comes from a poor family like Andy. Maybe he just had a bad game. I highly doubt that we’ll ever get the chance to know what really happened but I guess FEU did the right thing of releasing Barroca now that the mess has been made public because I can’t see Andy being comfortable playing again for FEU. A friend told me if Andy continues to play, he’s going to be cautious about every turnover and missed shot. At least, Noli still wants Andy to be the main man of Smart-Gilas despite the controversies.

Here’s a blog post coming from someone that has the connections to the FEU team and here is here official statement of FEU regarding the issue. (But you better have loud speakers to hear their crappy answers) Of course, Rick doesn’t believe Andy is guilty of the allegations and he’s got a lot of reasons to believe so but as jaemark said, he’s been known to be close to SBP guys and he might just be protecting Barroca especially now that Andy is already with Smart – Gilas.